Re: Bypass hose restrictor

["Jay Mackro" <jmackro@domain.elided>]

In the last couple of days, someone made a reference
to the little thingys that were stuffed in the bypass
hose of the later 4 cylinder Alfas.  You know, that
approx. 1" dia. flexible hose that runs between the
water pump and the thermostat housing.

I got to thinking about that - I have never even SEEN
one of those, although I have owned a number of 115
series Alfas.  The hose restrictors tend to get thrown
out when the hoses are replaced, as they are fairly 
invisible once installed.

So, my point is: Are these still available?  If not, could
they be reproduced?  Like, would wedging a 7/8" OD
brass flatwasher with a 7/16" id hole approximate what
Alfa installed from the factory?  And, how important
is it to have one of these?  My Alfas run pretty cool,
but maybe with a bypass hose restrictor they'd be even
cooler.  Bonus question: Why didn't Alfa - in its infinite 
wisdom - just design the system with a smaller diameter 
hose?

Regards

Jay Mackro
San Juan Capistrano, California

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