VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1929 Factory Fuel Line Routing

going to replace my fuel line in my 1929 4 Door Sedan

remove previously installed copper tubing, and put in some 5/16" OE Steel Tubing by Inline. would like to run it correctly as it originally was ran if possible, and one piece from tank to fuel pump.

posting a few pictures of what is there now. done some reading on here and other sites, and sounds like the fuel line was put in after the fact and went around the crossmembers vs through them. which would make installation and removal easy, just more bends. I have a tube bender.

only issue would be going OVER the brake cross shafts then under the battery tray arms.

My original 29 coupe is up North in Vancouver so I can't help.

Here are a couple of shots of a 31 fuel line going around that obstacle. I got a fuel line with the 29 basket case and will take a look and a picture or two a little later.

You probably know this but a good way to straighten out a coiled tube is to do in along a wall where the floor and wall meet. Just walk along and uncoil and push it into the corner where the floor and wall meet.

Dave

Looks like the 29 has more subtle bends.

Dave

Thanks
where do these 2 subtle bends apply/go. figure one is the rear cross member

I had to approximate the end position due to no fuel tank but the clamp positions are close to where the witness marks are. Hope it helps.

Dave

pulled out the old fuel line tonight

will be installing a new one, steel line one piece from tank to fuel pump following the original Chevrolet Factory Routing (really close anyways)

you can see some corrosion on the coper line, had to cut it to remove it since it was routed through the crossmember vs around.

measured it out, was approx 113" for the main run, then 26" for the piece from the fuel pump to the carburetor

started uncoiling and straightening out some tubing for the new run.

had to pick up some new compression nuts and sleeves, seems i used what i had on hand when i redid hte fuel lines in the 1930 :-)

also need to clean up and reshape hte line clips, a few look like someone tried to eat them, all crushed, and distorted !!

working on the fuel line, using the old copper line work on the routing of the new one. figure out the bends.

more that i get into that i realize there is practically no way to put this line in without removing the brake cross shaft assembly. really hard to route the line over the cross shafts and under the battery tray arms.

Few picts of the new line straightened out. and my cheat sheet of there it runs and the line hold downs are located in the frame.

used the old copper line to layout a few options for routing the NEW line, also to serve as a template/guide for bending the NEW line
Steel is a LOT less forgiving then the copper is

Is the copper original? If so, you could probably use CuNiFer brake tubing, it looks more like copper tubing than steel does and is much easier to bend. When bending steel (bundyflex) tubing for gas or brake lines, I ask all my car guy friends if they have a tubing bender and then borrow it. You want to collect at least one real good professional tubing bender (you'll probably have to buy that one if you don't already have it) and a big pile of the $2 cheapies of various types sizes and shapes. The reason is even a good bender will be limited on which radiuses it can make cleanly, and on which direction it can bend when there are other bends adjacent. The bigger the pile of cheap benders is, the more likely you will have what you need.

used my copper tube guides to bend and form the new steel line. slow and steady. measure & check twice then bend, then check again.

first bends were from the tank to the side frame rail.

then the long sweep bend to follow the frame rail over the axle/wheel.

you can see all my marks, approx every inch for a slow long gradual bend to follow the frame contour.

now to bend out and around the rear cross member this is where i used my second copper tube template, as i have to make sure i hit the line holder before and after the cross member and clear it.

now for a rough fit, see if everything lines up, not an easy task with a 12ft piece of tubing inside a small garage  snaking the line over the brake cross shafts, etc... but has to be done to adjust and fit.
used some twist ties to assist in holding it in place

the last bend i thought would be the easiest one, but turned out to be one of the roughest ones. a few tweaks and got it all bent and lined up to go out and over the front crossmember and line up with the hole for the clamp.

this puts the fuel line to the front of the car, plenty of spare line, once i get the engine in, then i can make the last few bends to get it to the fuel pump. 

Looks great

Nice, Jerry.

All the Best,

Chip