Hanging go juice

May 4th, 2009, 01:38 PM

The undercarriage of my '72 Cutlass is not only showing her age (rusting) , but is posing a problem to my fuel tank. Recently I discovered a gas leak near the right rear shock as I attempted to put in 9 gallons of gas on an assumedly empty tank. Until now I never noticed a leak despite only previously putting in 8 gallons. I'm assuming since I never went above 8 gallons, the source of the problem is near top of the tank. I checked the hard lines, the 3 leading into the top of the tank, were so rusted that one started to break as I rubbed on it. The mounting metal that the fuel tank straps are bolted on to are rusted bad, and it would appear that any significant weight placed on them (over 15 gallons) would cause the tank to drop. I pulled on the tank and she seems solid, but not sure I want to take the risk. Now I was thinking to alleviate all of this I would install a drop sump drag race fuel cell, but wasn't sure how complicated the install would be from within the trunk. Any thoughts?
I also wanted to run a new hard line kit from tank/cell to fuel pump, any thoughts on a complete kit?

I also want to run new fuel lines throughout, does anyone cell a complete kit?

Bluevista · May 4th, 2009, 11:55 PM

Fine Lines and most of the suppliers have the fuel lines. Fine Lines may be able to bend up something custom if you need it. I just saw a Vista Cruiser for sale with a fuel cell in the storage compartment.

Summit has the Pro Street job with the GM compatible sending unit and a bunch more. The instruction PDF is with most on the Summit site if you want to research installations. They say there may be state regulations where you live on fuel systems, you may want to check that first if it means anything to you. Even in the trunk it would probably be safer than a regular fuel tank in a crash, way safer than a leaky one that's going to fall on the ground.

http://finelinesinc.com/

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...N=115+%2D47053

Gromit Dog · June 6th, 2009, 02:26 PM

FUel line is available in bulk, and easy to bend. The trick is to bend it slowly and gently around a round object, in fact a line bender is cheap and easy to use.

This is not a fuel injected car, so fuel pressure is not going to be all that much. You can use "rubber" fuel line (they aren't rubber but the name of the material escapes me... starts with an N...)
just double clamp the ends.

For the cost of a fuel cel, I would repair what you have. Straps are cheap, and I'm sure you could weld up the brackets.

If in doubt, get a shop to do it.

I would encourage you to check your brake lines as they rust through as well.

agtw31 · June 6th, 2009, 07:21 PM

this is not a hard job at all,if you have a good pipe cutter and bender.

try and use as much steel as you can,use rubber just for connecting lines.

whatever you do,take your time.

if you need a quick fix,just find out where your steel line is solid,and cut it,then go to your auto parts store and get the amount of rubber fuel line you need,and use that for temporary fix.

May 4th, 2009, 01:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
christine fury Guest Posts: n/a	Hanging go juice The undercarriage of my '72 Cutlass is not only showing her age (rusting) , but is posing a problem to my fuel tank. Recently I discovered a gas leak near the right rear shock as I attempted to put in 9 gallons of gas on an assumedly empty tank. Until now I never noticed a leak despite only previously putting in 8 gallons. I'm assuming since I never went above 8 gallons, the source of the problem is near top of the tank. I checked the hard lines, the 3 leading into the top of the tank, were so rusted that one started to break as I rubbed on it. The mounting metal that the fuel tank straps are bolted on to are rusted bad, and it would appear that any significant weight placed on them (over 15 gallons) would cause the tank to drop. I pulled on the tank and she seems solid, but not sure I want to take the risk. Now I was thinking to alleviate all of this I would install a drop sump drag race fuel cell, but wasn't sure how complicated the install would be from within the trunk. Any thoughts? I also wanted to run a new hard line kit from tank/cell to fuel pump, any thoughts on a complete kit? I also want to run new fuel lines throughout, does anyone cell a complete kit? Last edited by christine fury; May 4th, 2009 at 01:42 PM..

May 4th, 2009, 11:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bluevista Cruisin' the Vistas Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 1,722	Fine Lines and most of the suppliers have the fuel lines. Fine Lines may be able to bend up something custom if you need it. I just saw a Vista Cruiser for sale with a fuel cell in the storage compartment. Summit has the Pro Street job with the GM compatible sending unit and a bunch more. The instruction PDF is with most on the Summit site if you want to research installations. They say there may be state regulations where you live on fuel systems, you may want to check that first if it means anything to you. Even in the trunk it would probably be safer than a regular fuel tank in a crash, way safer than a leaky one that's going to fall on the ground. http://finelinesinc.com/ http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...N=115+%2D47053 Last edited by Bluevista; May 4th, 2009 at 11:58 PM..

June 6th, 2009, 02:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gromit Dog Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 21	not a bad job FUel line is available in bulk, and easy to bend. The trick is to bend it slowly and gently around a round object, in fact a line bender is cheap and easy to use. This is not a fuel injected car, so fuel pressure is not going to be all that much. You can use "rubber" fuel line (they aren't rubber but the name of the material escapes me... starts with an N...) just double clamp the ends. For the cost of a fuel cel, I would repair what you have. Straps are cheap, and I'm sure you could weld up the brackets. If in doubt, get a shop to do it. I would encourage you to check your brake lines as they rust through as well.

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June 6th, 2009, 07:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
agtw31 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: columbus ohio Posts: 745	this is not a hard job at all,if you have a good pipe cutter and bender. try and use as much steel as you can,use rubber just for connecting lines. whatever you do,take your time. if you need a quick fix,just find out where your steel line is solid,and cut it,then go to your auto parts store and get the amount of rubber fuel line you need,and use that for temporary fix.