454 cooling plumbing

[challenged]

the 454 in my 56 chevy has a hose going from a outlet below the thermostat housing to the back of the water pump the hose is about 3 1\2 " long the previous owner said that it had run on the hot side havent ran the car in hot weather it has newer alum raditor and a spal elec fan should the short hose be removed.------------- Challenged

[chevynut]

That hose is on all BBC engines and it's a bypass hose that allows circulation of coolant through the engine before the thermostat opens to prevent hot spots. SBC engines have the bypass cast into the water pump. I say leave it on.

[challenged]

Thanks for the info, will leave it on ----------- challenged

[Run-em]

And be sure to use the Chevy designed hose, not just a piece of heater hose.