trying my hand a bending my own fuel line from fuel pump up to the carb; trying to replace the old cobbled-together set-up with a nice steel, well-thought-out length of 5/16 line that would include a filter... would appreciate any ideas and/or pics of same...

thanks,Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Here's mine. I'm running an electric pump. I designed and had made a bracket to hold the flex line and support a filter which mounts where the mechanical pump would go.











Get a good tubing bender. There is a lever type which can be found almost anywhere. My favorite is a rolling bender I got from Eastwood. Both of them do an excellent job and do not allow the tubing to collapse when bent. Also get a few extra pieces of tubing. I'd be surprised if you don't mess up at least once.


Lawrenceville, GA

Charlie - that is a really neat piece of work.........."lookin' good"....

This one below has an engine mounted fuel pump, with a vertical 5/16 line up to the filter....the base of the pump has been "clocked" around to place the inlet and outlet in the most favorable location.

It has an AC canister style filter but others could work....

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

how did you mount that filter, Steve?

thanks,Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Its hanging on a little bracket that Ford used on the T-birds - simple piece of strap with a single line clamp. The 1/8 strap has a single big hole at the bottom for the front left manifold bolt. It has a single bend to match the angle of the head face. The upper hole for the line clamp is tapped - this is a factory Ford part but easy to make. 

This picture is a "before" - before I put on the FE 428 fuel pump and the Demon carb.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

I have a similar setup to Steves (sorry, no pics) but used repop tee-bird filter (with glass bowl) and mounting bracket.  It was pretty cheap (IIRC) and looks "stock enough", and works well.

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL

I've bent pipe for decades. Tubing is just a smaller version of the same.  I agree with Charlie, buy a bender, like a lever-type, one where the pipe fits in a groove with SIDES.  If you keep your lever tight on the tubing, it won't kink.  Spring benders are ok in a pinch, but I wouldn't use one for a whole pipe job.

I love Steve's mounting bracket job.  Good pipe support is the sign of a good pipe fitting job, even in your house.

Notice Steve has two different methods of piping?

Both methods are very good.  I like the bottom because the bends are sweeping rather than abrupt 90* turns, and I think it's easier to get your hand around this filter can.  Sorry for pirating your pic's Steve, but these are great examples.

There are web sites that show how to bend.  A lot depends on the radius of the tool you use.  If you simply eyeball and bend, few jobs come out perfect.  If you follow a bending system, you will bend consistently, like when several lengths of pipe run along side each other and each branch off.  Measure accurately, mark, and bend your pipe.  I usually cut my pipe to length before bending (this comes with much experience and confidence).

Here is a link to Swagelock's bending PDF

Don't let the formulas intimidate you, just use the tables for most of your bends.
Electricians bend bigger pipe.  The trade size of pipe makes no difference.  Bending formulas are identical for all.  Sometimes, examining different methods will give you a better understanding of how to bend tubing.

Here's a link to Conduit Bending.
Again, use the tables for your offset and back-to-back measurements.

-  Dave

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Mark ,

Speedway Motors have some cheap benders and double flaring tools .Any brake shop should have the fittings you need .Another way to make bends in tubing is to use old V-belt pulleys . Everyone always has a few different size pulleys laying around somewhere . Why not  have a go at bending some up yourself ???. It sure is rewarding looking at you own handy work  after it's all plumbed in .If it doesn't work ,at least you had a go at it .

Lon

PS. If it leaks real bad ,tell em someone else did it ??????

yblocksdownunder

thanks again for such interesting, useful and creative response! this must be an area where everyone likes to and can give it their own special "spin". 

I have purchased a good bender, wide sides on it as suggested, and a cutter.  Also bought some "practice" pieces from my local CarQuest store.  Still need to get a flaring tool. read some info after Google-ing the subject.  have done some practice pieces... to get the feel of it and see what really happens when you bend it.  may be ready to get it done soon. 

still trying to decide what type filter to install; I presently have the old see-thru plastic unit, installed with hose and clamps, but now want to eliminate as much hose as I can in the interest of keeping the line clean, plus the plastic filter has got to go... have seen some nice ones at various sites such as Jegs, Speedway etc... hope to get it done and perhaps put up a pic or two.

muchas gracias again,

Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Mark - Lon is right - just keep on trying this steel tube bending / flaring thing 'till you get good at it. I've thrown more than a few practice pieces away myself - and seldom stay good at it from one time to the next (where I learn all over again).

The lower picture (shown in  a post above) was made when I used the can filter with the original T-bird double action (vacuum) pump. The one above it reflects the change that had to be made in the piping when I went to the non-vacuum 428 FE pump. When the FE pump base was "clocked" around to match the T-bird pressure line - the inlet was then horribly twisted, restricted and kinked into place - without too many options. Because of the difference in line pressure (vacuum/tank head versus pump pressure), it is much more restrictive on performance to throttle the inlet - than the outlet. So........this shows the OEM style T-bird plumbing with the sweep ells that look nice - but the ports are only 1/8 pipe thread! This thing will barely feed a lawn mower.

I ended up making the new installation suit the suction side by clocking the FE inlet around to get the best, cleanest jumper from the tank piping - then plumbed the pressure side as best I could, knowing the new pump had a lot more pressure to offer. When I got the 1/4 x 90° close ells in hand - I found that they were drilled with the same size of holes as the 1/8 pipe fittings -duh. So after finding some more sensibly ported (US made) fittings - I redrilled the "new" parts to have the same sort of wall thickness as the older ones.

At first I was using the original T-bird "rock" filter with the glass bowl - then I found the canister AC (GF62) and by virtue of the ultra-scientific "blow through" test - decided the canister was the better way to go.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona