Plumbing In Power
Plumbing is one of those steps that shouldn't be rushed. Most vehicles require plumbing for the fuel, coolant, and brakes at the very least. Since I showed you most of the coolant plumbing before this month, I'll concentrate on the fuel system and how easy it was to assemble with AN fittings and hose from Russell Performance. AN fittings are derived from a military standard used by the Army and Navy, thus AN. AN fittings have a 37-degree flared metal fitting that forms a metal-to-metal seal where no sealant or Teflon tape is needed. AN fittings are distinguished by size, such as -6 ("dash six") or -8 ("dash eight"). These represent 1/16-inch increments of the tube outside diameter (od). Example: a -8 AN fitting has a 1/2-inch od (8 x 1/16 = 1/2).
As the buggy is just about done, we took a long weekend to tear it completely apart for final welding and a coat of paint. Like Tom Sawyer, I convinced the local college four-wheeling club, the Poly Goats, to come help me work on the buggy. This involved many hours of exciting Scotch-Brite polishing to get the chassis clean and prepped for welding and paint. Thanks, guys. After rolling it over a few times for welding by Drew Burroughs of Poly Performance, we dragged it into an empty part of the shop and laid down multiple coats (and 40 cans) of semigloss black Duplicolor paint. We didn't prime the chassis because we plan on sandblasting and powdercoating it down the road, after a few wheeling trips to determine any changes we'd like to make.
Then just screw on the hose...
Then just screw on the hose end socket in the counterclockwise direction (lefthand thread). This step is what gets most rookies messed up. Screw on the end until you can see the hose bottom-out inside the fitting.
Add a small dab of the Russell...
Add a small dab of the Russell Precision Hose and Fitting Assembly Lube to the outer end of the fitting that will thread into the hose, and begin final assembly, this time in the clockwise (standard righthand thread) direction.
Though this is easy to assemble,...
Though this is easy to assemble, you may wish to clamp the fitting in a vise to get a good hold on it. Because the fittings are aluminum I used a rag to protect it. Then just tighten the fitting until they bottom-out or leave just the slightest gap between the two parts.
A piece of advice I was given...
A piece of advice I was given by the Russell engineers was to install one end first, route the hose, and then mark and cut the other end. This ensures that the line is the correct length.
In addition to the ProClassic...
In addition to the ProClassic lines, I also used Russell's street-legal Teflon-lined, coated stainless steel brake lines. These lines were used wherever a flexible union was needed. I had the brake lines routed down the suspension links and then to a T-union where they split off to each wheel end.
To mount the plumbing I used...
To mount the plumbing I used a bunch of zip ties. These are easy to cut and move if need be, and they won't cut into the plumbing. When the lines ran near the exhaust, I used some industrial hose insulation (the orange stuff in the photo). I also used the new Poly Performance line clamps that are made of polyurethane and hold different-size hoses and brake lines for routing along tubes and link arms. (See more about them in this month's New Products department.)