[qcj]

    OK, I bought 4 ball valves from Lowes. They have two models, one made in China and an Apollo brand that is made in the USA. The Apollo is more expensive and more robust, so I bought the Apollo. Lowes does not have the 3/4" hose barbs for our heater hoses. So I found what we need at www.fitzilla.com and is part #201A-12E and the cost is $2.08 each plus shipping. 3/4X3/4 Hose Barb to MPT.
Now the hard part is figuring out a way to mount these suckers. They are heavy so the hose should not support them. There is not much room in there to work. Maybe after taking off the manifold one could use the bracket to mount a piece of metal to support them. Then the turn off handles get into the way of each other. The flow through the valves doesn't seem to matter so one could be turned where the handles could turn in the opposite directions. Also a couple of the hoses coming from the engine can be gotten to fairly easy so new longer hoses could be installed and then a couple of the valves could be put downstream from where they are now. These are just thoughts I have and have not decided the best way. Any thoughts will help.