72cuttys

I am interested in converting the hard line from the pump to the carburetor with braided lines for both aesthetic and functional purposes. What size AN thread would the pump and carburetor take? I am not familiar with the sizing and i guess im not smart enuf to determine it from the size charts i found online.

oldcutlass

"AN" fitting are sized by 16ths, so a -6 is 3/8ths. What size engine and what carb are you running?

72cuttys

Its a 350 with the factory 2barrel, but will eventually be upgraded to a 4barrel. Nothing crazy though, weekend cruiser.

oldcutlass

3/8ths line will be fine.

72cuttys

Found this kit at Summit, will 2ft be long enough?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-641030/overview/

MDchanic

Æsthetic improvements are, obviously, in the eye of the beholder, and entirely up to you, but what sort of functional improvement do you anticipate?

- Eric

oldcutlass

I think you might be short some length, and I don't know the size of the fittings on your pump ang carb. Why do you want braided lines?

72cuttys

The hardline I had on the car had a bad kink on it, so i replaced it with one from fusick. The one from fusick was so horribly off, that i had to significantly bend it to fit and now it is kinked as well and leaking at the carburetor, im guessing due to the angle the line is taking into the carb. Tired of dealing with the hard line and braided will be 1000x easier to manipulate.

dc2x4drvr

Use -6 braided line to the carb. To adapt your steel line to AN you'll need an adaptor. Orme Bros. Can supply the stainless fitting.

dc2x4drvr

Oops, I just realized you're probably running a stock pump, so you will just have to use a pipe to AN on the lower end..also, your carb will require an AN fitting in place of the stock filter fitting.

MDchanic

Or you could just get a stock line from a parts car.

If you have a need for flash, you can get it chromed.

- Eric

allyolds68

For a little more than you'll spend for the braided line and shipping you can purchase and decent flare kit, bend tool, and hard line. Hell you can even re-use your old fittings.

I use mechanics wire to create a template of how I want the line to run and then bend the line to fit. It took me a few tries when I first started doing them to get it right but it saved a whole lot of money when I did all my brake lines. When I recently switched from a Holley back to the Q-Jet the new line took all of 15 minutes.

72cuttys

What size fitting is at the pump and filter? Sorry, i dont have the car in front of me as I store it at my parents house.

Olds64

I did the same upgrade to my 71 98. This is the fitting you need at the stock fuel pump:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-220667/overview/

Here are a number of kits to choose from:

http://www.summitracing.com/search/b...%20line%20kits

oldcutlass

One of those will work.

72cuttys

And i need the same fitting at the carburetor correct? The threads for the filter housing are exactly the same...i think

TripDeuces

Aren't the pump and carb fittings 3/8th inverted flare? Pipe fitting is not going to work there.

brown7373

I think you are right, TripDeuces. Oh, it might work for a while...until it doesn't and sprays gas all over the engine and goes poof! The fuel line is just like a brake line. The threads have nothing to do will sealing. No amount of Teflon tape, or thread sealer will work long term. They only tighten the flared line against the convex shaped surface of the carb or pump (or brake part).

70vert

They make fittings to go from inverted flare to an line. I wouldn't recommend using those fittings that replace the filter housing in the carb body because they are prone to leaking because they use an aluminum washer to seal on the body and there isn't a lot of sealing surface there.
You can use the same fitting on both the pump and the filter housing they are the same size 3/8 inv flare to -6 an.

midrange

I did this exact thing to my '71 Cutlass with a 455.
All it will take is:
Two of these, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-220667/overview/

Two of these 90 elbows (which is what I used) http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-220687/overview/

Or two of these 45 elbows, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-220686/overview/

Along with a 3 ft section of -6 braided hose, you'll be all set.

Even though they're a bit pricey, I would recommend getting these, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-900040/overview/

I couldn't get a decent cut on the braided hose with a cut off wheel if my life had depended on it. After wrecking several inches of hose and stabbing my fingers numerous times, I ordered one of the cutters.
One of the best investments I made during my project. The ends practically slide onto the stainless braid with no fraying. Well worth the $43.

allyolds68

Did you wrap it tightly with electrical tape before you cut it? That generally will give you a pretty clean cut on anything like, cable, rope, etc.

70vert

The best way to cut braided line is with a chop saw. Wrap the line in masking tape where you want to cut it and let the disc do the work don't push down hard. It will leave a perfect cut every time with no fraying at all. Just make sure you clean out the inside of the hose because it will be loaded with rubber particles.

72cuttys

So we got people saying 3/8 inverted flare and 5/8 inverted flare...Which one is it?

70vert

Its 5/8 thread that is the size of the nut on the 3/8 line.

MDchanic

This won't be popular, but all of the above seems to be to be terribly expensive in terms of time, energy, and money, especially for something that will not improve performance at all, compared to just getting an original line cheaply from a member or a junkyard, and also flagrantly violates the basic life principles of KISS and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

- Eric

70vert

I'm with you Eric. I have tons of aeroquip fittings after 20 years of circle track racing and when I put the holley 6210 on my iron intake with a spacer I made a new hard line. For the 10 minutes and 4 dollars it cost to make it works for me it doesn't need anything fancy.

midrange

Yup, tried that also. Worked fine until it was time to take the tape off of the hose (the fitting wouldn't fit onto it otherwise). Gave me more fraying than if I just used a disc alone.

I agree with this, however, mine was 'broke'. It was kinked pretty badly at the point where it came up near the t-stat housing and turned to the carb. I also bought a stainless replacement and it wouldn't fit at all without a lot of tweaking, which most likely is how the original got kinked.

Since I did a 'hot rod/street' build rather than a restoration, I also used the braided stainless hose for my transmission lines.

Olds64

I did the same thing. I think it was money well spent.

Octania

Interesting.
A different vendor sold me three fuel lines a while back, which were nowhere near a drop-in replacement, due to the angle at either end being off by about 15-20 degrees. I foresaw a severe kink if "corrected" and one was going to Europe, so I sent 'em back, with a correct fitting factory line for then to make new ones to match. The no-fit tube also ran right across the path of the intake's thermal vacuum switch nipples- another fail. I offered to make up a simple jig for them to verify fitment on when making a production run, but never heard back.

Lying the correct OEM unit and the new doesn't-quite-fit unit side by side on the bench DID NOT show any difference. Only with an angle viewer method such as a rod into the end of the tube, or attempting to fit the line on the vehicle, was the difference clear.

CORRECT line and routing:
6263_FuelLines_A40.jpg


Very INCORRECT sample, not going to work, ever:

Octania

images no workee after one I guess
can't delete this post either
wth?