We're talking mins here. It's a matter of cutting the length of hose you need, slipping the barb/ferrule or the bead lock fitting (whatever you choose), placing the collar in the crimper and crimping away.

The two I made were for the installation of a parallel flow condenser.

All of the fittings can be found on eBay. The trick is figuring out which fitting you need... flare, male insert o-ring, female o-ring... etc. It's actually not that complicated. Order the hose size you need, the fittings and you're in business.

I didn't have any experience either but it's a great way to learn.

Alternatively, There is a guy I found in Burbank -after much searching- who still makes custom hoses and is super knowledgable: Ben at Salerno A/C (1698 West Magnolia Blvd).
And of course you could always take a trip out to Rollguy and he'll sort you out.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.