[unruhjonny]

I was involved with some discussions a couple years back, one of which HFR mentioned "The Right Stuff" (TRS);
At the time I had a fuel line on order which was sourced from In Line Tube (ILT).

After it arrived, I was less than pleased with the ILT line, it needed A LOT more coaxing to make it fit that I would have hoped.

I decided after that to place an order with TRS for full fuel and brake lines for my car, and while I was at it, I decided to add to the order three fuel pump to carb lines:
1) 70 RAIII; #FPC7021
2) '70 L78; #FPC7020
3) '71-72 HO & 4bbl; #FPC7220

Covid prevented me from getting my package to my place till this spring (I had it shipped to my cousin's in Oregon), and until this afternoon my box remained sealed in my garage loft.

Now, I have the following engines sitting in my garage, on stands, completly mocked up;
1970 YZ (RAIII)
1970 WT (400/4bbl)
1972 WS (A-body; 4000/4bbl & 3spd)

I started with the RAIII fuel line, and my oh my what a difference from the ILT line - I was quite impressed.

I then went to the engine which is correct for my car;
at first glance I figured that something was really wrong, because it looked so short - then I remebered that this line went on the drivers side of hte thermostat housing;
I lossened and moved the rear alternator bracket out of the way, and connected it lightly to the carb - and it looked good - the curves matched everything on the engine nicely...
BUT...
the bend seemed quite short for the fuel pump...
And the angle looked wrong.
So I pulled the fuel pump off (a replacement that I ran in my car since the late 1990's), and replaced it with another that is the absolute correct one.
The line still looked wrong.

I started tweaking the line, then stopped when I noticed I caused a small kink.

I then moved onto the 1972 engine;
Again absolutely perfect.

I went back to the 70-400/4bbl line and tried making it work again - but only made matters worse.
It occurred to me that it's as though this line was made for a full size car which may not have had a deep fuel pump.

Have many of you bought from TRS before?

I figure I'm up crap-creek because I bent it, but I am wondering if by chance these are bent by a human, or if something is in the mix where the bottom bends for the fuel pump may have been done too high up...

Thoughts?

[Ramairnacho]

Ok I'm learning and curious . Hear are pics of my engine fuel line. Moister got my car. My original yz engine rebuilt with zero miles, rebuilt carb, and new year one fuel line. Surface rust got me. Not sure if it will clean up. I want to pump solvent through all my lines to clean inside of them. I got alot of work ahead of me. Does year one still make them? Where did you buy yours? Mine didn't kink.

[unruhjonny]

I do not believe Year One makes fuel lines;
I believe they source them from another supplier.

Most reproduction companies use ILT lines, as they are probably the, or one of the buggest players in these things.

Unless I am mistaken, your engine should not use the large fuel filter housing.

[wbnapier]

Always wondered how you guys install these pre-bent fuels lines. I couldn't figure it out and cut them and used compression fittings.

[unruhjonny]

Here is the older ILT line for a 70-L74(RAIII);
If you look closely (even at the hosted/reduced size image) you can see a little kink, and a bunch of marking from my vice where I had to hold to re-bend to make it work:



Here you can see the absolutely unmodified fuel line from TRS on my YZ engine:



This is the 1972 engine (painted the wrong colour, but painted this way just because I had the paint, and I wanted it to look nicer than before) with a fuel line from TRS on it:



This is my WT engine, it looks ugly, but I am leaving it that way for now;
The fuel line from TRS looked short, but I believe that the line going on the drivers side of the thermostat housing DOES indeed shorten the length of line required... the top looked great:



(continued in next post; I will not be able to get the required attachments in a single post)

[Ramairnacho]

That is not my original carb. That's a 7029268 from 69 428.. so when I add either my restamped 7040270 or real 7040270 that fuel line will not work right? 1st two pictures are my real 270 last is a restampec 270. Can I please get link for correct fuel line now I'm thinking the 7029268 fuel line to.short. do the 70 carbs have a fuel filter too? I imagine it should be I. There too. I'm rever restored a car before and this is fun. I enjoy reading and learning, forgive me if I ask stupid questions. So far I learned quite a bit about alternators, fuel pumps,little about carbs, ect. So this is agrest learning experience for me.

[unruhjonny]

ok, when we go to the bottom, you can see that things went wrong pretty quick:



You should be able to plainly see in that image that the line is too short.

The following image is the same as the last, but I have added two red arrows;
The upper red arrow is intended to show the spot right about where (or immediately above where) the line starts to bend towards the fuel pump;
The second arrow is pointing out where the fuel inlet is.

Even if I had the wrong pump, the inlet is in nearly the same spot - it should only require light tweaking to move over, or angle the end differently...



I would be earnestly interested in hearing from anyone with a standard engine 1970 Formula, or standard engine 1970 GTO, Grand Prix, or a 400/4bbl optioned '70 Tempest/Lemans to see if you are all using the "RAIII" line, or if you found a solution to install a correct fuel line (read: goes to the drivers side of the thermostat housing).

I am wondering if the fuel line marketed as being for a RAIV should maybe be the 400/4bbl & RAIV line - and this one is for a full sized car (or a 400/4bbl application with the shallow fuel pump).

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by wbnapier

Always wondered how you guys install these pre-bent fuels lines. I couldn't figure it out and cut them and used compression fittings.

The devil is in the details - or so I've heard it said.

The variables are:
- intake manifold (all aftermarket intakes move the carb location in relation the the fuel pump - some less than others).
- carburetor
- carburetor fuel filter housing
- carburetor base plate gaskets or spacers

These pre-bent lines are essentially all for using stock parts.

I have made my own lines.
The merits of the lines I have here are that they are an aluminized steel (with copper lining) - so they are less prone to rusting.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Ramairnacho

That is not my original carb. That's a 7029268 from 69 428.. so when I add either my restamped 7040270 or real 7040270 that fuel line will not work right? 1st two pictures are my real 270 last is a restampec 270. Can I please get link for correct fuel line now I'm thinking the 7029268 fuel line to.short. do the 70 carbs have a fuel filter too? I imagine it should be I. There too. I'm rever restored a car before and this is fun. I enjoy reading and learning, forgive me if I ask stupid questions. So far I learned quite a bit about alternators, fuel pumps,little about carbs, ect. So this is agrest learning experience for me.

All the 1967-1974 Pontiac Quadrajets used the short housing, and the housing was in the exact same spot.
The 1969-1970 Pontiac Quadrajets all look the same - you have to look really close to see the differences.

There are a couple discussions about the 1970-1971 Fuel pumps - as these were NLA for a long time - the replacement that most of these cars ran were 72-78 large canister fuel pumps;
There are threads here showing the original vs alternate fuel line exit locations.

[Ramairnacho]

So it appears I probably have wrong fuel line too. ****! It's gotten rusty but hear is puc of underneath not sure if it will help. It bolts to my setvice replacement fuel pump I bought as a boy in 86. Back then I lost my job and stopped working on it.

[unruhjonny]

the longer fuel filter housing may work with a correct line, I have not tried what you have there;
The longer fuel filter housing would essentially move the top of the line closer to the fan;
(Look at the big gap you have between the fuel line and the thermostat housing)

I know for a fact (because I pulled a perfect line off of a 77-W72 car decades ago) that the later lines meant for the larger fuel filter housing will not work with a short housing...

[indymanjoe]

For such a short line i would just bend up my own.

[Ramairnacho]

I just looked in ames catalog and they say fuel line for 70 71 $23.00 part number fn327.can you simply return and buy the right one?

[Ramairnacho]

I think I'm getting a new one. It will take me more time removing rust. Easier to just get new. I hope it's correct

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Ramairnacho

I think I'm getting a new one. It will take me more time removing rust. Easier to just get new. I hope it's correct

If that is the case, I would suggest getting FPC7021

https://rpui.com/the-right-stuff/