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brake and fuel lines


PETER

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the manual shows brake and fuel lines running under the drivers floor pan.

would it be better to run these along the inside lower tran tunnel ?

i have metal p clips with rubber inserts are these ok or should i use full plastic ones ???

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Anyone have that deja vu feeling  ;)  :)  :D

Peter only last week the same Q was asked. Seems as though there's a few winter projects going on

Anyway the consensus of opinion was that the barke and fuel lines were best run down the tunnel firmly held with P-clips  ;)  :D  :)

As running them along the ali floor panel could see them getting ripped off  :blush:  :durr:

Oh and download a membership form from www.wscc.co.uk - its worth it  ;)  :D  :)

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Peter,

I believe there have been some recent SVA failures for running the fuel lines exposed under the floor pan.  Safest bet is to run the fuel lines down the tunnel.  There are a few pictures on our web site, if you care to look.

Metal "P" clips with rubber inserts are fine. Just make sure you use them about 10-12" apart or wherever you think additional support is required.

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I'm at this stage with my narrow tunnelled carb'd live axle SEW. I've run 8mm rubber fuel tubing from the tank, over the axle, and through the tunnel to the engine bay, and attached it with alloy/rubber 'P' clips. The rear brake line runs on the other side.

Now what with the prop-shaft and the hand brake mechanism, things are getting a bit crowded. I want to convert to efi at some point, which means a return fuel feed. And I also need to run the loom to the rear.

Can I simply tie-wrap the loom to the fuel lines? Or should I run the loom through the cockpit in a conduit? And btw, what do people use for fuel lines? Solid pipe? Aeroquip?

Cheers,

Charles

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The fuel and brake pipes on my SpeedSport run under the floor pan as recommended by Westfield but given the choice again, I would run them in the transmission tunnel. I have never got even close to damaging mine and in fairness, you would have to go some to damage them fitted under the floor pan but it could happen if you went over the right obstacle at speed! Biggest problem was remembering to make up a gap in the wooden packing pieces on the top of my build stands to accommodate them ......

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Charles, Ditch the rubber fuel hose in inaccessible areas like the tunnel. Run it in the tunnel but in rigid pipe. And run the return pipe in rigid as well at this time. You know it makes sense Rodney. ;)  ;)  ) Brian. :D

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Charles, not wishing to contradict brianm, but don't worry about using a good quality rubber hose in the transmission tunnel.

I have a fuel injected engine and have used Aeroquip rubber hose to run the feed and return fuel lines.  They are securely fixed with plenty of P clips and provided you are sensitive to how you bend and route the hose you shouldn't have any problems.

Solid metal pipes are all well and good but they can be a pain to fit and when you convert to fuel injection you've got to find a reliable way of terminating the ends of the pipe with suitable fittings.

Braided steel hoses are the middle ground I suppose - I used rubber hoses purely because it's easier to work with when using push fit connectors.  It's cheaper too.  Braided steel hose can be a bit fiddly to work with, especially if you measure the hose wrong and need to shorten it by a small amount.

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IMHO if you are running an injection car, the fuel line running from the pump to the fuel rail should be the higest possible quality to ensure it can cope with the pressure. Return lines are less of an issue as they do not run under pressure.

Lindsay

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Just to clarify, the hose I'm using is Aeroquip FC332 hose - it's rated to 250psi working pressure (1000psi burst pressure) and as long as you respect the bend radius it should be more than up to the job.

I originally used this hose to make it easier to make up the various pipes but the chances are I will stick with it now since it has not shown any signs of being prone to leaks or bulges.

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Charles EH wrote:

Can I simply tie-wrap the loom to the fuel lines?

I was going to ask the same question - I'd heard rumours that routing the loom along the fuel pipe will fail SVA.  Can anyone clarify the situation?

Rgds,

Peter

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IIRC (SVA almost 3 years ago now), the tester told me that if anything was tie-wrapped to a brake line (solid or flexi) then it would be a fail.  I would guess that the same will apply to fuel lines but don't know for certain.

SVA manual doesn't specifically mention this, all it says is "Electrical wiring must be routed to prevent damage to the insulation and....secured at intervals of not more than 300mm".

Methinks that you need to ask at your local SVA station.

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I'd agree that attaching the loom (or anything) to pipes, be they fuel or brake, is not a good idea.

On my car I have the brake line along the bottom, driver-side rail and the fuel line along the top driver-side rail. I then secured the wiring loom along the bottom of the top driver-side rail using saddle clips rivetted into the transmission tunnel ali panel. The loom then sits neatly below the fuel line.

A technique I found useful to avoid having rivets poking into the cockpit was to rivet from the cockpit side. What you do is find a washer with approximately the correct internal diameter (~3.5mm if using the drill dimensions given by the build manual) and then put the rivet though (from the cockpit side), through the saddle clip and then through the washer. Have someone hold the washer/saddle clip assembly while you 'pop' the rivet - it expands in the metal washer, thus holding the clip tightly & securely against the panel  :0

Panel

 |

(-}|-   inside tunnel

 |

(-- = rivet

} = saddle clip

| = washer

- Dan.

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Since my first post I have re-located the brake pipe to the bottom of the tunnel. This means I can run the loom at the top on the drivers side - I've riv-nutted for P clips every 200ml or so.

The fuel hose is 8mm Goodyear fuel hose rated at 70psi. Enough for a wheezy x-flow surely? I spent £30 on an SVA manual this week. There's loads of good stuff I need to know in it, but I can find nothing to say I can't use hose.

If I wanted to go 'rigid pipe', what is the spec. and source. Or do you use copper brake pipe, and hose on the ends?

Cheers,

Charles

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