Un-race-car-ing the 68 Chevelle

[yellomalibu]

I should have started a "project car update" thread sooner, but I'll kick it off today with the fuel system.
The plastic fuel cell kept leaking in the trunk. Meaning that 1. I always smelled gas vapors in the car, 2. that I didn't have a usable trunk, and 3. that I only had a fuel capacity of 8 gallons.

I didn't upload any pics of the fuel cell removal - but now it looks like a trunk with gas stains in it and a few extra holes than the factory intended.

Here's the new tank I got from NPD in Ocala. I have already installed the new sender (with a 1/4 return line in case I ever need it in the future).


...and a close up of the sender: You can see the factory vent tubes on the lower left. I may edit this post later and show how they look installed with vent hoses clipped to the underside of the car, but I don't have that photo yet.


Since I have no idea what I did with the old straps and fasteners when I ditched the old gas tank several years ago, I had to buy all new. I put a coat of "cast iron" paint on the straps to help prevent rust.


The old fuel system had a fuel pump in the trunk next to the fuel cell, then out the forward part of hte trunk floor with -8 steel braided line and over the rear axle it coupled to a 1/2 aluminum fuel line. To get the 3/8 rubber fuel line connected from the new sender to the 1/2 aluminum line, I installed a -8 to -6 adapter, then put the rubber fuel line into a -6 fitting.



Up to the front, removing the fuel pump block off plate - getting ready to install a new (to me) carter "strip" pump. To the left, you can see the filter attached to the 1/2 aluminum line and the 90 degree fitting that goes up to the pressure regulator.


...

[yellomalibu]

Here is the fuel pump installed. I rotated (re-clocked) the bottom of the fuel pump "one hole" to get the inlet and outlet where I wanted them. Here, you can see I have the fuel line disconnected from the filter to help me decide what fittings I need to plumb it.


I decided I needed the two 1/4" pipe to -8 adapters to go into the fuel pump; I could attach the existing 90 degree fitting directly to the outlet side of the fuel pump, and I needed to make a new line to go from the fuel filter to the inlet side of the pump - it would require a straight -8 fitting and a 45 degree -8 fitting and about a foot of braided hose. Here's how it came out:


and a bird's eye view:

[yellomalibu]

In some of those pics, you can see that I use electrical tape on the steel braided line to hold it in place when I'm cutting it - then I just leave it on when I spin the fitting onto the line. I probably should remove it once I get the fitting done, just for aesthetics ...

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm becoming more and more of a fan of mechanical pumps. Still, if you want to de-race your car, you need a rubber line from the tank to the pump.... oh and don't forget to use all red wire - for everything

[Deaf Bob]

Looks nice.
I'm with SBG on mechanical pumps..
Alot of guys run electric in their derby cars..
I noticed less problems with mechanicals
Yes I know guys do run them on street cars, I just never had a problem free one nor the power to need one..

[milner351]

I'm not a fan of the aluminum fuel line, I know it's light and easy to bend - but I've seen it crack and leak, which scares me - especially in close proximity to the headers.

[yellomalibu]

I'm not a fan of the aluminum fuel line, I know it's light and easy to bend - but I've seen it crack and leak, which scares me - especially in close proximity to the headers.

Honestly, that is a concern of mine and it is on the list of things to fix one day.

The budget is very tight on this thing... meaning that I rarely have any "spare" money to work on it. Most everything in this stage of the project was from my birthday present from my mom... she loves her "grand car".

I just looked on NPD's website - the factory 3/8 line costs as much as a 20' roll of -8 steel braided. Hmmm. About a hundred bucks either way.

[STINEY]

I rob the factory steel lines from cars and trucks I part out. The last 3/4 ton chevy donated a piece of line 12' long. Comes in handy at times.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Honestly, that is a concern of mine and it is on the list of things to fix one day.

The budget is very tight on this thing... meaning that I rarely have any "spare" money to work on it. Most everything in this stage of the project was from my birthday present from my mom... she loves her "grand car".

I just looked on NPD's website - the factory 3/8 line costs as much as a 20' roll of -8 steel braided. Hmmm. About a hundred bucks either way.

Soon this won't be true as I've used it up... but all of my fuel line is either red or green because Summit had an awesome sale on it several years ago

[yellomalibu]

Alright - here's where I tell on myself:

Earlier, I didn't post a pic of how the vent hoses look attached to the tank and tucked in their factory clip, because I didn't have them on the tank yet. - but I drove the car to the gas station and filled that 20 gallon tank all the way up anyway. Guess what? Fuel comes out of those vents when the tank is full and you park on a slight down hill slope. Ha! While I was out, I bought a foot of 1/2" and a foot of 1/4". Pictures forthcoming - as soon as my phone gets done sending them to my yahoo account.

OH- also - while I was at the parts store, my buddy hooked me up with a brass/ copper 4 row radiator. Another customer wanted to have an aluminum radiator in his Chevelle to match his Nova. Wasn't anything functionally wrong with the old 4 row ... $25.00 . I'll post a pic of that later, too. :-)

[squirrel]

good deal on the radiator, that's worth $30 as scrap metal

I got a length of 1/2" steel tube from my local GM dealer years ago...they used it on motorhomes, and other big block equipped trucks to run from the tank to the fuel pump. Shipping would be a bear.

[yellomalibu]

good deal on the radiator, that's worth $30 as scrap metal

I got a length of 1/2" steel tube from my local GM dealer years ago...they used it on motorhomes, and other big block equipped trucks to run from the tank to the fuel pump. Shipping would be a bear.

I mentioned this somewhere else on this board, but the current 3 row I have in the car came from a junk yard about 15 years ago - it was also about $25 (I don't think the junk yard man realized it was practically brand new). It has started to leak recently. I can scrap the old one after I'm sure the "new" one works well.

[yellomalibu]

Yesterday I decided to make a scrap yard run (to get rid of some of the ugly scrap that had been accumulating in my yard). Before I went, I wanted to install the new (to me) radiator to make sure it was "good", before scrapping my old leaky one.

Some alterations had to be done to make the beast of a radiator fit. Apparently, the factory radiator was wider on the passenger side than on the driver's side, so I had to make a small cut and bend the radiator cover to allow for the big 4 row tank. Since it no longer actually retains the radiator from moving toward the engine/ fan, I simply ran a zip tie through the top of the radiator and around the core support. It's black, and mostly covered by the radiator cover - so it doesn't look bad.





Before I scrapped the old one, I wanted to get this "new" one nice and hot and up to pressure - to be sure it didn't leak.

I don't have a thermostat in the car yet, only the restrictor. I didn't install the twin 12" electric fans and I also don't have a shroud, as you can see from that picture, but I couldn't get it over 170 degrees in my driveway. Including holding the rpms up to a couple grand for a minute or so at a time. ... So I took it for a drive. All it did was get cooler than 170. It stayed between 150 and 160. Granted, it was only about 80 degrees yesterday, and overcast and breezy thanks to TS Sandy being nearby... but still - I think it cools well, and it never did leak.

[kyhunter89]

Im glad to see progress on this car.

[SuperBuickGuy]

good problem to have