On Tue, 3 Feb 2004, Jim Jones wrote:
> Hello, '6ers!
Howdy.
> I was wondering if there are any ready-made kits that
> replace the stock rubber fuel line with a braided
> stainless steel fuel line. I know the fuel pressure is
> quite low, so the need for the upgrade is make the
> motor look cool!
I am not aware of a kit for this. You are correct, the fuel pressure on a
stock car is quite low, maybe 1.5 psi. The problem with converting to
brainded stainless is that from necessity, you need to convert to AN style
fittings. You can use braided stainless with barbed hose fittings, but
WHY?
> If no such item exists, has anyone done this?
I have routed braided stainless for all the fuel lines on the race car.
The job is fairly easy to do, but you have to be patient. For example,
prying a hose fitting off when using a sharp knife can result in punture
wounds (heaven knows how the bleeding stopped in the absence of a
qualified MD and stitching, but I digress). Also, the braided stainless
sheathing is N-A-S-T-Y and you will get lots of little cuts and slivers if
you are not extremely careful handling it. And you need a very sharp
fine-toothed hack saw to cut the hose.
The big challenge for doing this conversion with a Tr6 is that the fuel
lines are _tiny_. The smallest AN style hose for the job is AN6 which is
3/8" ID. The other challenge is that you have to adapt the carbs (and
possibly the fuel pump) to AN. The carb would need careful braizing and
fuel pump wouild have to be drilled out and fitted with NPT to AN
adapters.
It's doable, but your best bet is to replace everything. While I was at
it, I'd change out all the 1/4" pipe with larger (like 5/16 or 3/8) pipe.
The other big deal with AN fittings and braided stainless is cost. My fuel
cell installation used over $200 in hose ($1.90 a foot, if memory serves)
and fittings that cost between $4 and $20 each. This stuff adds up fast!
If you want it to look kool for a bit less cost but still be very safe,
Aeroquip and Earl's etc. sell "socketless" fittings (the hose ends are AN,
but you don't thread the fittings together, you just push them on the
barbs). The hose is very high quality and you don't need clamps. This
stuff is about 1/2 the cost of the braided stainless stuff. I use the
socketless stuff for all my breather lines, etc. The hose that I buy is
blue, but there may be other colors.
Last tidbit - get a copy of the book Nuts, Bolts and Fasteners (and
plumbing) by Carrol Smith (aka "Screw to Win"). This book is really
interesting to read and it shows a lot of the fastening systems in use, so
it makes it easier to replate to HOW to use this stuff as opposed to
looking in the catalogues.
> =====
> Jim Jones
> '72 Emerald
regards,
rml
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Lang Room N42-140Q | This space for rent
Consultant MIT unix-vms-help |
Voice:617-253-7438 FAX: 617-258-9535 |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|