[64speed]

After much deliberation and conversation with Holley techs I have decided to plumb my entire fuel system with earls vapor guard hose. Holley assures me this will be ok and the only guidance they gave me was to support it every 6-8 inches. I have the 3/8 steel/rubber supports that you put a screw thru and it basically clamps it to whatever you want to fasten it to. My question is, is there a sheet metal screw out there quality enough to screw thru the frame to set these clamps or am I gonna have to drill little holes and fasten little tiny bolts and nuts all up the frame rail?

[ZeGermanHam]

Yes, pretty much any appropriately sized hex head tek screw will work fine.


I'm plumbing the fuel & brake lines on my frame now, too, but I'm using copper-nickle metal hardlines. Pretty easy to work with.

[64speed]

Are you using those screws? I drilled holes in the frame for the new crossmember location today and it was a bitch. I just wanted to make sure those screws go thru

[ZeGermanHam]

I will indeed be using tek screws like pictured above. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but I have used enough tek screws in the past to know they should work fine. It shouldn't be terribly difficult, since I plan to use the existing holes in the frame for all mounting locations except one which no longer exists in my case because I boxed in the frame. And since I'm using the existing holes, all the tek screws will be doing is slightly enlarging the holes, which should be very easy for them to accomplish. Shouldn't be any different in your case.

[Tomslemans67]

Be careful of those screws the heads can break off. I recommend Tek 5. Colum screws or super tek. You can get them from fastenal. We use them in construction to drill in steel I beams. Fwiw. Tom

[tempest1964]

ZeGermanHam, nice frame. I thought it was a convertible frame. I guess it is a convertible frame....only You converted it!

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by tempest1964

ZeGermanHam, nice frame. I thought it was a convertible frame. I guess it is a convertible frame....only You converted it!

Thank you! I'm looking forward to finishing the plumbing and then moving onto cleaning up the engine & trans and getting them mounted again.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by 64speed

After much deliberation and conversation with Holley techs I have decided to plumb my entire fuel system with earls vapor guard hose. Holley assures me this will be ok and the only guidance they gave me was to support it every 6-8 inches. I have the 3/8 steel/rubber supports that you put a screw thru and it basically clamps it to whatever you want to fasten it to. My question is, is there a sheet metal screw out there quality enough to screw thru the frame to set these clamps or am I gonna have to drill little holes and fasten little tiny bolts and nuts all up the frame rail?

Have you considered using copper-nickel instead of a soft line for the whole run? Your car being partially assembled should make this easier and you’d have a permanent line.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by grivera

Have you considered using copper-nickel instead of a soft line for the whole run? Your car being partially assembled should make this easier and you’d have a permanent line.

I was thinking the same thing. With his car being partially disassembled and not needing to be back on the road tomorrow, I'd recommend using copper-nickel hardlines. They will take a little longer to install, but they're more forgiving than stainless lines, and not that difficult ultimately. And you end up with hardlines, which is always better. Using flexible hose is okay, but the reason why Holley recommended using Earls Vapor Guard hose is because they own Earls. I'd wager that any impartial source would recommend hardlines of some form.

[JLMounce]

One thing to think about with your fuel line choice is how the vehicle will be operated. If you plan on taking this thing to the drag strip, the EFI soft lines are kind of a gray area in the rule book and open to the interpretation of the tech. I've spoken to the same tech office twice about this as I run the soft line and I received two different answers.

I've had soft line in my car now for 5 years and it's doing just fine. So for a reliability stand point, I wouldn't worry about using soft line as long as it's supported and routed in a way that it's not going to get nicked, cut, bent etc.

But, if you have any real plans to take the car to racing events of any kind that require a tech inspection, just do the hard line so you know you're in compliance with the safety regs.

[grivera]

Jason, do you have PTFE line or rubber compound? If a rubber compound I can’t imagine that lasting the lifetime of the vehicle like a metal line would. It’s different when a car is fully assembled but a metal line seems the better choice if install isn’t too difficult.

[64speed]

I don’t plan on taking it to anything but test and tune MAYBE. As far as the hardline, I went back and forth on this and how to route it and pros and cons and filter placement and AN fittings etc etc etc. After all was said and done I came to the conclusion that the Earls vapor guard was a banG for the buck thing. Do I plan on changing it every 5-10 years...yes, is it as simple as rolling out rubber line...yes. Other than the front end being off the car is no longer disassembled. To be honest with you I am more concerned about the parking brake. I know this sounds obtuse but the cables were missing when I bought the car and the diagram baffles me.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by grivera

Jason, do you have PTFE line or rubber compound? If a rubber compound I can’t imagine that lasting the lifetime of the vehicle like a metal line would. It’s different when a car is fully assembled but a metal line seems the better choice if install isn’t too difficult.

I have the russell twist lock stuff under my car. They don't specifically mention that it's PTFE, Nitrile or Nylon. Based on how the cross-section looks, I would say it's likely Nitrile.

None of this stuff (including hard lines) are going to last the lifetime of the vehicle. Ask GM pickup owners about that. The hard lines will of course last much longer however.

Fortunately the soft line stuff is pretty easy to keep an eye on. If you utilize a fuel filter with a replaceable element, you can easily check on the health of the hose as the inside will start to sluff off and accumulate in the filter. Once you see this, it's time to change the hose.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

I have the russell twist lock stuff under my car. They don't specifically mention that it's PTFE, Nitrile or Nylon. Based on how the cross-section looks, I would say it's likely Nitrile.

None of this stuff (including hard lines) are going to last the lifetime of the vehicle. Ask GM pickup owners about that. The hard lines will of course last much longer however.

Fortunately the soft line stuff is pretty easy to keep an eye on. If you utilize a fuel filter with a replaceable element, you can easily check on the health of the hose as the inside will start to sluff off and accumulate in the filter. Once you see this, it's time to change the hose.

I hear what you’re saying but the steel lines in my 69 bird were originals when I upgraded a few years back so steel lines should last significantly longer. I suppose the rubber lines are easy enough to change it’s not that big a deal if one has to.