Road Trip Gulf Coast to NorCal

[threewood]

First of all, a great big THANK YOU to Dennis and company for this Great travelogue!!
I just went through the whole thing front to back and feel like I did the proverbial virtual tour
along with you (yes, including the she-issues ).

As others have said, I learned the hard way about the old school "rubber" fuel line versus the "certified
for use with fuel injection" fuel line not too long ago when a friggin hose that wasn't far from new
collapsed on my own carb'ed GTX.
You couldn't SEE the collapse inside the line, so diagnosing was a pain...
When I started removing lines from the car, the black crap was coming off in my hands!!
I've since replaced all the soft lines on the car again and now only put the non-ethanol gas in it ($3/gallon
for 93 octane here).

You'd think someone in the business would KNOW about such things. Apparently they didn't - or didn't care.
One or the other. I'd be having me some *** right about now if I was a victim of Rick's....

I agree, great road trip account!!

On hose, when I went looking for EFI hose local in 3/8" there was none to be found. Autozone tried to pass off regular hose as EFI but I caught it. Had to order hose on-line. Also bought the correct collared clamps. The worm clamps will leak. And I go through and check the hoses for softness occassionally.

 

[bearman]

This is for everyone if you really want to keep a eye on your fuel and make sure your hoses are not coming apart from the inside. Please invest in a fuel separator many good things can be watched with one. You can see water, trash etc. You can catch problems before it gets to bad. Or you can use one of those glass filters to watch the color of fuel. I agree to disagree with the Long haul against short drives as we all see that it is changing from carbs to some kind fuel injection. It's the matter of doing the digging into everything that goes with efi. As I said before even the big rigs went crazy when this first came out and still today we are learning about it and they run thousands of miles a year. Just a short time ago was having issues just getting the right fuel in California Everytime one of the rigs fuel up there would have engine codes and low power problems. After pulling what little hair I have left found out that the guys were buying bio fuel and didn't realize it. Once we found a fuel stop that only sold real fuel was I able to get things back to normal. Of course still get it now and then because the knuckle head didn't read the pump but again you can't fix stupid.

 

[69a100]

All this is just so outer limits! I remember when the alcohol in gas was just starting to show up here and there and a local station that I traded with put stickers on the pump but where they were really hard to see.....like where two pumps were real close, he placed the stickers in that little area and really low. After rebuilding my DP Holley for the 3rd time I want over there and hunted all over the pump and found them. The guy running the place was there and he got an ear full and I told everyone that would listen what was going on and about 6 months later, they closed down. Don't know if me telling a bunch of people about it had anything to do with it but I sure hope it did!

I bet a tank of gas that the Dept. of Weights & Measures caught up with them after some one or a few people complained.

 

[bearman]

Yep didn't take long for that complaint to get some attention

 

[Cranky]

I bet a tank of gas that the Dept. of Weights & Measures caught up with them after some one or a few people complained.

At the time, I don't think the law said the sticker had to be in plain sight. All it said was it had to be 'displayed' iirc. Long time ago
lol

 

[bearman]

Your right and it has been changed. But again sometimes people forget haha

 

[Dennis H]

I’m confused, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

 

[Cranky]

I know I'm looking at an in tank pump.....right? But what's the pic on the top right? Things are looking kinda nasty.

 

[Dennis H]

Second from top is looking at fuel in tank. Not sure.

 

[Budnicks]

sorry Dennis not trying to hijack your thread
just trying to answer someone's question

It's a shame because I only get 5 mpg and have to run the California ethanol laced fuel.
Does that Stable fuel additive really work well to counter-act the ethanol lacing?

I don't know if it really is intended to
But;
I've been using the red Stabil since 2005 in my RR
so far so good,
both down in the valley 'at sea level' in Rancho Murieta/Sloughouse
& up here at elevation above Sonora too

supposedly the goldish colored Stabil 360 stuff
is 'allegedly better' protection from vapors & corrosion
in tanks that aren't full, causing rust or corrosion/oxidation BS,
from ethanol vapors, condensation from hot to cold

& my car has all older Russell Lines & fittings
(Russell's old style 'armor' carbon wrapped -8 & -6 lines)
from the tank to the Aeromotive big cannister style pre-filter,
then to the Aeromotive S/S fuel pump, down by the frame rail
& my Holley bypass style reg. back to the tank too
& from the fuel pump to the engine bay,
to a Russell 10 micron serviceable filter
before the carbs & 6bbl fittings,
that are all Summit push/slip fit racing stuff

so far so good, I don't notice any oxidation or goo
I had seen before
I think it lubricates the whole system "sort of" too

I've taken the 6bbl outboard carbs off for jett changes
& they sit with fuel for days, weeks months many times,
(I usually turn the fuel pump of f& let the car run tell it empties the bowls
before shutting it down for the week/weekend etc.,
so it doesn't have little if any fuel in the center bowl while sitting
especially when it just sits, for longer peroids, if any of that makes sense ?)
& still no sentiment or oxidation or weird goo,
it used to get, before I started using the red Stabil
it works for me so I stuck with it

except for the re-pop 1/2" sending unit's gasket at the damn tank leaks,
from day 1 (really minor, but seen it a couple times under the car)
I need to do a thicker seal/gasket than the factory one it seems

I haven't noticed any inner hose issues or rotting rubber,
eating the aluminum fittings etc.
or that 'white ****' left behind,
from all the damn ethanol/blending additive BS
like it use to do

not sure if that's what you're looking for

but that's my story

 

[biomedtechguy]

'white ****' left behind, from all the damn ethanol/blending additive BS

That has been (was) the most noticeable thing when I had untreated 10% ethanol laced gasoline left for a long time in a fuel tank. Namely my V-Rod. Black is the color of the threaded section of the plastic male threaded fuel cap. I noticed white flecks but more like dots around the cap edge. Kinda like a jelly. I stick with 10% ethanol laced fuel (93 octane) in the V-Rod because that is what the mechanic/tuner used 8+ gallons of (almost 2 tanks of gas) and spent 8 hours to build the fuel/etc MAP on the dyno with the TTS Mastertune software.
I'll have to check in with them again and see if I can try a tank of 100% premium gas. A buddy has a V-Rod built beyond the level of my engine and going from 10% to pure gave him less performance. Seemed to run "rich" he said.

 

[Dennis H]

This is the second pump. The replacement AC Delco. I’m told that the clamp used here is the wrong application.

 

[Cranky]

Dennis, you mean clampS....there's no way I'd use a clamp like that even on my own junky stuff!! That is just wow holy cow nuts stuff....

 

[moparedtn]

Screw clamps are bad?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Screw clamps are bad?

Not all screw clamps are bad, but the generic ones tend to cut the hose and not apply even pressure...

Zebra Clamps are pretty good.... The video commercial is irritating but has good info..

 

[moparedtn]

Ah I dig.
I prefer the "fuel injection" ones myself, the ones with the "faded" shoulders and 360 degree contact
surface.

 

[BDF6]

I hope this gets sorted out favorably for you Dennis!

 

[HawkRod]

View attachment 858932 This is the second pump. The replacement AC Delco. I’m told that the clamp used here is the wrong application.

Those are the clamps that caused my problem before I replaced them with proper fuel injection clamps.

 

[bearman]

Your right and it has been changed. But again sometimes people forget haha

View attachment 858932 This is the second pump. The replacement AC Delco. I’m told that the clamp used here is the wrong application.

Dennis those clamps cut into the hose and expose the inner lining of the hose which is a no no. If using that type of hose use the silicone squeeze clamps it has a smooth inner clamp base and won't cut the hose. That is part of the problem that most folks don't get. It's not the big **** that kills a project it's all the small stuff.

 

[Dennis H]

Collateral damage found at detail time.

Paint chip in roof. It was loud, had it been the windshield it would have cracked.

Bumper to body gap closed on passenger side. Got tapped somewhere.

Bug screen did its job. Radiator is clean.