You know how everyone says dont use the red fuel line, X X X X ------THERE RIGHT!! ------ X X X X I was putting my intake back on and bent the fuel block out of the way, I heard a Crack. I smacked the other two lines with a wrench and they shattered too. This is after 3 years on a car with no hood.
they do suck. I could't even get mine to seal. And I bought the expensive stuff that is braded inside too. Used black hose ant took care of the problem. I wish I had heard it sucked before I used it.
Just be glad it they didn't break while it was running and catch fire!! They look cool, but even at the possible risk of fire i'll pass.. Plain old black rubber hose for me.
Running the red fuel line is fine, but you have to swap it out with new line on a regular basis. I ran it all summer, but can not tell you how many times I replaced it.I put it on even knowing its history of failure, never had a problem with it sealing , and it never cracked on me, because I did not give it a chance too.....But I think I will use the black fuel line on my current project, because it gets pricey to constantly change it.By the look of your fuel lines in your pic, they were long past due for a changing, the sun really attacks them and dries them out..............just my opinion and how I run them..Littleman..............It is wiser to run the real stuff or fake it with the hard line with the red over it as suggested above, but it can be run if your smart about it and stay on top of it.....Oh ya, always carry a fire extinguisher no matter what your fuel lines are made up of....
Today's fuel formulas are real hard on the red stuff and most other fuel line. My buddy said the red stuff really wasn't all that great in the old days either.
In 1958 I used those pretty red fuel lines to my tri-carbed 55 Chevy. Carbs flooded, caught on fire and melted those pretty red lines which really got the fire going. Luckily my car was parked directly across from a fire station. whew!! I think running the red lines over steel is a good approach. Ol Blue
[I had red lines on my coupe for a while. I remeber I was sitting in line at the drags.. IT was like 110 out in Palmdale. SO Hot I wanted to die. Then one sprung a leak and was spraying fuel all over my hot engine. Lucky no fire.. No more red fuel line for me..
It's the fuel that attacks the plastic and dries it out. That's why the stuff dries out on cars with enclosed engine bays, like a Tri-5 Chevy. It isn't very heat resistant either...engine heat will contribute to drying them out. -Brad
Yes you are correct, but during one of the times I was swapping them out. I trimmed a peice and tossed about a six inches of the new on my concrete sidewalk in front of the garage.forgot to pick it up, saw it their about four weeks later, picked it up and it had lost alot of its color and was brittle and this was a peice that had no fuel run through it.So I did not mention the fact that the fuel attackes it, just thought that was a given with most all rubber products over time...............Littleman
Cars that have shitty old fuel lines look bad. Cars that are on fire look bad. Do it once, do it right.
A couple questions? What is the ID of that stuff? If you fit it over your steel line and then flare said steel line, how do you replace it? And if it sucks, does it suck in the direction of flow? Towards the carb or away from it? Maybe this would account for fuel flow problems? I know my sense of humor SUCKS, But it's the only one I've got.
I dont really like that stuff, but my friends uses it on his A from the fuel block to the carbs, but when it starts to discolor he puts new ones on.
When I said I couldn't get it to seal, I misspoke. It did seal for a couple days. Then I went out and found it leaking. The fuel was tinted red from the hose being eaten away. I'm surprised it is still on the market as sue happy as people are.
It amazes me that anyone would use anything but steel, or copper, with pressurized fuel(after the fuel pump). Strange what's done to compromise safety for 'the look'. Actually, an all metal setup looks better anyhow. While on the subject, when was the last time the fire extinguisher was checked? What? Don't have one? Oh well...................
What part of that don't you belive. In that 3yr the car has run over 35,000 miles, including Bonneville, Paso, Vegas, Chicago a couple times, and frequent trips to see my pals in Tulsa .. ...I live in Texas. The fuel block is bolted to the intake and there is no movement of the lines so it never got flexed or leaked. I have heard the stories and had every intention of changing it on a regular basis, but got consumed with other upgrades. I did have a length of regular fuel hose in my tool box just in case this stuff gave me trouble on the road, now it's on the car. Littleman, I do have a fire extinguisher in the cab, within reach at all times. I hope I never have to use it. Rashy, The sucking derives not so much from the direction of flow, but the general longevity and quality of the hose. The red line was my only fast transaction with Charlie at Vintage Speed by the way.
Well, Its traditional...... In some respects its like an old Victorian house. You can yank off all the gingerbread cause its a pain in the ass to scrape and paint, or you can keep it and pay attention to upkeep and maintenance and more frequent replacement. There's not one of our cars that can match a new one for durability but we like old cars - Thats why we do this I just got my red fuel line UPS yesterday, and it AND the "piece of shit" red spark plug wires are going on Monday.
I carry a fire extinguisher in all my cars, it only takes once to burn a car down. A friend's Model A was running low on tranny fluid and it foamed up, spilling onto the headers catching fire and melting the plug wires, had they not had a fire extinguisher, things could have gotten a lot worse. Plus there was that time when my Chevette burned to the ground due to faulty radio wiring.
It ain't about tradition, it's about safety. Cheap-ass plastic fuel lines ain't no more 'traditional' than steel.
Its NOT about safety either. Its about calculated risk . If its all about safety, then post a picture of the airbags youv'e installed on your rod. None of our cars are as safe as a new one. Thats just a fact. So what we do is a judgement call in each case. I'll run red fuel lines cause I'll keep them up and am willing to take the risk for the look I'm after . and if you're honest with yourself, you're doing the same thing. We all are - we're rodders. We are each willing to accept certain risks for the fun of driving a rod. I tend to be more concerned about shoddy welds, half assed throttle return spring setups and shakey brakes.
I am just making sure that you understand that my post was not a dig at you, but just of my personal exp. with the stuff, I t is good to hear that you have a extinguisher, we all should have them no matter what we are doing..So what did you replace the lines with? I personally picked the red lines, because of the artistic side of me , colors are important to me and their placement. I only build a car the way I want to do it, and really do not concern myself with the way they did anything back when.......Littleman
So it was like that hot chick that all your friends said was bad news, but you still dated her anyway. Its hard to resist a hot chick.
I ran the red fuel line on a lot of cars in the 63-66 era. Never had trouble. But I was always checking on it, if it got the least bit discolored, I replaced it. More for looks, but I knew it was short life stuff. I also used some of the crappy red plug wires. It was OK, but also didn't last real good. I just liked the look of the red on my flatmotors and nailheads. I haven't used that stuff in nearly 40 years now.
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