plumbing a street or track car is a great do it yourself project but
there's a lot of options available and you may have some questions about
what type of hose to use which ends to pick how to route it properly and how to
assemble it correctly
well to make sure we get it right we've enlisted some help from Earl's plumbing
thumbing through the Earl's catalogue for the first time can be a little bit
intimidating
there's a lot of different hoses and feeding types to choose from but once you've decided
what is that you'll be using it for it's pretty easy to pick the right stuff
when you think of race hose you think of braided stainless
Earl's offers 2 kinds Perform-O-Flex and Auto-Flex
both types have a synthetic rubber inner liner designed for temperatures up to
300 degrees Fahrenheit and they're compatible with most fuels
coolants and lubricants the big difference between them is that
Perform-O-Flex has a stainless steel inner braid while Auto-Flex uses a textile inner
braid
Pro-Lite 350 hose is a lighter alternative to braided stainless
with the same fluid compatibility and temperature range but out a liner made of
durable nylon it uses the same type of hose end as Perform-O-Flex
and Auto-Flex hose for situations that don't call for a braided line
Earl's offers SuperStock hose it's a synthetic rubber hose compatible with
most fluids
rated to 250 degrees it's been reformulated
for better acceptance of pump gas and it has its own specific ends
if you need a hose that's resistant practically any fluid and pressures as high
as 2,000 PSI
then Speed-Flex is the right choice it uses a Teflon liner and braided stainless sheath
it has its own special Speed-Flex hose ends but it can be assembled with hand
tools
finally the ultimate in race car plumbing is Earl's Ultra-Flex
650 its Teflon lined and comes in either a woven Kevlar
braid which is 60 percent lighter than braided stainless or
a 304 stainless braid which is 40 percent lighter
than regular braided stainless both resist temperatures up to five hundred degrees
Fahrenheit Ultraflex 650 requires special crimping tools to assemble
so it's intended for professional racing teams now that we've see the differences between
these hoes types let's take a look at how to cut and assemble them property to get
a leak-free seal
it's not hard at all is have to use the right tools and take your time
to assemble braided stainless and Pro-Lite hose first wrap the hose
tightly with tape and cut with a fine-tooth hacksaw or cut off wheel
trim any stray wires then remove the tape place the fitting socket in a vise
and insert the hose until it bottoms out against the threads then gently pull it back
1/16th to 1/8th inch mark the hose with a pen so you can tell if it gets pushed out
during assembly
lubricate the inside of the hose the cutter threads
and the socket threads then put the nipple in a vise holding the hose push
the hose and the socket onto the nipple
until the threads can be started by hand start the threads and go as far as you can
buy hand
then tighten the socket with a wrench until the socket is within 1/600th of an inch from
bottoming out check to make sure the hose hasn't backed down more than a
1/16th of an inch
pressure test the assembly and your done Superstock houses & ends go together
with just a sharp knife cut the hose to length slip a collar over the end
and make a mark on the hose at the back collar lubricate the hose and nipple
press fit it into the hose end until it bottoms out and it's ready to use
Speed-Flex hose gets cut with a hacksaw or cut off wheel
after de bearing the teflon liner and cleaning up a stray strands slip the
socket over the hose
with the threaded end toward the cuff then separate the braid from the outside of the tube
and install the sleeve between 2 bottom the tube against the shoulder of the sleeve
and make sure it's square oil the nipple and start the socket by hand with the socket
in a vise
tighten the nipple with a wrench until the gap between the face of the socket and the
hex of the nipple
is 23/1,000ths to 46/1,000ths of an inch
assembling your own hose is not as complicated as it might seem
and Earl's online catalog on their website is full of useful technical information to make
any plumbing job easy
make sure you check out our video where we show you how we use Earl's parts and
expertise
to get the fuel system on our all air Camaro plumbed right