Sorry GT, I am no help. I have never had a good explanation for the 3 hose octopus thing. Maybe burningbush can hook you up with a manual image. The blower is a work in progress, stay tuned. The good news is this thread has some good info for vacuum and heater hoses.
JEFF B said = I have never had a good explanation for the 3 hose octopus thing, !!! thats funny i was going to ask about the octopus under your hood , It keeps the coolant out of the heater core so that the ac runs a true cool temp ,
Andrew, that is the bestest answer (and the only one) I have yet had. Another example of FoMoCo over-engineering a simple thing.
Thanks Jeff and BB. I still can't figure out how to route the heater hoses coming from the water pump and intake manifold to the heater valve and then from the valve to the firewall. I have a two port water valve and then an inlet and outlet on the firewall. I see in your pic the intake manifold port going to the center port on the valve. Thanks again for any help.
Intake fitting to the forward facing nipple on the water valve. The factory used pre bent hose to go from the valve to the core, had a 90 degree bend at the core end. Valve to core hose went on the nipple closest to the valve. Coming out of the core was another hose with the 90 degree bend on the core end, It went up over the engine to a holder that held the hose against the choke housing. From there that return hose went on to the water pump fitting. I think it is better to use the hose from the intake to warm the choke housing instead of the return hose. You can find hoses with the 90 degree bend at most parts houses. They will be way too long so you need to install the bent end first then cut them to the length you need. Both 90 degree ends will go on the heater core. Leave a little slack in the hoses to allow for engine movement.
Looking at my 70 manual the only thing I can add is it appears the valve will be on the inlet/pressure side of the circuit rather than the return on a 302. From what I can see the inlet/pressure side comes from the intake and the return goes to the pump. According to the manual this seems consistent with the V8's.
how do you post up pics on threads? I'm trying to put some up of my vacuum hose routing for help correcting the mess
Got my Water Valve hooked up with all of your help ! Here is the diagram I used to complete. Thanks again for everything.