VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Steel vacuum advance tubing

On my '38, the vacuum advance line from the carb to the distributor is very wavy, looks like it was re-used several times over and looks crappy....have any of you bought generic 1/8" OD steel tubing to replace it? If yes, any websites I should check out?

You can purchase 1/8" steel vacuum tubing from your local NAPA Auto Parts store.

Dammit...I did a search on their website, did not show anything. Will stop by and ask.

Thanks...

I got mine from WW Grainger...Joe

Green,

I made mine from 1/8" stainless steel tubing and nearly 40 years later is still looks like a new item right out of the box. Same with the gas line from the fuel pump to the carb.

Speaking of fuel pumps, I found a Ford fuel pump diaphragm that fits my '36 Chevy fuel pump for a fraction of what the Chevy parts vendors charge for that item. It's not just a rubber disc, but the riveted on link too. You may find a Ford item for your application as well.

Thanks, guys, will check out a few places. My employer gets good discounts through Grainger & a couple other places. Will let you know what I find.

What I purchased from Grainger was also stainless...Joe

Eastwood sells tubing straighteners...Made for coiled up tubing, though...Double Flairing stainless tubing is no fun...Look for the right length...

You just need to heat stainless after you make the first bend as it work hardens and then cracks if you don't.

Kevin,

I didn't even try to double flare the stainless. The tubing I found was aircraft seamless tubing so on the gas line I was able to get a perfect single flare even though the original part used compression fittings. Compression fittings handling gasoline seemed a little scary.

I did use compression fittings on the 1/8" vacuum line.

39 years later both of those lines are still doing fine. One of the clips that holds them together broke but a street rod builder on the 1936 Chevy Owners forum had a couple of them lying around and he put them in an envelope and sent them to me.

Street rod builders are a great parts source.

Updates:

It appears that every auto parts retailer in this area has never seen nor heard of a 1/8" steel vacuum line....then again, especially around here, seems like anyone under the age of 30 is shocked that Chevy had cars in 1938......

As soon as I walked into Grainger, the counter guy took one look at the tube and said "No, we have never offered anything like this".

The guys in NAPA told me that all they have is coiled copper, and argued with me over whether my old line is SS or copper, and even after we scraped the old coating to expose the shiny silver, he was still convinced it was copper.....

There are many choices online for 1/8" OD tubing, problem is that all come in different I.D. sizes. The wall thickness is very small compared to copper tubing, however, I did find a roll of copper tubing with a bigger I.D. than the others.

I thought of using a 3/16" brake/fuel line, but the vacuum advance & carb holes are designed for 1/8" fittings, don't know if there are any adapters readily available.

From what I have read, painting copper can be tedious, as I will need to use the right primer in order for paint to stick.

Those Eastwood tubing straighteners appear to work on tubing down to 3/16", wonder if it will work on 1/8" without skipping too much....

These guys can fix you up with what you need.

http://inlinetube.com

Another source for you.

https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detai...ance_Line_Carb_To_Distributor_Steel.html

Thanks for the link. Checked them out, they have what I need, however, I will have to pay a total of $35 for shipping a 48 inch long tube that is $15....

If Chevsofthe40s' tube is straight, then I am willing to pay the $35 they want. Will check a couple more local metal liquidators.

Ebay has several vendors, but they don't specify whether the tubes are coiled or straight. Will have to ask and wait. Eastwood's tube straightener is $79.

I routinely purchase coiled steel tubing from McMaster-Carr. It is not a big problem to straighten by hand. It is far cheaper than buying from a local autoparts. I am sure that your local hardware can order tubing, at least mine can. They might be less expensive that Chevs of the 40s or other autoparts stores.

Hello Jim.
I just got a vacuum advance line from The Filling Station, www.fillingstation.com.
It was only about $20.00 plus shipping. I've got a 1940 and since they didn't have one for the 40, I told them to ship a 41. It fit perfectly with the correct fittings and bends. I still can't believe it was such a perfect fit!

Call them and see what they can do for you. They are excellent.

I suggest you call them because I just tried to pull the part up on their online catalog. It didn't show up. The vacuum line I received actually came from www.inlinetube.com, as stated above in a previous post. I also ordered the fuel pump to carburetor fuel line and after I shortened it about 1.5 inches or so at the carburetor end, it was a perfect fit with the correct bends as well.

Good luck.

Curt

Thanks, Curt...one question: was your line coiled or straight?

It is the straight tubing I want to get, but am having difficulty finding locally. Coiled tubing can be found easily online and doesn't require special shipping costs.


I found one SS material supplier right down the street from where I live, and they have plenty of 1/8" tubing...and did not know they had it in stock. They have a huge warehouse of SS materials in disarray. The sales guy was stubborn...he refused to cut the tube and sell me a 6' section, I told him that I don't need the entire 20' length and don't want to pay $100 for the whole thing. He said "Have a good day".

Jim, my tubing was straight tubing that was carefully and very accurately bent to perfection with the correct fittings on both ends. Absolutely no modifications needed for my 1940. I got lucky because The Filling Station representative said the 1941 vacuum advance line might or might not work. He said no guarantees. It fit perfectly.

I also went to Napa and those guys were of zero help. We're very luck to have Chevs of the 40's, The Filling Station and other specialty shops to keep our vintage Chevy's running and looking great.

Curt

If they do the bending and include fittings, then the $35 price tag is worth it. The fittings alone would cost me about $20 online.

Thanks for the heads up, will order it soon.

Jim