OK, so you made it into the 21st century with your powerplant, but you may be left in the dust because of your fuel delivery system. It’s common to see a new EFI system in classic trucks, all you have to do is go to a car show to see LS, mod, and EFI injected kits fitted inside old iron. What I have been noticing is a lack of attention to the fuel line, pump, and fitting department. This doesn’t mean that all installations looked bad, but rather the opposite, they were pretty good. I have seen a few that used sub-par, low-pressure hose to feed a 45psi EFI pressure line and were begging for problems—not that we would ever wish anyone’s hard work burn to the ground from a bad fuel line or hose end that was not fastened properly. This is why I would like to share with you some common practices that I have seen in race cars and street driven vehicles alike.
If burning your truck down to the ground doesn’t grab your attention, then how about losing precious horsepower from your power plant? Or worse, leaning your engine out? All of the aforementioned can happen from under sizing your fuel lines and thinking your motor doesn’t need that much fuel. Well, maybe it doesn’t, or does it? I have to ask you this: Do you plan on adding nitrous oxide, turbo, or a supercharger in the future? If so, why would you go with the bare minimum when it comes to the fuel line and fuel pump? Paying a little extra now to eliminate doing everything over again can save a lot of cash in the future. You may think that adding Boost or nitrous is the only reason to upgrade your fuel lines and fuel pump, but higher horsepower, naturally aspirated engines can and will take up more fuel than your truck’s stock 5⁄16-inch hard line. What I have done in the past is upgrade the stock fuel line from 5⁄16-inch to 3⁄8-inch, and in high horsepower engine applications used ½-inch line. The 3⁄8-inch hard line is equivalent to -06 AN hose and a ½-inch hard line is equivalent to -08 AN hose. Have you ever heard of gallons per hour? Gallons per hour is a measurement of how much fuel volume or flow can get through the fuel pump, fuel lines, filter, and fittings in one hour. For example, an A100 Aeromotive fuel pump is rated at 900 lb/hr but if the fuel lines and fitting were all 5⁄16-inch instead of 3⁄8-inch the rating would be significantly lower. Maybe this analogy will help, think about a garden hose that has a closed nozzle at the end of it. Inside the garden hose is 45 psi of water, now think about a fire hose with a much larger nozzle with the same 45 psi behind it. Now place two giant above-ground pools next to each other and see which fills up faster with water when the nozzles are open. Of course, the fire hose wins and it is not because of the 45 psi but because of the vast amount of volume that the larger hose could deliver.
As most of you know by now,...
As most of you know by now, I’ve been working on my ’59 Chevy Apache at Deuces Wild Hotrods and Customs Inc in Fillmore, California. RJ Plent and I started off by taping the bottom of the 20-gallon Aeromotive Eliminator Stealth fuel tank so that it wouldn’t get scratched. The tank measures 24x20x10 and is a great solution for a truck such as mine with EFI. I realized the tank won’t fit all classic trucks because of the 10-inch height, but for those of you with C-notched frames and raised bed floors, the tank can be a perfect fit. Tanks Inc and Yogi’s also offer EFI fuel tanks that can work for your application, but remember that EFI fuel tanks need vents to allow the tank to breath with larger fuel pumps.
On the ’55-59 Chevy truck...
On the ’55-59 Chevy truck frames you will have a large cross member running right where the tank needs to set. I like to cut it out and simply move it back to the end of the frame.
Using an air hammer with a...
Using an air hammer with a flat-bladed chisel end, the rivets came off with ease.
After removing the crossmember,...
After removing the crossmember, RJ cleaned it up using a 60-grit sand disc so that we could weld it back on the rear of the frame.
We planed on finishing the...
We planed on finishing the boxing on the frame but first we wanted to weld in the nuts for the bumper bolts. This way we could simply bolt in the bumper brackets without having to fish the nuts in the end of the frame.
Next, we used large blocks...
Next, we used large blocks of wood to get an estimate of where the tank was going to sit.
Since I planned on moving...
Since I planned on moving the bed floor up 4 inches or so, I can shove the tank up as high as the fittings will allow. Remember to allow room for the fill line and some breathing room for all the fittings.
RJ measured the Aeromotive...
RJ measured the Aeromotive fuel tank so that we could make a bracket on the bottom to support it.
As RJ was making the bottom...
As RJ was making the bottom fuel tray I welded in a piece of square tubing to give support to the frame where we cut the old crossmember out. This crossmember would also be used later to support the tank from moving.
RJ used 1⁄8-inch 2x2 L bracket...
RJ used 1⁄8-inch 2x2 L bracket to make a cradle for the bottom of the tank. Before we TIG welded the bracket, RJ cross-measured it to check if it was straight.
Then putting on safety gear...
Then putting on safety gear I tack welded the ends with a TIG welder.
RJ is no stranger to fabrication...
RJ is no stranger to fabrication and he was listening when I told him we should leave room for some rubber insulation mat to go between the frame cradle and the fuel tank. RJ then used two paint sticks per each corner of the fuel tank to allow for rubber mat to be placed down later. Aeromotive recommends that the tank have a slight gap to the metal due to chassis flex and tank movement. If too tight to the frame, the fuel tank can become flexed too much and develop stress cracks around the weld. The rubber also prevents the steel from rubbing through the tank.
After brain storming with...
After brain storming with John Meadows and RJ from Deuces Wild, we came up with this little bracket. John made four of them while I ground down the bottom of the frame prepping for welding a 1/4-inch plate to tap into.
The brackets were then TIG...
The brackets were then TIG welded on the fuel tank cradle.
Eight pilot holes were then...
Eight pilot holes were then drilled into the cradle so that we could align the 1⁄8-inch spacers that were to be welded onto the frame.