Steal away! I actually got the idea from another forum, but they used AN fittings. These fittings are from Vintage Air, part numbers are:
36033-MPA - Manifold Heater Fitting (stainless) Straight 1/2” NPT to #10 male O-ring
36032-MPA - Manifold Heater Fitting (stainless) Straight 3/8” NPT to #10 male O-ring
Here's a tip: Just hit the stainless hose barb fitting a few times from different angles to work it loose and pull them from the pump. Once that's done, the hole should be large enough for the tap. Don't waste your money on the drill bits for the 1/2" tap. You'll need to drill the smaller hole a bit deeper for the 3/8" tap to go deep enough into the water pump. It gets difficult to turn the tap, so I bolted the pump back up to the block to tap it. I did tape off both the engine and water pump before I did this though.
Oh, and make sure you don't already have the 3/8" & 1/2" NPT taps before you order more. I now have two sets.
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Thank you very much..I was dreading using standard heater hose.