.Rocket.Man.

Got new lines for my 442 attempted to replace them today and got held up by a hold down clip bolted down on the top of the frame behind the rear wheelhouse. There's like an 1"+/- gap between the bolt head and car body and its sitting on an angle so it seems. Anybody here replace these? If so what is the secret cause it looks like a real PIA to do.
Thanks

oldcutlass

The secret is to lift the body off the frame.

rcorrigan5

We had to do this when I replaced the fuel lines on my '68 4-4-2 convertible. It was a body-on restoration but the fuel lines were shot. I didn't want to cut the new fuel lines so we came up with a replacement method that worked. We put the car on a lift, loosened all the frame-to-body bolts, and then used a transmission jack with a piece of plywood on top of it to press up against the bottom of the trunk (gas tank removed). It lifted the rear of the body just high enough that we could get into the space an remove the bolt/fastener that you are talking about. Out came the old fuel lines. We ran the new fuel lines between the frame and the body at the passenger rear wheel opening and had enough space to bend the new fuel lines into place (without cutting) and re-fasten the lines to the frame. The rest was easier - lower the body back onto the frame and tighten the frame-to-body bolts. Maybe not the easiest method, but it worked for us!

Randy C.

Intragration

Mine is a G-body, but I ran into this exact same problem with the brake line. Lifting the body from the frame is not an option at this point, so after removing the old line from the clip, I ran the new line next to the clip, used some rubber hose split along the side and placed over the brake line to isolate it, and used a zip tie to tie it to the outside of the factory clip. Not perfect, not ideal, but sufficient until the body comes off the frame, if it ever does.

joe_padavano

On the assembly line, the fuel (and brake) line is bolted to the frame before the body is installed, so that's why access is limited. Unfortunately, if the fuel line is rusted, chances are the body bolts are too, meaning that you'll spin the cage nuts if you try to loosen the body bolts.