Clamp a male AN brass fitting in a vice to fixture each hose end. Unless your first initial is “C” and your last name is “The Barbarian”, you will need a vise.
The shift from carburetor to EFI brings with it an eightfold increase in fuel pressure: from 7 psi to 58 psi. Unfortunately, the Camaro’s preexisting plumbing relied on compression fittings rated to 15 psi at best. The old stuff had to go. Another issue: funds are getting tight as we near the end of this project update. To finally get this car running, we decided to install Earl’s Super Stock hose and hose ends in lieu of braided steel line. Despite its race ready 250 psi rating, Super Stock plumbing costs less than half of braided hose and matching hose ends. Super Stock hose is also extremely lightweight. For every reason, we pulled the trigger.
There’s a catch. A high-performance alternative to common push lock hose, Earl’s Super Stock plumbing is NOT easy to assemble. You can very easily push the hose 95% of the way onto its respective hose end. That last 5%, however, requires a ton of effort. “Push” is the understatement of the century. Maybe they should call it “Hernia Lock” hose. The force required to assemble Super Stock hose is comparable to an M1A1 Abrams tank “knocking” on your back door. The good news? Since it’s so hard to assemble, it’ll never come apart.
For fun, we even experimented with pulling off the hose. We sacrificed an 8-inch section of hose and took turns pulling with all of our might. We simply could not pull the hose off, regardless of human effort. Despite how it might sound, we’re not trying to discourage use of this product. To the contrary, our goal is to help you understand that yes you CAN put together Earl’s Super Stock hose and fittings. Here are some pointers to make the process easier:
1) If you’ve never assembled Super Stock hose and hose ends, order some extra sleeves. You might need them for do-overs.
2) Just before assembly, chill your fittings in the freezer. Heat up each hose end with a heat gun or hair dryer.
3) Get a friend to help. One person works the hair dryer, the other pushes like ALL GET OUT.
4) Clamp a male AN brass fitting in a vice to fixture each hose end. Unless your first initial is “C” and your last name is “The Barbarian,” you will need a vise.
5) With the exception of the last 1/16 to 3/32-inch of tolerance, it’s very easy to push the hose onto the fitting. However…
6) …If you can wiggle the sleeve at all, you’re not done. Keep pushing and twisting and heating until the hose “pops” forward that last little bit. Then twist and push just a little more until the hose and sleeve are fully bottomed against the hose end.
7) Assembling Earl’s Super Stock hose and hose ends is not complicated at all. It simply requires a good amount of force.
With our fuel line built from end to end, we tackled the final mounting of our custom fuel tank. Early planning made this task simple and rewarding. It’s all about the details. We had ordered a heat-resistant, medium durometer rubber liner. The goal here is to isolate the tank from its steel cradle. Ordered from McMaster-Carr, the liner material has that orangey “I belong on a SpaceX rocket” vibe.
We also sourced a special fitting from Russell Performance to adapt the GM fuel pump module to our -6 AN race hose. The unique, two-piece fitting works as a clamp with an O-ring seal. Installation is easy: Lube up the fitting’s internal o-ring, pop it onto the module’s plastic nipple, and lock it down. Look up part number 644120. Dimensions are 3/8” to -6AN.
The final touch to our comprehensive fuel system is an innovative tank vent and baffle system by II Much Fabrication. Your fuel tank needs to breathe. The II Much design replaces pumped fuel with fresh, filtered air. Without it, your fuel pump works overtime to oppose suction. Another issue: many a street car has been black flagged for spraying fuel on track. This is especially true on older cars with vented caps. The II Much Fabrication design captures errant fuel and allows it to drain back into the tank. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of of a proper vent and baffle system for a serious track day car.
Our freshly coated headers are on the way back fromJet Hot. That leaves us just enough time to pressurize and test this fuel system. It’s also time to give Holley a call and discuss a baseline calibration.
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