How to Build a Fuel Line by Lars Grimsrud Rev. G 4-19-05. For those of you running Barry Grant carbs, note that you cannot use Holley style inlet fuel lines. Okay I just spent alot of money on fuel lines (hard and braided) and a bunch of overpriced -an fittings. I bought SS 1/2 hard line for the center of.
How to Do Custom Hard- Line Bending- Hot Rod Magazine. Penultimate. It means next to last, and this is it. Our twin- turbo F- Bomb Camaro has been lingering around these pages for six issues- this month we're finally done showing you how to build it, and in the September issue we'll be able to gloriously reveal what it's like to drive the thing. For a lot of the players, that moment will culminate with one big sigh of relief.
That's certainly true of Mark Bohlen, who's the last in a long line of F- Bomb craftsmen we've introduced you to. Along with his wife, Michelle, and Twig, the ubiquitous Italian greyhound shop dog, Bohlen operates Bent Custom & Performance out of a supertidy shop that's in the same industrial complex as Nelson Supercars, the instigator of the Bomb.
- Hot Rod Magazine gives you tips on creating your own custom hard-lines.
- How to Change a Fuel Line. If the rubber hose on your vehicle's fuel lines is hardened, cracked, leaking or damaged in any other way, it needs to be replaced immediately.
- Preformed brake lines, fuel & transmission lines, and straight length tubing sets for classic cars, trucks and the street rod enthusiast.
- I've spent at least 5 hours trying to figure out how to get my new hard fuel line. Kentucky Mustang 1-888-861-0176 Has al the clips fot the fuel and brakes lines.
While Bent is a full- service fabrication shop- regularly handling minitub jobs, chassis modifications, and street rod setup- he's become known around here as the go- to guy for custom- bent hard lines for anything that carries automotive fluid or air. Applications include fuel systems, air conditioning, brakes, oil coolers, vacuum lines, airbag- suspension plumbing, and anything else you can think of. Chevrolet Camaro $2.
Base Model (MSRP). MPG. Fuel Economy. Research Vehicle. The Bent shop creates all the hard lines for Nelson Racing Engines' twin- turbo engines, and that's how we got hooked up with Bohlen for the F- Bomb. In addition to the engine plumbing, he handled all the complex fluid conveyance systems on the chassis. Ninety percent would be hard line; flexible braided line would only be used in areas that need vibration damping, such as between the engine and frame, and in spots that require quick- release AN fittings. The first step with hard line is to choose the material.
While some racers prefer it for its light weight, Bohlen rarely uses aluminum tubing, telling us, "It's easy to bend by hand, but you can hardly ever get it perfectly straight since it always comes in rolls. It's so soft that it flattens out if you try and unbend it, and AN flares in aluminum gall up after a few times being connected or if you overtighten them.
It can be polished, but it gets dull quickly." Another option is mild- steel tubing, which has the advantage of being easy to bend. Even so, Bent does not use it often because it has a seam that can be problematic, and because it cannot be polished. Bohlen's material of choice is aircraft stainless tubing, despite the fact that it is the hardest material and the most difficult to bend. However, Bohlen says, "Stainless is great because if you leave it unpolished it looks race, or the show guys can polish it and it stays shiny forever.
Small dings can be polished out. It's hard enough that you can use single flares rather than the double flares that you have to do with soft mild- steel tubing. It might take more effort to make an actual bend in it, but it's cleaner to work with overall."Even so, Bohlen warns that some so- called aircraft- quality stainless tubing still has a seam inside it. He's found that the seam leaves a hard bump anytime a flare is added to the tubing, and that the imperfection can cause sealing problems at the junctions. Bent sells its own true seamless stainless tubing to avoid those problems. Bohlen typically uses 0. The thicker walls on the bigger tubing help prevent it from collapsing in hand benders, which do not have a mandrel inside them to support the i.
The F- Bomb uses all Bent aircraft stainless, but all the assorted fittings came from Orme Brothers down the street. While Orme Brothers is a local supplier for Bent, it is also a sponsor of street car racing sanctioning bodies and a mail- order firm that can send you any AN or industrial plumbing or hydraulic fitting you can dream of. The company can also supply custom- made, pre- terminated flex lines for brakes, power steering, or any other application. For the F- Bomb, most of the fittings from Orme Brothers are either natural stainless to match the unpolished lines or are nickel- plated.
Where anodized aluminum was the only option, we chose black (though Nelson cheated and painted some fittings that were only available in blue). In all, the bending job helps the car look very orderly and purposeful, and is easier to work on than it would have been if we'd done everything in flex hose.
This story will show you some tips and ideas from Bent, using the F- Bomb and a few other cars, so you can get the same look for your ride. The F- Bomb engine, as seen on our Oct. Bent with the turbos, twin fuel systems, power steering, and Hydratech hydroboost. This guide will help you know what's what. A) Tandem fuel injector rails; B) twin Aeromotive fuel- pressure regulators (return lines extend from the bottom of each one); C) boost- reference line to both regulators; D) braided flex lines from the power steering pump to the Hydratech booster; E) brake proportioning valve and Line- Loc; F) oil feed to the turbos (the oil return to the pan is a flex line on the underside); G) boost- reference lines to the dual blow- off valves and wastegates.
What you can't see are the oil and trans cooler lines underneath. Bending Tip> 1. Here's Bohlen's 1.
The various brands clamp the tubing in individual ways, allowing different shapes to be formed without the bent tube interfering with the tool itself. Don't buy electrical conduit benders.> 2. While the benders have clamps that hold the tube, Bohlen has found that he can often get the bend closer to the end of the tube- especially when a fitting is in the way- by holding the tube closer to the die using a pair of pliers with the teeth ground off of the jaws to prevent galling. Note that the bender is marked in degrees; this tube has been bent just past 9.
Here is an example of a tube bent using the normal method (top) versus one held with the pliers. Note how much closer the bend is to the end.
This is also handy for getting lines parallel with each other, as shown. Flaring Tips> 1. While some insist that you should not cut tubing with a hacksaw, Bohlen does it every day.
He recommends a 3. After hacking, he squares and cleans the end of the tube with a sander, as shown, making sure not to overheat the material, which will tend to reharden the annealed stainless.> 2. After sanding, the end of the tube is further cleaned using two deburring tools to clean the i.
While Bent has a trick aircraft flaring machine, tubing can also be hand- flared. This is a Ridgid single- flaring tool available at Home Depot or other hardware stores. It can be used with stainless tubing.> 4. If you are working with mild steel, the tube must be double- flared with a tool like this that includes dies (arrow) used to fold the tube in on itself. These tools are always pretty frustrating to use.> 5.
To double- flare the mild steel, you first flare it with the die, then remove the die and advance the tool's cone- shaped bit into the mouth of the tube (arrow) to ensure a double layer of metal that helps prevent cracking.> 6. Remember that in the world of flares, there are two common types: 3.
AN world and 4. 5 in the automotive and industrial hydraulic venues. Most 4. 5- degree fittings are brass or steel, while AN is usually aluminum. It is by far best to mate 4. Going aluminum to stainless, you can often get away with mating 3. If you have a poor seal in a tapered fitting, these soft brass tapered washers can help by making a soft surface for the taper to seat upon.
They are available through Orme Brothers.> 8. Look closely at the arrow and you can see the hard spot that is created in the tubing when you flare a stainless tube with a seam in it. The tube to the right is Bent's seamless tubing. TUBE SIZES TO AN SIZESTUBE (in)AN 1. To see the other installments of our series on the buildup of the F- Bomb '7.
Camaro, visit www. HOTROD. com. Carb Inlet How- To> 1. Want to make your own carburetor hard inlet kit? You'll need 3. 1/4. Holley and Demon are different), a - 6 tee, and three sets of - 6 nuts and sleeves. Start by deciding how long the front line must be to clear the carb linkage, then cut the line to length. Don't forget to install the nuts and sleeves before flaring.> 2.
Flare one end of a length of tubing and attach it to the front tube with the tee. Using a pen and a piece of hanger or welding rod, mark the center of the secondary inlet.> 3. Next, put the tubing in the bender, lining up the mark you made with the 9. Shape the tube, and the center of the bend should end up right at the mark.> 4. Finally, eyeball the location of the flare on the carb fitting to determine where to cut the tube, then slip on a nut and sleeve and flare the end.> 5. There you have it- your first custom bending project. If you're too lazy, Bent Custom & Performance sells premade carb inlet kits like this starting at around $6.