Thanks for the good advice.
It's done, nephew managed to get the hose from below the distributor. Angled long needle-nose from the front (clamp was pointed straight forward).
Hose looked like it had a golf ball in the end of it (and split).
Nothing like having a trained mechanic in the family!

 

You just need to remove the upper airfilter housing along with the hose assembly and the distributor cap to gain sufficient room to work on the heater hose.


Be sure to have your bleeder valve open when filling up your coolant until you have a solid flow of coolant coming out.


My experience is that the heater hose goes bad faster when contacting with engine oil.

 

Yes, hence why I like to replace that dist o-ring when that hose is showing signs of "swelling". The oil will leak onto that hose allowing it to "go bad" faster. A "swell" right where it connects to the connector on the head is usually a sign the dist o-ring is leaking oil.