How to . . . Body Shop Tips & Photo Gallery
Provided by Jeff Lilly Restorations.
| Steps 1-20 describe how we installed a new fuel pump and lines. And steps 20-36 will show you some of the tools and techniques we use for flaring and routing hydraulic lines for the clutch and brakes. |
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1. Our first project is to make saddle brackets to mount a fuel pump. We found a piece of tubing the size of the pump housing and cut out the same size curve in a block of wood. Then we squeezed a piece of 18 gauge metal between the two to form the saddle. |
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2. As you can see, it does a nice job. We then marked it and bent the ends to the correct angle on a metal brake, but a vise would work fine for this. |
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3. Then we welded the saddles to a 14 gauge mounting plate and rounded the corners. We also attached studs to the mounting plate for the fuel pump hold down brackets.
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4. We decided to mount the assembly to a four-link suspension system we built earlier. This was the ideal location because it was centered on the car and close to the fuel tank.
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5. We then cut a section out of the torque box so we could install a U-channel up against the floor to make the fuel line flush with the floor. This will also protect it from being squashed by a floor jack.
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6. We made the U-Channel wide enough to hold the fuel and brake lines.
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7. It pays to have the right tool for the job and that is particularly true when bending tubing. Here is our set of benders, along with sample bends. We marked these bends so we can use them as templates.
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8. For example, in this picture the straight tubing needs to be bent to go inside the existing line so we simply held up the appropriate template bend and transferred the mark for the bender.
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9. We could not find double clamps for two different sizes of tubing so we made our own by cutting up two clamps and welding them together.
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10. It pays to take the time to make the proper clamps and assure that everything is neat and straight, as seen here.
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11. Here you can see where the lines come out of the U-channel we made and head up through the fender apron. The fuel vent line goes straight up but we added a couple of minor bends to the supply line to make room for the hoses and fittings.
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12. We wrapped a piece of 18 gauge steel around this piece of tubing to shape the sides of a base plate for the lines to pass through.
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13. And then we made the base plate and tacked everything together on the top side of the fender apron.
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14. Here is another method for figuring out bends. We simply used a piece of 1/8th rod (red arrow) to test the layout and set the proper angle to avoid wasting tubing.
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15. Here you can see that we ran the fuel pump output lines through a bracket we made (red arrow) and attached to the frame. Notice that we used a stainless steel flex hose between the frame and pump to allow for minor vibrations..
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16. We also used a flex line on the input side, before connecting it to the fuel tank.
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17. And here is a view of the top of the tank showing the vent line.
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18. We used ´thru frame´ fittings (made by Godmans) to pass the lines through the frame.
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19. We made a splash shield to protect the lines from tire debris under the fenders.
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20. Here is a view of the hydraulic clutch reservoir, hidden up under the fender but still accessible for service.
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21. And here is a view from the engine compartment showing the master brake cylinder (#1), the hydraulic clutch cylinder (#2), and the fuel lines coming out of the pad (#3) we discussed in steps #12 and #13.
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22. Hydraulic lines are all about flaring tubing to handle the high pressure. We use this unit from Eastwood because it has a rotating head for various sizes and also makes double flares.
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23. Here is a close-up showing the double flare head we will be using on this project.
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24. And here is a sample of the double flare it produces.
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25. For stainless steel brake lines we use this Imperial unit to make the single flares because it has a roller tip that does not mar the surface.
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26. Here is an sample of that flare.
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27. Once installed the stainless ferrule fits precisely on this bubble flare.
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28. We use this Eastwood flare set (#11535) when we need to make flares on the vehicle.
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29. The slender flaring tool can go right up against the body panels in tight situations and it makes every type of flare you might need.
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30. Here is a double flare we made with this tool.
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31. And here is a metric bubble flare we made.
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32. And here is a push connection flare we made for a vacuum hoses.
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33. We use these copper gaskets between the fittings and flares on stainless steel brake lines so that we do not have to tweak the wrench so hard to get a good seal.
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34. Here you can see how the copper gasket conforms to the fitting to make a good seal.
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35. This picture shows you how we typically run various types of lines. Notice that they are all firmly attached to the body to prevent chaffing and in this case we will cover them with a trim panel to make them invisible.
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36. And up inside the engine compartment, the bulkhead fittings were placed for the best hose route and smoothest look possible. Water, Freon, power steering etc.
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Jeff Lilly Restorations
11125 F.M.1560 N
San Antonio, Texas
210-695-5151 - www.jefflilly.com
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