How I avoided getting "hosed"

 Every hose has its thorns

I think some tubing and hosing replacements are so hard to find or buy due to expense.  The first type of hosing I wanted was the classic space type as seen in this truck from the alpha 1 base from about 1979

Another example is from the set below

So I took a piece to a local O'Reilly auto part store.  I was afraid the 2 clerks would laugh at my lack of a true masculine car project but these guys were incredibly nice. I took a piece that the hose should fit and we eventually found black tubing the right size.  Needless to say I will definitely go back there; the only problem was a small amount of black residue and the small piece I bought made the car smell like a tire when I mistakenly left in a hot car!  But the size was perfect and will help create new little space vehicles!

I also bought gas trimmer fuel line tubing with a nice yellow tint that I had read will work!

This is the reference from bricklink

I have a few original hoses and they were kept in a cool damp environment which likely helped preserve them as I would think dry and heat storage would dry and crack the rubber material.

The second type of hose seems more common on the internet...the hydraulic hoses for technic models

The inner diameter appears to vary 1.5 to 2.5mm, some appear to be available for order in the UK.  Hope this helps others, I'm trying to get more info and may update the info in this post!

ADDITIONAL INFO FROM BRICKLINK