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Posted by: RAX 914 Mar 19 2015, 01:09 PM

I remember reading a post about people never having taken off their rocker panels and was wondering if there were anyone else with the original fuel lines in the tunnel.

I just ordered new SS lines from Tangerine today, but was curious if I'm one of the last holdouts having milked these things beyond reason. I haven't driven this car very much in the past 10 years, so it was never a priority to me, until now.

Thanks

Posted by: drgchapman Mar 19 2015, 01:19 PM

Nope, replaced them years ago in both cars

Posted by: mepstein Mar 19 2015, 01:22 PM

I replaced mine 2 years ago and was very glad I did. The plastic lines themselves were still ok but the cloth lines attached were falling apart. Much of the gas smell went away with all new lines. Cheap insurance for piece of mind.

Posted by: SLITS Mar 19 2015, 01:39 PM

Still have them. One of these days I will change them to SS.

Posted by: stugray Mar 19 2015, 01:41 PM

When I pulled the plastic lines from the tunnel I was suprised at how pliable and good condition they were in.
But as said above, all the other pieces that need to be replaced around them were getting questionable.

Posted by: jvmarino Mar 19 2015, 01:50 PM

When I restored my 914 back in the mid 90's, I replaced all of the flexible lines but left the rigid lines in place. Been driving about 1k mikes a year since then with no problems. Wasn't talked about at all back then.

I am sure if I was doing a full restoration now, it would be something worth spending the money on (since it isn't much), but not a major concern for me at the moment. Especially as I have carbs and the fuel is only being supplied at low pressure. Might be different if I was using a high PSI injection system.

Posted by: budk Mar 19 2015, 01:55 PM

You won't know that you need them until your car is on fire.

An ounce of prevention......

Posted by: gandalf_025 Mar 19 2015, 01:58 PM

Mine are still in the car, but since it hasn't run since 1988
I don't really think that counts.
They didn't seem hard or brittle when I tied them out
of the way last time.
I do have a set of Tangerine Stainless lines that will
go in when I get the car back.
Bought them at Hershey a few years ago when Chris
offered a deal on them.
Cheap insurance in my opinion.

Posted by: Jonathan Livesay Mar 19 2015, 02:03 PM

You are probably safe as long as there is no motor in the car.

Posted by: gandalf_025 Mar 19 2015, 02:10 PM

True.... But it should be coming back from paint this spring and
with my luck anything is possible......

I don't need a 914-6 Barbecue

Posted by: Ian Stott Mar 19 2015, 02:19 PM

Chris replaced mine with his stainless steel lines last summer while my car was at his shop, for me the feeling that it is done and one less thing I have to worry about is well worth the price, which I thought was very reasonable for a high quality product.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

Posted by: RAX 914 Mar 19 2015, 02:28 PM

Exactly, That's all I've thought about when I drive it and it makes the driving experience much less enjoyable.

Posted by: somd914 Mar 19 2015, 02:46 PM

Went stainless years ago...

Posted by: Shadowfax Mar 19 2015, 02:52 PM

Mine should be going in any day now. One of the first parts I bought for the car. Figured it was worth the expense to avoid a burned-up car. My plastic lines look OK too but the rubber or braided lines were trashed.

Posted by: rjames Mar 19 2015, 04:11 PM

I still have the original hard lines in the tunnel. While I'm not overly concerned about them I will get to replacing them one day. All of the rubber/cloth lines get replaced every few years.
I've never heard about a fire starting from a leak in the center tunnel. Seems like they are all from the soft lines in the engine bay.

Posted by: JawjaPorsche Mar 19 2015, 05:04 PM

I replaced mine because of gas smell coming from tunnel.

Definite peace of mine when I replaced them with stainless lines from Tangerine Racing.

Posted by: ripper911 Mar 19 2015, 06:59 PM

I have one of them still. I took the other one out.

Posted by: 914Next Mar 19 2015, 07:02 PM

Mine are still in. I think I'll order the tangerine lines and get them replaced soon.

Posted by: wndsnd Mar 19 2015, 07:28 PM

I put in the Tangerine SS lines. They went in very easy. Do not even give them a thought. Cheap insurance.

I screwed up a bunch of stuff but even I got those in OK.

John

Posted by: mepstein Mar 19 2015, 07:28 PM

Here's my original lines. I've bought tangerine's lines for all my cars.


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Posted by: Larmo63 Mar 19 2015, 07:33 PM

Mine are still in, but will be going soon.

I like to live dangerously.

Posted by: pilothyer Mar 19 2015, 07:50 PM

I replaced all of mine with Tangerine Racing SS lines. The only ones that were still good were the black ones from 75, seems as though that is the year the lines were subject to operating pressure from the front mounted pump and going through the tunnel and Porsche decided to upgrade the lines..... All the others were gravity fed through the tunnel.............but why take the chance..........all the early lines were as brittle as glass, so it's a no brainer.

Posted by: hcdmueller Mar 20 2015, 09:31 AM

My 76 still had the original lines when I bought it. They seemed like they were the same plastic CIS injection lines were made from. They were in outstanding condition and still as flexible as can be expected from thick plastic. I had already bought stainless lines, so they were replaced.

Posted by: 7TPorsh Mar 20 2015, 12:16 PM

One line now. Bye bye brittle tubes and gas smell.

Posted by: jeffdon Mar 20 2015, 02:25 PM

I upgraded to the SS lines, but I gotta say, the OEM plastic lines were NOT brittle. In fact, they were tough as hell. I was probably fine with them, seeing that I run carbs, with the pump in the engine compartment, and so was not putting much pressure on them. That said, I love the SS lines, and it was actually pretty easy to install them.

Posted by: jeffdon Mar 20 2015, 02:25 PM

I upgraded to the SS lines, but I gotta say, the OEM plastic lines were NOT brittle. In fact, they were tough as hell. I was probably fine with them, seeing that I run carbs, with the pump in the engine compartment, and so was not putting much pressure on them. That said, I love the SS lines, and it was actually pretty easy to install them.

Posted by: Cuda911 Mar 20 2015, 02:50 PM

I have the original lines in my '73 and '74. I know I should go stainless, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Let me know how the upgrade works out, Lawrence. Not sure what all is involved to change them out.

Posted by: ndfrigi Mar 20 2015, 03:33 PM

Replaced mine on the 75 FI. Purchased it from member here and got few rubber lines from Napa. Buying another set for the 71.

Posted by: struckn Mar 20 2015, 05:24 PM

When I had my rebuild done a couple years ago TranslogGT replace the Fuel line with Stainless. It's a Carb car so we replaced only the Fuel line with Stainless and left the Plastic return line in the tunnel disconnected. Return lines are not needed on Carb cars. Also the flexible lines in the engine compartment were replaced with new Ethanol (Alcohol) Proof Lines. The old plastic lines between age and the effects on Ethanol Fuel will crack.

Posted by: patssle Mar 20 2015, 05:30 PM

I replaced my original lines last year and was really surprised how durable and solid they were. Saw nothing that showed degradation. But no doubt it should still be something that is done to all cars.

Posted by: Dave_Darling Mar 20 2015, 07:26 PM

I have the original style lines in my car. Not sure if they are the same pieces of plastic that were in the car when it left the factory, but they are certainly the same kind of line.

I did replace the two lines that go up through the engine shelf with SS a couple of years back. Those plastic lines had gotten brittle. The center tunnel lines have not yet.... They probably will at some point, though. Then it's stainless time.

--DD

Posted by: bigkensteele Mar 20 2015, 07:58 PM

The lines in my '75 broke into 3 pieces each when I pulled them out. I replaced them with Rotary'14 kit, which I am extremely happy with. His thread even has a video showing just how easy it is to do the swap with the engine in the car.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=110158

Posted by: 1TRICK6 Mar 21 2015, 08:12 AM

Bought mine from forum member, Robert, (Rotary'14) also. Need another set for my other car soon, next time I see him.

Posted by: 76-914 Mar 21 2015, 09:15 AM

Same here.

Posted by: flylarry Mar 21 2015, 10:15 AM

I still have mine, you want-em? Free!

Posted by: Big Len Mar 21 2015, 10:46 AM

I'm afraid changing the fuel lines to s/s will hurt the originality.

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Jul 21 2016, 11:02 PM

As a newly elected Councilman in a small rural central California city, I was asked by to bring my '76 teener to drive in the annual city Christmas parade through town. I pulled into the parade line and began slowly idling down the main street route with another Councilman in the passenger seat. We hadn't gone far when a man on the sidewalk approached the side of our little yellow ride and told us we were "leaking water under the car real bad". That's an interesting comment since there is no water onboard a 914 to leak! I opened my door and leaned out to look under the car, only to see gasoline spraying down mid tunnel and rapidly pooling under the car! I quickly told my Council colleague to get out of the car fast! Then I franticly waved to onlookers to create an opening among the sidewalk crowd of people, and slowly drove the still running 914 to a dirt field and finally shut it off. I had left a trail of gasoline on the ground behind the car that was at least a foot wide as I idled towards that open field!
After having my 914 towed to my mechanic, as you probably already guessed, the fuel line, under high pressure from tank in front to the engine in the rear, decided to split after 30 years, at that inopportune moment during the parade. I had the fuel line repaired, my car was returned to me and all was fine.
I was invited to the city Christmas parade again the following year. When I pulled up in my teener to get in the parade line this time, my Council colleagues were standing nearby on the curb with lighters, flicking them repeatedly and saying they were "ready for me this year!" That's how you know who your friends are in politics!!!!
After reading all the posts about fuel line fires and my parade experience, I think I will make an appointment with my mechanic to replace all the rest of the fuel lines now. If I was smarter, I would have done them all then. Thanks to my fellow teeners here for the additional motivation to finally get them all done now!


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Posted by: oakdalecurtis Jul 21 2016, 11:15 PM

When I get the rest of the lines replaced, besides the fuel filter, anything else I should replace?

Posted by: injunmort Jul 21 2016, 11:23 PM

yup

Posted by: pete000 Jul 22 2016, 12:03 AM

Got rid of mine last year. No need to loose sleep wondering when they are going to start leaking !

Posted by: porschetub Jul 22 2016, 02:00 AM

A common "wifes tale" about the plastic lines failing as mentioned its the rubber hose that joins them up that fails after 40 plus years.....end of story,no offence to people than have gone to SS lines .

Posted by: 74ravenna Jul 22 2016, 03:41 AM

Though i don't have as much experience as most here, when i changed mine to ss the plastic lines in the engine bay were extremely brittle and i wouldn't trust them.
The plastic lines in the tunnel were ok but they had a lot of build-up on the inner wall so………

Again, i would not trust the engine bay lines. They snapped with a little rough handling.

Steve

Posted by: mepstein Jul 22 2016, 05:20 AM

How long do you think plastic lines last? The ones in my 71's would have all ready been 45 years old. Should I expect another 20-30 years from them? If I'm spending $40-50k to restore the car It's so much easier, safer, smarter to shove some stainless lines in the tunnel and call it done.

Edit - would I even think about leaving the plastic lines in the car if it was meant for my wife, son or daughter? What do you think?

Posted by: veekry9 Jul 22 2016, 05:31 AM

Try to put your dilemma into aviation terms.Would you put anyone's life at risk flying with embrittled,cracked fuel lines?
Well,you couldn't,as there are rules regarding tbo,and scheduled maintenance.A car,why,you pull over and watch it burn.
The tires that came with the car have long been discarded as unsafe,for good reason.
Fragile plastic lines is an insurer's greenlight for a premium hike,'a Titanic meeting in your future'.
'Blew up real good'.


/
If you smell gasoline,it's leaking.
/

Posted by: worn Jul 22 2016, 10:09 AM

It helps if the motor is already out. I fabbed my own and getting the front grommet back i was a nightmare. I made it harder by having fittings silver brazed on at both ends for AN line.
For the daily 914 I still have the plastic lines. They actually are pliable, as were the ones I took out. In front the tunnel is actually open to the cabin and that is where Porsche splurged on 18 inches of stainless, coupled to the plastic with rubber. Great.

Posted by: Tbrown4x4 Jul 22 2016, 11:52 AM

Shamefully still running plastic with the crappy carbs. I know I need to change them, but as my DD, I can't have the car down too long. Still catching up with other maintenance the PO's neglected.

Posted by: dangrouche Jul 22 2016, 08:37 PM

I installed stainless, by my own design, with the engine in place. When joining up the stainless beneath the tank, the short pieces of fabric covered hose were brittle and easily cracked off upon removal. We talk so much about the problem in the engine compartment, but the the tank end is not discussed much here. The tank lines are not stressed from heat, but from old age. Most of us don't think nor do new owners think to replace those bits of hose beneath the tank, since owners don't know nor realize how the fuel moves from the tank to the beginning of the fuel line. When pulling the old lines from the tunnel, I saw how tough and flexible the old lines were. HOWEVER the bit of exposed tubing in the engine compartment were degraded and brittle. In the end, regardless of how "healthy" you think the fuel lines are, it should be on the top of the replacement list after purchasing a teener.

Posted by: Rand Jul 22 2016, 09:33 PM

There's do doubt that replacing the lines with SS is a smart upgrade. But I feel it's most important to focus on the engine bay first because that's where the heat or potential leaks or ignition potentials are highest. How many fires start in the tunnel? More likely a fuel smell there would alert you in a hurry before it got risky.

Of the cars I've owned, the tunnel lines were indestructible and never a problem. Problems happen because of leaks. Focus on where leaks can happen first.

Posted by: OU812 Jul 23 2016, 09:25 AM

None of the fuel lines leaked on the cars I own, but as part of the restore process and based on the potential for developing a leak, they will be replaced in there entirety.

The stainless replacements look good, and will probably use, But have been looking at other alternatives to SS.

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Jul 23 2016, 09:43 AM

If only it were so Rand, please read my post #37 in this chain, tunnel lines do just let go when you least expected! I thought I was going to be a flaming goner!

Posted by: Chris H. Jul 23 2016, 09:51 AM

Carbs (should be!) run at a much lower pressure so it's not nearly as much of a concern but still give the ones in the engine bay a good look over. Not implying yours are being run incorrectly, just remembering a couple of unrelated stories we've heard over the years. We're talking 3-5 psi vs 25-30.

I'd agree that the portion of the line that is really of the most concern (except for oakdalecurtis, yikes!!! someone must have punctured that!) is once it exits the firewall. Heat cycles of course, and the potential for battery acid exposure are the issues. Also the later lines are said to be much safer. Don't have any scientific proof of that but mine were pretty pliable after 35 years. Battery acid had taken out a portion of the engine compartment lines (I assume) so the last few feet had been replaced when I bought it. I bought a very rusty '73 2.0 with about 60k miles in 2000 and when I took the engine out the fuel lines just crumbled away like nothing. BTW that engine went to a young Charles Navarro. That was pre-IMS bearing fix collaboration.

Posted by: OU812 Jul 23 2016, 10:52 AM

Well then why mess around with any fuel line supply lines?

Just replace it. Still cheaper than a burned car or even worse a burned you!

Posted by: Rand Jul 23 2016, 12:54 PM

Can't argue with that. Glad it didn't burn.

Posted by: Mueller Jul 24 2016, 12:16 AM

Factory lines still on my '73.

The previous owner recommend new lines when I replace the dead motor, mentioned lines have been hacked by other previous owners.

Going with brand new SS instead of trying to source good used plastic lines.

40 year old car, do you know every single owner or mechanic that has worked in the car? Have you inspected every inch of the line when you 1st took possession of the car?

Just things to think about....