Fuel lines-vapor lock

Don't get me wrong, I like my /6 DD. However, I think the /6 was designed by committee. The fuel pump is all the way on the other side of the engine from the carburetor.

First: I had a "vapor lock" problem that turned out to be the flex hose between the pump and the steel tank line collapsing when hot. Solved by putting a shorter length of hosing. I did not draw the hose real tight but left a little over ½ inch of give in it. No problems so far.

Second: The fuel line routing from the pump to the carb takes it along the front of the cylinder head, past the thermostat housing, and across the # 1 exhaust port. Whose idea was that? Try as I might, I can't find a route that is much safer. I made metal brackets that hold the fuel line a little farther away from these heat sources. I put high temp insulation along the line in some places where I could not get far enough away from the heat source to suit my eyeball estimates.

Clothes pins et al attached to the tubing act as a heat sink that absorbs heat from the line. The increased surface area assists in heat dissipation. It's a third world engineering trick that often works.

I haven't tried working up an intercooler for the fuel (a PS cooler looks like a good candidate), but if the situation is not corrected that is the direction I'd take.