Fuel Lines

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Joe Rodriguez

Joe Rodriguez

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2016
Messages
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Location
Longwood FL
I just bought a 1973 Plymouth Valiant. It has the 318 V8 with roughly 95,400 miles.The car sat for many years and the previous owner got it in running condition (rough). He replaced the gas tank and had someone cheaply rebuild the carburetor. The car ran fine but pressing the pedal too quickly caused a delay in acceleration. I got that issue fixed and the car starts and runs great. I understand/was told that the fuel lines in these older cars cannot handle newer gas and will eventually start fail. does anyone know or have an idea of which lines i can replace to prevent any issue before it starts to occur......well it may have already started as I can smell gas for days after filling the tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hello Joe, and welcome aboard.
The problem in the fuel line is not the steel lines as much as the rubber hoses that connect various parts - tank to line, line to fuel pump, pump to filter...
I would start by trying to determine why you can smell raw gas for days. See if you can determine where it is coming from and look for any seepage. Smelling it for days is not normal. Look closely around your fuel sending unit at the tank, it may be that the O ring has deteriorated or dried out and leaking from sitting so long.
Do you still have the charcoal can set up in the car? Does it have the original gas cap on it, or some aftermarket type? Does it always smell of gas, or only after filling the tank?
Now, to answer your specific question. The most economical method would be to purchase new steel lines, either pre-bent or straight lines and make your own bends and replace the connecting hoses with new hose designed for ethanol blends.
C
 
You could also do what I did and replace the entire supply line with 3/8 nylon12 fuel line, as it's rated for new fuels as well as for the pressures of EFI.
 
X 2. My Rubber lines were horrible. Very inexpensive repair. While you have those off, take the time and blow out the fuel line to insure there is no trash left. Will make a huge difference. While I was doing this, I noticed the tank itself had a small leak so I replaced this also.
Good luck
 
After re-reading your post and taking note that the tank was changed out... take a real close look at the sending unit. The new O rings that typically come with these units are notorious for not sealing which results in a seepage of gas.
C
 
clhyer said:
After re-reading your post and taking note that the tank was changed out... take a real close look at the sending unit. The new O rings that typically come with these units are notorious for not sealing which results in a seepage of gas.
C
Click to expand...

Yep, and if that ends up being the leak there are guys on here that have good ones.
 
clhyer said:
Hello Joe, and welcome aboard.
The problem in the fuel line is not the steel lines as much as the rubber hoses that connect various parts - tank to line, line to fuel pump, pump to filter...
I would start by trying to determine why you can smell raw gas for days. See if you can determine where it is coming from and look for any seepage. Smelling it for days is not normal. Look closely around your fuel sending unit at the tank, it may be that the O ring has deteriorated or dried out and leaking from sitting so long.
Do you still have the charcoal can set up in the car? Does it have the original gas cap on it, or some aftermarket type? Does it always smell of gas, or only after filling the tank?
Now, to answer your specific question. The most economical method would be to purchase new steel lines, either pre-bent or straight lines and make your own bends and replace the connecting hoses with new hose designed for ethanol blends.
C
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advise. It looks very clean around the sending unit area, all the way up to the carburetor. Unfortunately I was not able to find any area that appeared to be leaking. The car is pretty rust free except for the trunk area. The rust area is about the size of a medium pizza. I noticed that the gas tank straps are attached to the only are of the car that has a lot of rust. It looks like the passenger side strap may have failed because of the strap, in turn possibly making a hole in the gas tank.
 
clhyer said:
Hello Joe, and welcome aboard.
The problem in the fuel line is not the steel lines as much as the rubber hoses that connect various parts - tank to line, line to fuel pump, pump to filter...
I would start by trying to determine why you can smell raw gas for days. See if you can determine where it is coming from and look for any seepage. Smelling it for days is not normal. Look closely around your fuel sending unit at the tank, it may be that the O ring has deteriorated or dried out and leaking from sitting so long.
Do you still have the charcoal can set up in the car? Does it have the original gas cap on it, or some aftermarket type? Does it always smell of gas, or only after filling the tank?
Now, to answer your specific question. The most economical method would be to purchase new steel lines, either pre-bent or straight lines and make your own bends and replace the connecting hoses with new hose designed for ethanol blends.
C
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advise, the new lines are on my to do list. I appreciate your help.
 
Tadams said:
X 2. My Rubber lines were horrible. Very inexpensive repair. While you have those off, take the time and blow out the fuel line to insure there is no trash left. Will make a huge difference. While I was doing this, I noticed the tank itself had a small leak so I replaced this also.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advise, the new lines are on my to do list. I appreciate your help.
 
clhyer said:
After re-reading your post and taking note that the tank was changed out... take a real close look at the sending unit. The new O rings that typically come with these units are notorious for not sealing which results in a seepage of gas.
C
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advise, that area was bone dry. I think I know where the leak is but I will get a closer look when i take off the gas tank. I appreciate your help.
 
Keep us posted Joe. Do you notice the gas fumes linger for days with the tank full? Do you notice it for days if the tank is only 1/4 full?
Where do you suspect the leak?
C
 
clhyer said:
Keep us posted Joe. Do you notice the gas fumes linger for days with the tank full? Do you notice it for days if the tank is only 1/4 full?
Where do you suspect the leak?
C
Click to expand...
It looks very clean around the sending unit area, all the way up to the carburetor. Unfortunately I was not able to find any area that appeared to be leaking. The car is pretty rust free except for the trunk area. The rust area is about the size of a medium pizza. I noticed that the gas tank straps are attached to the only area of the car that has the rust. It looks like the passenger side gas tank strap may have failed because of the rust, in turn possibly making a hole in the gas tank.
 
That sounds like a long shot to me Joe. However much weight on the straps causing it to fail would have been from the gas & tank itself. And you said it has a new tank. Can you get a pic of that area for us?
C
 
clhyer said:
That sounds like a long shot to me Joe. However much weight on the straps causing it to fail would have been from the gas & tank itself. And you said it has a new tank. Can you get a pic of that area for us?
C
Click to expand...
I will get a picture up as soon as I get home tonight. Thanks again. This forum is not only helpful but supportive!
 
Look at the lock ring also they really do not seal well with the after market rings, re use the old one.
 
I think I am going to order a trunk bottom replacement piece then have someone put it in.

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I would do away with the spare tire tub with a ribbed piece of sheet steel. It is cheaper and will help you down the road when you inevitably mini tub and have to figure out how to run the exhaust with the factory tank.
 
Yeah, I sold him the rear glass. If you Need a new headliner those cars are best to do with the rear glass out.
 
R4Sedan said:
Yeah, I sold him the rear glass. If you Need a new headliner those cars are best to do with the rear glass out.
Click to expand...
i don't think some of it's previous owners really cared about the quality workmanship but I am methodically correcting and fixing it. So far I have fixed all of the lights on the car, driver window, carburetor, driver door panel, I re-keyed the driver door lock (it was not keyed the same as the ignition or passenger door and it was so easy to re-key by myself), put in a radio and speakers...but I have to pace myself. "Goldie" is on a 7 year restoration schedule :)
 
Good one . You might want to post how you rekeyed your lock for those of us who don't know how.
Yote
 
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