2024
Sheesh!
Holiday obligations seem to take up more and more time every year. But with all of that finally out of the way, I’m able to get back to work!
Not that I’ve done nothing since the middle of November. The temp sensor and switches, starter, ignition, and alternator are all wired. The headers are bolted up and I’ve started test fitting the rest of the exhaust. I found some parts that had been missing since before we moved and the engine has oil in it.
I even did a couple of tests! The first was electrical. After tracing a short to the chrome-plated dome light housing, it all performed perfectly. AND best of all, Wifey helped me do a crank test. The starter sounds great, the clutch safety switch works and it built 60lbs of oil pressure! That occurred on December 9 and nothing of note happened again until a week or so ago.
With a bucket and a little fuel, I could start her up now. I’ve assumed I’d wait until the exhaust was in place just so the neighbors wouldn’t hate me, but I’m not quite ready to do that. However, in five weeks, I’ll have had the engine a full year. I’m anxious to see if it works. To do that and test the fuel pump, I’ll need a fuel line.
The engine came with a steel braided fuel line to connect to the slick -6 AN fittings on the fuel pump and carburetor. The pump didn’t clear the subframe and I really wanted a fuel filter between the pump and the carb. Then when the AC bracket was mounted, that new routing made that line unusable. I couldn’t find a pre-built line of the correct length and wasn’t sure enough of the length I did need to get one made. Plus that is kind of expensive. I don’t plan to race this car, but I would like to run it down the local track once in a while. The NHRA has a rule that there can’t be more than 12″ of rubber fuel line in the system. I’m not entirely sure if that would apply to me, but simply cutting rubber fuel line to fit would be really ugly.
Two choices remained. Build my own braided line or make a steel line. The steel line has no rubber in it and the supplies were less expensive, so that’s what I went with. I couldn’t find a 3/8″ line to -6an female adapter, so I bought a flaring tool and got to work.
This is version number 4. Number 1 was terrible. The bends were wrong and I destroyed structural integrity trying to unbend and rebend it. Try 1.5 was a piece of welding rod. Try number 2 was perfect. I flared one end to work with the -6 AN fittings on each side of the line, put a nut and collar on and did a test fit. It couldn’t have matched up better – I have manufactured parts I’ve paid a lot for that don’t fit as well. So I got excited, flared the other end, realized I forgot the second nut and collar and was sad for a while.
Try number 3 didn’t line up quite as well, but was still really close. I wish I’d remembered the second nut on that one, too.
Try number 4 is on the car. It didn’t line up nearly as well and took a little massaging to get to work, but I it has something the others didn’t – the ability to be attached at BOTH ends! With this fairly major improvement, I installed it and it seems to be good.
The flaring tool seems to do a good job, but it wouldn’t take much to leak. I guess I won’t trust it until I see it run for a while under pressure. Of course, I was looking at Summit’s site and randomly came across a bunch of 3/8″ line to female -6an fittings for less than $6 each. Hopefully mine will work, but if not, at least I have a simple alternative now.
Aaaaaand, that’s it. I have a lot of projects and other obligations I’ve been putting off for the past year that I’ll have to start addressing. Progress will slow down, but won’t stop. Maybe I’ll go get some fuel this weekend and see if I can make some noise!