Plumbing for a Dominator

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paulclark

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I'm bringing back to life a 67 Dart bigblock racecar that was built in the 90s. The builder was running a 1150 Dominator, so I've sourced a couple different size Dominators to start with.

My question: when I see pictures of Dominator installation there's a lot of fuel plumbing going on, much more than I'm used to with the AFBs and AVSs on my smallblock cars. The car has a steel fuel line that appears on the front of the engine like a stock car, except for being larger diameter and the fuel pump being in the trunk. With a Carter carb I'd connect the supply line and go, but this thing seems to have a lot more going on.

What lines do I need to make a Dominator run? Is there an installation manual for them that I'm overlooking?

Second question: call it cosmetic, but all the Dominator installations I see are covered with that anodized blue and red stuff. It looks great and clean, but modern. Since the car was originally built with as many period mopar parts as possible, I'd like to pretend it was built in the sixties. Can I just run conventional steel lines or is there something modern thats better?

maymotormockup1.jpg
 
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That dominator is probably overkill on that motor, but if it runs and you want to be "period" then go for it. The availability of billet stuff has been relatively recent. As to plumbing, you are probably looking at modern race motors that really need a Dominator. These motors need a lot of fuel. They need a good electric fuel pump supplying more fuel than the motor needs at low speed, so they have a regulator to bleed off the extra fuel through a return line back to tank. At high speed it works well, supplying all the fuel it now needs. I hope I explained that OK.
 
Red/blue anodized AN fittings and stainless braided hoses have been around since the '60s, so the stuff is not exactly "modern". You would have seen it on top-end race cars back then. It gradually filtered all the way down to the street machines in the '70s-'80s. So it's totally appropriate for use on your car. A race car of that era will have an electric fuel pump out back, a big filter or two, a regulator, and possibly even a cool can. And, yes some even had a bypass regulator with even more plumbing.
 
You can wipe off the ugly red and blue anodizing with laquer thinner.
 
Great info, thanks!

That dominator is probably overkill on that motor, but if it runs and you want to be "period" then go for it. The availability of billet stuff has been relatively recent. As to plumbing, you are probably looking at modern race motors that really need a Dominator. These motors need a lot of fuel. They need a good electric fuel pump supplying more fuel than the motor needs at low speed, so they have a regulator to bleed off the extra fuel through a return line back to tank. At high speed it works well, supplying all the fuel it now needs. I hope I explained that OK.

It may well be. Racecar stories are like fish stories, so I do take the PO's accounts as a level of mythology with a generous pinch of salt. That makes a lot of sense with an oversized pump for a larger motor, then needing a return. Sounds like a return line is likely not necessary, and I don't see one plumbed, so I'll start from there.


Red/blue anodized AN fittings and stainless braided hoses have been around since the '60s, so the stuff is not exactly "modern". You would have seen it on top-end race cars back then. It gradually filtered all the way down to the street machines in the '70s-'80s. So it's totally appropriate for use on your car. A race car of that era will have an electric fuel pump out back, a big filter or two, a regulator, and possibly even a cool can. And, yes some even had a bypass regulator with even more plumbing.

Ah - top fuel you're exactly right! I remember painting those details on a Revell top fuel dragster model as a kid. Makes total sense that would filter down to the track and then to the street.


I'm not trying to be picky about resto details, but I do find that if everything is from the same time window that it 'fits together' in a good way. This car doesn't have historical notoriety, it's just a slice of a certain time. The plan is to gently finish the build as it would have been done at the time, and wind up with a fun, reliable vintage racecar that I can take to the local strip and run passes on test and tune day for nostalgia fun. Not interested in building it up to modern levels, nor preserving the exact form it was in. It was originally built as a streetfighter, an eliminator lookalike for the builder's smallblock cruiser, built from a stripped body on the way to the crusher. It was not originally intended for the track, but when the owner got busted he pulled the headlights and began to make upgrades to make it track-legal. As such the car will be more streetworthy (lights, putting the dash back together) but also to finish the race details that were never done, like the trunk hinges, etc. Most of the car's races were won on the street, it has little actual track time, so I'll need to make sure it's really up to snuff to pass tech and not be a hazard. I've posted a thread on the car in the resto forum, so I won't go into that here. But that's what I'm aiming for.
 
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With today's alcohol-enhanced fuels, a return-bypass regulator is a good idea no matter what. It absolutely prevents "vapor lock" if done correctly. Cool fuel recirculates constantly. I put a system on my totally "street" 340 and it solved a bunch of problems.
 
Oh interesting, I hadn't considered the change in fuels but that makes a lot of sense.
 
Really? To my knowledge anodizing only comes off with acid... or oven cleaner (which is acid :) )

Not from the fittings I've used... I hate the blue/red look. Took it all off of my F100 project since I was going for a 60's war surplus AN look. Came off of all my race cars, too. Mostly Earl's and Aeroquip stuff IIRC.
 
I'm bringing back to life a 67 Dart bigblock racecar that was built in the 90s. The builder was running a 1150 Dominator, so I've sourced a couple different size Dominators to start with.

My question: when I see pictures of Dominator installation there's a lot of fuel plumbing going on, much more than I'm used to with the AFBs and AVSs on my smallblock cars. The car has a steel fuel line that appears on the front of the engine like a stock car, except for being larger diameter and the fuel pump being in the trunk. With a Carter carb I'd connect the supply line and go, but this thing seems to have a lot more going on.

What lines do I need to make a Dominator run? Is there an installation manual for them that I'm overlooking?

Second question: call it cosmetic, but all the Dominator installations I see are covered with that anodized blue and red stuff. It looks great and clean, but modern. Since the car was originally built with as many period mopar parts as possible, I'd like to pretend it was built in the sixties. Can I just run conventional steel lines or is there something modern thats better?

View attachment 1715364664
 
To do this right you need to feed that monster. Your line from the pump needs to go to a pressure regulator with 5 ports. 1 port is "in" fuel flow. 1 port is the "fuel return line". Make this the same size as your supply line. Two ports go to the carb fuel bowls. Your last port goes to the fuel pressure gauge. Mount this gauge "outside " your car. Do not run a gas line inside the cabin.... You will have to use some sort of covered " NHRA approved" line and fittings to race this car. NHRA only alowes 6 inches of rubber line in the whole system. Check out peoples cars pics here and you'll see how to do this.
 
...You will have to use some sort of covered " NHRA approved" line and fittings to race this car. NHRA only alowes 6 inches of rubber line in the whole system. Check out peoples cars pics here and you'll see how to do this.
Could the whole system be done with AN-type S/S braided hose; Earl's, Aeroquip, etc...?
 
Yes it can. But there are some less cost ways of doing this now days. The S/S hose is around $10 a foot, the fittings run around $15 -$25 dollars a piece. You will need a dozen or more fittings plus hose. Some of these fittings have a flaired end on them where the hose enters others do not. Flaired ends are easier to assemble.
 
Will the modern "push on" hose and fittings work? We use lots of that on our dirt track cars that get banged around and even rolled quite often... but we don't have clutch explosions to worry about as a rule.
 
To do this right you need to feed that monster. Your line from the pump needs to go to a pressure regulator with 5 ports. 1 port is "in" fuel flow. 1 port is the "fuel return line". Make this the same size as your supply line. Two ports go to the carb fuel bowls. Your last port goes to the fuel pressure gauge. Mount this gauge "outside " your car. Do not run a gas line inside the cabin.... You will have to use some sort of covered " NHRA approved" line and fittings to race this car. NHRA only alowes 6 inches of rubber line in the whole system. Check out peoples cars pics here and you'll see how to do this.

Thisis very helpful, thank you! Now I'm making sense of what I'm seeing. And clearly, if my goal includes preserving the engine, then a lean condition is the last thing I ever want - so the return line seems vital. Thank you for this understanding. I found the below pic on the FBBO forum, showing exactly what you're saying. If anyone has other pics to recommend as good practice or vintage appearance, I'd appreciate it. Now for some forum searches on recommendations on regulators.

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/attachments/dominator-jpg.303429/
 
Thisis very helpful, thank you! Now I'm making sense of what I'm seeing. And clearly, if my goal includes preserving the engine, then a lean condition is the last thing I ever want - so the return line seems vital. Thank you for this understanding. I found the below pic on the FBBO forum, showing exactly what you're saying. If anyone has other pics to recommend as good practice or vintage appearance, I'd appreciate it. Now for some forum searches on recommendations on regulators.

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/attachments/dominator-jpg.303429/
Yeah but he didn't need those expensive 90° hose ends at the carb. Looks like if the hoses were not longer than they need to be, and the 45° fittings on the regulator were pointed in the right direction, it would be a straight shot into the carb.
 
This is a 3 port regulator with a gauge port on the regulator. Notice the gold Jiffy-Tite quick disconnects on the carb. Makes it a lot easier when changing jets. -8AN from the tank and -6AN to the bowls.

Install03.jpg
 
1/2 line from tank is my first thought.
 
I'm not sure that even needs a dominator of any size, much less an 1150. That's not even a 440. It's either a 383 or 400 I bet and probably not even a stroker if it was built in the 90s. It must be over carbureted to the point that it's drowning. I would try a different carburetor.
 
I'm not sure that even needs a dominator of any size, much less an 1150. That's not even a 440. It's either a 383 or 400 I bet and probably not even a stroker if it was built in the 90s. It must be over carbureted to the point that it's drowning. I would try a different carburetor.


Agree looks low deck, but if you are going to feed that carb I say 1/2 “.

It may drown it but not my issue! :lol:
 
Im a big fan of hard line. Not a dominator but you get the idea.

20190712_202611_zpsfdahodt1.jpg


-8 feed
-6 return

20190712_203541_zps7hjvs6x2.jpg


Let me see if i can find the pics of our dominator set up.

20171209_095539_zpspvao4azn.jpg


Twin 1050 dominators. The regulator sits on the tunnel ram in between the carbs, fuel in from the bottom, feed out each side and return out the side.

Let me see if i can find a shot of it in the car.

Before we added the return style regular. The new system has the return where the pressure gauge is in this pic.
This system is -10 feed.
-8 return.
20180206_204032_zpsbroq6txs.jpg
 
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I'm not sure that even needs a dominator of any size, much less an 1150. That's not even a 440. It's either a 383 or 400 I bet and probably not even a stroker if it was built in the 90s. It must be over carbureted to the point that it's drowning. I would try a different carburetor.

It's a 383 stroked (slightly) to 396, running Stage VII heads. Until it runs I won't know for sure, but it could be the killer built motor it was made out to be, or it might be a bunch of mismatched parts. I'm going to start slowly with close to what was supposedly the original combination, and then then adjust as it seems necessary. But agreed, that's a lot of carb for a low deck motor.
 
The Dominators I have are (I think) marine applications, they were on a hydroplane. What's the difference with a marine carb, is there a problem using it on a car?
 
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