I think 3/8" line is universal. Several ways to go installing new fuel lines. Lots of people use 3/8" brake line while others use aluminum line. Other options are braided line ($$$) or nylon line. Some of the line will have to be rubber and not all rubber fuel line is the same. Fuel injection rubber hose ($$$) will stand up much better than regular rubber fuel line. Don't forget a good in-line filter.

 

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looks like it came with supply and return

 

Nicopp is fantastic line material if making your own.

 

What size is the fuel line from, the pump to the carburetor?

Some were 5/16 hard lines, some were 3/8 hard lines. Go by the inverted flare fitting on the fuel pump. Use an inverted flare fitting on the carb as well. If it's an aftermarket carb, you may need an adapter fitting.

Nicop is good material to use for this. Aluminum is sometimes used, but it can fatigue and crack. Aluminum definitely needs to be tied down so it doesn't vibrate. Galvanized steel brake line also works well, but it's harder to form the correct double flares. Stainless is pretty, but takes a stout flaring tool to get the double flares made.

The line from the tank to the pump should be the same?

Yes, the same, or sometimes bigger. 3/8 is pretty universal for that run. Most of the way should be 3/8 OD hard line. The connection from the hard line on the frame to the fuel pump on the engine should be rubber or flexible braided line.

There should be an inline filter along the way somewhere. Usually it's best to mount along the frame rail. Use fittings or flexible hose as appropriate to connect to the inline filter you select. Always have a filter before the mechanical fuel pump. I never bother with any filter after the fuel pump.

 

I’d shy away from galvanized steel lines as galvanize is reactive with alcohol found in fuels. Aluminum and copper work harden in vibration environments and will eventually crack. Nickel copper works well, easy to bend and form while not subject to fuel reactions and resistant to vibration hardening and cracking.

Bogie

 

I’d shy away from galvanized steel lines as galvanize is reactive with alcohol found in fuels. Aluminum and copper work harden in vibration environments and will eventually crack. Nickel copper works well, easy to bend and form while not subject to fuel reactions and resistant to vibration hardening and cracking.

Bogie

Just sold my 1973 chev work truck . The galvanized steel 3/8" factory fuel lines as well as the factory rubber hose are still functioning perfectly . How. long does it take for the alcohol to effectively damage those lines ? Obviously more than 50 years ...AFA copper is concerned , I still use my grandfather 1950 5hp outboard motor , the original copper fuel line is still intact ,leak free & working fine ,I'll keep an eye out for stress/ vibration cracking .

 

I’ve seen copper fail in a few months.

Old galvanize is way better than the modern stuff, I say about the late 70’s and up as everybody was searching for ways to cut costs in those yesteryears of 10-20 percent inflation post Vietnam. Even the old neoprene rubber was a lot better. That dates back to when Chevy stopped Parkerizing cam shafts which led to the well documented cam and lifter wear problems.

The very apparent prohibition “bathtub gin” that killed and crippled so many back then is the reaction of ethanol leaching zinc, lead and arsenic out of cheap galvanized tubs. Todays materials like cast zinc suffers much from Zinc Pest where the items cast from zinc just rot away. This problem was solved back around 1930 with the patented Zamac process that got the lead out of the zinc bringing it to about 99.99% purity. But today here we are back at zinc pest because the American factories in China and the native Chinese factory’s won’t spend the money to purify these metals. Ask the guy that spent 1500 dollars on a Lionel model locomotive only to watch it turn to white powder?

So there is no doubt that todays level of commercial grade raw material is not the quality of pre1980 materials.

Bogie

 

I’ve seen copper fail in a few months.

Old galvanize is way better than the modern stuff, I say about the late 70’s and up as everybody was searching for ways to cut costs in those yesteryears of 10-20 percent inflation post Vietnam. Even the old neoprene rubber was a lot better. That dates back to when Chevy stopped Parkerizing cam shafts which led to the well documented cam and lifter wear problems.

The very apparent prohibition “bathtub gin” that killed and crippled so many back then is the reaction of ethanol leaching zinc, lead and arsenic out of cheap galvanized tubs. Todays materials like cast zinc suffers much from Zinc Pest where the items cast from zinc just rot away. This problem was solved back around 1930 with the patented Zamac process that got the lead out of the zinc bringing it to about 99.99% purity. But today here we are back at zinc pest because the American factories in China and the native Chinese factory’s won’t spend the money to purify these metals. Ask the guy that spent 1500 dollars on a Lionel model locomotive only to watch it turn to white powder?

So there is no doubt that todays level of commercial grade raw material is not the quality of pre1980 materials.

Bogie

Newest truck is a 1984 GMC 3500 crew dually ,second set of tanks on the original lines hmm ? I hope my old crap outlives me ( which , at this point,is a very good possibility !. Biggest trouble with most things ,IMO , is user error !

 

I’d shy away from galvanized steel lines as galvanize is reactive with alcohol found in fuels.

Galvanized steel brake line and fuel line tubing has the galvanized coating only on the outer surface. If the fuel is reacting with that, you have bigger issues than the alcohol reacting with the coating.

The inner surface of galvanized steel tubing is often plated with copper, and even if it's not copper plated on the inner surface, it's steel and a copper brazing alloy material. Some of those lines are made of spiral wound flat steel that's machine brazed to form the tube. Others are "Bundy tubing" made of thin copper coated steel that's wound double layered around a form, then heated to melt the copper and braze the tube. Either method results in a strong steel tube that's suitable for medium to high pressure hydraulic applications.

BTW, the copper on the inner surface is the reason that brake fluid turns a dark green in the first few years in the system. The green is from the copper.