"MM54" (mm54mk2)
05/18/2019 at 21:14 • Filed to: '71Chevelle, Tools
1
7|
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
05/18/2019 at 21:14 • Filed to: '71Chevelle, Tools | 1
| 7 |
I’d give it a 6/10
Bending a new fuel line for the Chevelle in 3/8" (factory is 5/16 because 307). It runs over the frame so it’ll be done in two pieces (a single piece requires removing the body, so no). I managed to cut and snake out the over-the-frame part and duplicate it in new steel, as seen above.
That said, I’m not happy with it. My bending tool is really meant for smaller tubing (even though the die goes up to 3/8") and it’s flattening out in the 90 degree bends. I’m currently debating picking up a roll of aluminum tubing ($20) vs NiCopp ($75) in the morning. I’ve used NiCopp before and it’s great (in the smaller sizes I’ve used it is very resistant to kinking) but it’s an expensive fuel line, whereas the aluminum would work fine but I don’t know how well it will bend up - I can probably do it by hand around a larger die, but I feel like it’ll be more prone to kink than steel.
In other news, I got back from a work trip late last night so this morning I did the reasonable thing of going to some yard sales instead of any of the around-the-house catching up I should have been doing.
Bonus feature is the rainbow in my toolbox
I picked up the above
nut drivers for a whopping $10. I previously had a random selection of
nut drivers, which never included the one I needed and was entirely
absent of metric. That isn’t an issue now, though!
diplodicus forgot his password
> MM54
05/18/2019 at 21:48 |
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If you fill the tube with sugar/salt you can bend tubing tighter without kinking. Can be a pain in the ass to clean out if you have a lot of really tight bends. I’ve never done it with fuel line specifically but I don’t see why it would matter as long as the lines totally flushed out.
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MM54
> diplodicus forgot his password
05/18/2019 at 21:56 |
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I’ve heard of this but never tried it. The coil of
aluminum tubing is cheaper than half as much steel line would be so if the aluminum gets too kinky I’ll give it a shot filled with salt or sand or something.
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diplodicus forgot his password
> MM54
05/18/2019 at 22:00 |
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Ive done it with copper tubing making induction coils. The tube just stretches it’s amazing
Urambo Tauro
> MM54
05/18/2019 at 22:23 |
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I haven’t worked with aluminum tubing yet, but at that price, it’s worth getting some to practice on. Cheapest place I’ve found NiCopp is eBay (about $50 for a 25' coil of 3/8").
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MM54
> Urambo Tauro
05/18/2019 at 22:26 |
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Yeah I’m going to run down and pick up a coil (of the aluminum)
in the morning, we’ll see how it goes. Bummer to have to straighten it (way too cheap to buy a tubing straightener for the once a year I work with tubing) but if it bends nicely it’ll be worth it. It also prevents a second joint, as nowhere had straight pieces of steel over 6' and I need about 14. The 25 feet of aluminum gives me plenty to mess up!
66P1800inpieces
> MM54
05/19/2019 at 07:55 |
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Is the aluminum durable enough for everyday driving. I am redoing my fuel line as well and I think I read somewhere that aluminum can work harden from vibration and possibly crack . In a race application it is lighter and checked more often.
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MM54
> 66P1800inpieces
05/19/2019 at 09:30 |
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It is the line from by the tank up to the engine bay, so there is very minimal vibration present; the connection to the tank is via rubber hose , it is attached to the frame through p-clips (which have that rubber inner), and on the other end will either be rubber hose or braided line over to the engine; If it were being plumbed right to the engine it would break, as would any other hard line (aluminum would just be faster to it). Similarly, if it were being attached to both frame and body, the movement between the two would stress it, but it’s being attached exclusively to the frame so motion and vibration are very minimal.
Even with that said, it’s on the suction side of the pump so if it does spring a leak it’ll pull air into the pump until I shut it off or the engine stalls, at which point I’d definitely smell the gas leaking on the garage floor :)