Plastic fuel lines, Keep or ditch Options

[930cabman]

I see a few companies are selling new stainless steel fuel lines, new fuel lines on our 50 years old cars is generally not a bad idea, but how about if they appear to be in good condition? The feed line on our car is about 10mm OD with a 1mm wall. While we are in there should they be replaced for good measure.

Thanks

[wonkipop]

just did mine 12 months ago for recommission.

i found the orig plastic lines were theoretically still in good condition in the tunnel but were brittle from the firewall out, including being brittle just inside the firewall and passenger compartment. if they were going to let go there would be a chance of it happening at that point as well as underneath and inside the engine compartment.

not a pleasant though having a passenger compartment full of fuel - aside from the idea of an engine compartment on fire. i could be wrong but i think the fan shroud housing on a type 4 motor is magnesium. if so this contributed to all the legends of 914s burning fiercely, esp when the fire brigade rocked up and put a water hose on them!

i made my own mild steel fuel lines. if i was in the usa and had a lhd car i would have bought one the kits available. but they don't fit a rhd converted car at the top end near the pedal cluster. anyway, it was fun to do making some lines. strangely the plastic lines, once you pull them out, keep the shape of their track through the tunnel, so you can use that to configure the bends and get them real close. from there its just a matter of adjusting adjusting adjusting until they fit nicely without fouling on anything else.

i was worried about them vibrating and making noises. but so far so good.

ps - its good to check the fuel lines after you do all this, each time you drive the car.
i have heard talk that modern flexible fuel lines can expand or shrink during the first 6 months they are on so its worth making sure that all the joins between flexible sections and steel lines are not leaking anywhere. given there was documented trouble with leaking fuel lines when the cars were new this was probably a problem back in the 70s too?

[bkrantz]

i was worried about them vibrating and making noises. but so far so good.

There are tabs inside the tunnel (under the gear shift) to hold the fuel lines so they are not loose. And I added some rubber collars made from split rubber tubing in a couple of places so the metal lines do not vibrate against the tunnel floor.