Fuel line upgrade

[69clone]

I'm upgrading from 5/16 stock stuff, should I go with 1/2"? They make a sending unit in 1/2" but I can't seem to find pre bent lines in 1/2". So I'd probably bend my own. I'm just wondering if its needed, overkill or what? I'm running a mechanical Race pump 2000 which free flows up to 450gph @ 50psi iirc.
This is for my 69' Satellite, 727, 440/498 stroker, 880 QFT carb.
I also need a regulator if anyone's got any suggestions?

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Go with 1/2" aluminum all the way up, if you're running a stock tank, just upgrade sending unit.
Personally I'd get a Product Engineering 2 port regulator, best out there. I'm a dealer for them and can get it to you cheaper than buying direct. And I can get you all the fittings you need too.

 

[Shorthorse]

I'm upgrading from 5/16 stock stuff, should I go with 1/2"? They make a sending unit in 1/2" but I can't seem to find pre bent lines in 1/2". So I'd probably bend my own. I'm just wondering if its needed, overkill or what? I'm running a mechanical Race pump 2000 which free flows up to 450gph @ 50psi iirc.
This is for my 69' Satellite, 727, 440/498 stroker, 880 QFT carb.
I also need a regulator if anyone's got any suggestions?

Is this a race car?

 

[Budnicks]

Not to be overall ****...LOL
How much power will you be making ?
Is this a race car or a street strip car ?
you may-not need a 1/2" fuel line either...
a 3/8" like will flow nearly 2 times the fuel of the org. 5/16" line did

Anyway;
You could always get some 1/2" bulk line in a roll,
aluminum is cheap, stainless in nice {harder to work with or flare too},
flared or compression fitting is nice, anything but band clamps are great,
you could/should run a by-pass style fuel regulator,
with a return line back to the fuel tank...
Deadheading a pump with that much pressure isn't good...
Is that 450gph flow at high RPM or idle, you said it's a mechanical
I assume it's a piston style pump too, the diaphragm style pumps
will never flow that much, no matter the advertise rate...
A by-pass style reg. will keep the fuel & the pump cooler too...

I like Aeromotive & Quickfuel stuff personally

I'd do it all in AN fittings too, If your on a tight budget
you can do the Twist Lock style fitting...
AN-4 is 1/4", -6 is 3/8", -8 is 1/2", -10 is 5/8", -12 is 3/4"

depending on flow rates, not sure about your pump,
but you can "sometimes" get away with a smaller return line
than the feed, like a AN -8 feed & a AN-6 return...
Not always thou, really depends on the type of fitting,
restrictions on both ends & actual flow...

the biggest issue is the size of return line going back into the
OE style fuel tank

you could/should add a return line fitting
is it a cell ?, or stock type tank ?
probably not a cell, I'd assume
if your talking about a sending unit style with a 1/2 " supply

I modified my sending unit to have a bigger return line
where the org. evap line went...

that style of OE tank sending unit {if it's what I assume your talking about},
really won't flow much better that the 3/8" units do,
but if you need it I'd go with the larger size...

 

[383man]

On my street car I run a stock tank and a stock type 3/8 sending unit. And its 3/8 line up to the fuel pump regulator right before the carb for my Holley black pump. It feeds my 493 with an 850 DP fine. it has run 10.70's through the full exh on pump and is still pulling in the traps. Ron

 

[69clone]

Is this a race car?

No sir, Street/strip.

Not to be overall ****...LOL
How much power will you be making ? It dyno'd 626hp/640tq but different carb. (muscle motor killer krate)
Is this a race car or a street strip car ? Street/strip
you may-not need a 1/2" fuel line either...
a 3/8" like will flow nearly 2 times the fuel of the org. 5/16" line did

Anyway;
You could always get some 1/2" bulk line in a roll, Checked on it today 35 bucks for 25ft they would bend it exactly the same as my old line and do flares if needed for around 50 out the door but they can't do longer than 6ft sections...
aluminum is cheap, stainless in nice {harder to work with or flare too},
flared or compression fitting is nice, anything but band clamps are great,
you could/should run a by-pass style fuel regulator,
with a return line back to the fuel tank...
Deadheading a pump with that much pressure isn't good...
Is that 450gph flow at high RPM or idle, you said it's a mechanical
I assume it's a piston style pump too, the diaphragm style pumps
will never flow that much, no matter the advertise rate...
A by-pass style reg. will keep the fuel & the pump cooler too... Yes. It a piston style, the guys at race pump told me I should run AN8 (1/2") tank to pump and AN4 (1/4) for a return. I'm not knowledgeable or have a clue on this which is why I'm asking you guys. but I'm thinking I could just use the old 5/16" line as the return?

I like Aeromotive & Quickfuel stuff personally Quickfuel was my first thought as I am using their carb and they suggested
no bypass http://www.quickfueltechnology.com/fuel-pressure-regulators/pressure-regulator.html
bypass http://www.quickfueltechnology.com/fuel-pressure-regulators/bypass-regulator.html

I'd do it all in AN fittings too, If your on a tight budget
you can do the Twist Lock style fitting...
AN-4 is 1/4", -6 is 3/8", -8 is 1/2", -10 is 5/8", -12 is 3/4"

depending on flow rates, not sure about your pump,
but you can "sometimes" get away with a smaller return line
than the feed, like a AN -8 feed & a AN-6 return...
Not always thou, really depends on the type of fitting,
restrictions on both ends & actual flow... I don't have a clue the diagram they sent me for the pump suggest -8 to the pump and -4 return
http://racepumps.com/FuelSystems/FuelSystem481.swf

the biggest issue is the size of return line going back into the
OE style fuel tank Why is that?

you could/should add a return line fitting instead of the 1/4" built into the sending unit?
is it a cell ?, or stock type tank ? stock
probably not a cell, I'd assume
if your talking about a sending unit style with a 1/2 " supply

I modified my sending unit to have a bigger return line
where the org. evap line went...

that style of OE tank sending unit {if it's what I assume your talking about},
really won't flow much better that the 3/8" units do,
but if you need it I'd go with the larger size...
Not sure I need it but it can't hurt, can it? The unit for 68-70 is the one I'm looking at. Its a
Spectra Premium unit.
http://www.521restorations.com/index.pl?page=allmodels&sub1=Fuel&sub2=Sending Unit - 1/2

On my street car I run a stock tank and a stock type 3/8 sending unit. And its 3/8 line up to the fuel pump regulator right before the carb for my Holley black pump. It feeds my 493 with an 850 DP fine. it has run 10.70's through the full exh on pump and is still pulling in the traps. Ron

Thanks, your setup is similar to mine. I am kinda thinking my stuff is 5/16". The price difference between 3/8" and 1/2" isn't much. I'm just not sure if it's needed or will hurt me? 521 Restorations offers 1/2" sending unit for 90 bucks and a roll of 1/2" aluminum is going to cost me 30 bucks + whatever tools I need or the shop charges to do them roughly 50 bucks.

 

[383man]

Well 3/8 should be fine for you but if you ever plan to try and go even faster down the road it wont hurt to go 1/2" line if you feel better with it and think you may need it in the future. I know my car will stay a street/strip car as long as I own it and I dont want to put a full cage in it so I know I will never plan to go faster then 10.0's. So I feel 3/8 line should be fine for me down to 10.0's if I ever step it up some since I never plan to go faster then 10.0's. But if you plan to go much faster later then you may want to go ahead and go to the 1/2" line now. Ron

 

[383man]

Here is a pic of my fuel line setup by the carb. The line 3/8 comes in through the pass fenderwell right below the cool can. I ran it up in the outside of the pass fenderwell to keep it away from eng heat because todays pump gas will boil around 190 degrees and when it does it will boil the fuel out the carb vents and it starts loading up. I also installed the cool can which I have not used yet but if I would need to put an ice pack in it on a 95 to 100 dgree day I can if the gas would start to boil. That would help keep the gas cooler. I have not had to use it yet as the carb spacer and heat sheild along with running the fuel line in the outer wheelwell has been enough that I have not had a fuel boiling problem at all this year. We used to use cool cans back in the 70's on race cars to help keep the fuel cooler but then everyone stopped using them in the 80's. And you dont need them if you run race fuel as it dont have all the ethanal in it like pump gas does. But you can see I use the 3/8 braided line under the hood and used 3/8 aluminum line under the car. It supplies more then enough fuel for my setup. I also use a black Holley electric fuel pump. Ron

 

[69clone]

I don't think I'll be going any faster ether but I also didn't plan on going faster than 11.50 before. I'm going to have to compare them again but I think I'll wind up doing the 1/2" and shouldn't have to touch it again. Theres no cons to going too big? Other than G force when launching?

 

[Mike67]

Here is a pic of my fuel line setup by the carb. The line 3/8 comes in through the pass fenderwell right below the cool can. I ran it up in the outside of the pass fenderwell to keep it away from eng heat because todays pump gas will boil around 190 degrees and when it does it will boil the fuel out the carb vents and it starts loading up. I also installed the cool can which I have not used yet but if I would need to put an ice pack in it on a 95 to 100 dgree day I can if the gas would start to boil. That would help keep the gas cooler. I have not had to use it yet as the carb spacer and heat sheild along with running the fuel line in the outer wheelwell has been enough that I have not had a fuel boiling problem at all this year. We used to use cool cans back in the 70's on race cars to help keep the fuel cooler but then everyone stopped using them in the 80's. And you dont need them if you run race fuel as it dont have all the ethanal in it like pump gas does. But you can see I use the 3/8 braided line under the hood and used 3/8 aluminum line under the car. It supplies more then enough fuel for my setup. I also use a black Holley electric fuel pump. Ron

Where did you change from hard to braid? Good looking set up!

 

[383man]

Where did you change from hard to braid? Good looking set up!

Right after my line comes through my fenderwell by the coolcan. I secured the aluminum hard line to the fenderwell with the rubber coated fastners and then when the hard line goes through the hole in the fenderwell I flared the line some and put the braided line on there with a hose clamp. That line goes in the top of the coolcan and the bottom line goes up to the filter at the regulator. Ron

 

[383man]

If you look close at this pic you can see where the line comes through. Right in front of the alt pulley the braided line hooks to the fuel line where it comes through the wheelwell and then it goes to the top of the coolcan. The bottom line from the coolcan goes to the fuel filter and fuel press regulator. Like I said I have not had to use the cool can but its nice to know if I get out on a real hot (95 to 100) and humid day I can put some ice or an ice pack in the coolcan to help keep the fuel cooler for a while. And the fuel line is not close to the alt pulley at all as it just looks that way from the angle of the pic. Ron

 

[383man]

Here is another pic where you cant see the line coming through the fenderwell but you can see it right after it comes through as its the line going to the top of the coolcan. And the bottom coolcan line goes to the fuel filter and regulator. Hope these pics help some ? Ron

 

[Mike67]

If you look close at this pic you can see where the line comes through. Right in front of the alt pulley the braided line hooks to the fuel line where it comes through the wheelwell and then it goes to the top of the coolcan. The bottom line from the coolcan goes to the fuel filter and fuel press regulator. Like I said I have not had to use the cool can but its nice to know if I get out on a real hot (95 to 100) and humid day I can put some ice or an ice pack in the coolcan to help keep the fuel cooler for a while. And the fuel line is not close to the alt pulley at all as it just looks that way from the angle of the pic. Ron

Thanks Ron, I'm assuming you went over the ca's.... I've been thinking about how I was going to route my lines the reason I'm asking...I want to keep it away from the headers and since my car has a cage that ties into a hoop before going to the frame rail I'm not to worried about running it along the outside of the rail.
Also I never thought about using the cold packs instead of ice...good idea! Now Yeti just needs to come out with a cool can that will keep cold all day!
Thanks again!

 

[383man]

Yea I wish they made a better coolcan. I use the soft gel pack as it will fit in the coolcan inside the coils in it. Then I put a little ice around it. But I have not needed it so far this year but I like to be prepared in case I need it. I have frame connectors and the 6 point rollbar of course and I ran my hard aluminum fuel line in the stock location and even stretched the stock fuel line holders and fit the 3/8 line in them. But when it gets to the pass wheelwell I ran it up inside the wheelwell as close to the top as I could to keep it away from the headers and the eng heat as much as I could and it seemed to work good in keeping it away from the header and eng heat. Ron

 

[Mike Gaines]

Here is another pic where you cant see the line coming through the fenderwell but you can see it right after it comes through as its the line going to the top of the coolcan. And the bottom coolcan line goes to the fuel filter and regulator. Hope these pics help some ? Ron
Ron...that is one nice setup...

 

[69clone]

So I ordered the 1/2" sending unit and picking up the tubing this weekend. I talked to quick fuel about the regulator I was thinking about but they said it needs a electric pump that flows steady but they suggested I use a regulator with 3/8 fittings which kinda defeats the purpose of going 1/2" so I'm wondering if any y'all recommend a regulator that I can use connect into my 8AN lines that won't break the bank?

 

[383man]

Mike you did not say anything in your last post ? How come ? Ron

 

[Mike Gaines]

Mike you did not say anything in your last post ? How come ? Ron

It was late at nite....lol..but...I really like your fuel line setup and cool can

 

[ykf7b0]

I have a streep/strip car with 175 hp shot of NOS. I am using the factory tank with 1/2" fuel pick-up and aluminum line. The electric pump is a Mallory and the regulator is a 5 port return style including a return port which is also fitted with a 1/2" line. I drilled a hole in the factory tank and installed a bulkhead fitting for the return line. This set up has worked flawlessly for me on the street and the track.