We've all been there - dig into a project and it leads a lot further down the rabbit hole than we had intended, snowballing into something far beyond the original plan. Well, I recently did it myself with a simple sports exhaust install run amok. I figured I'd catalog it here to share the ridiculousness of this hobby with a group that will surely understand.
Back in February, I went to install the shiny new, stainless steel sports exhaust I had ordered from D'Angelo Motori only to find that it wouldn't fit with the body in the way on the right side of the engine bay and a traditional distributor cap. Whoops.
At the time, I was living in a condo without a garage, so I was a little stuck. In May, I moved to a home with a 2-car garage, so once I had a workspace in order, I set to work. With the motor in place, I cut out completely, the RH panel interfering with the exhaust primaries. That was easy enough.
Then I decided it was a perfect time to continue the project... and tackle the long-simmering idea of integrating a proper fuel return line. I had an idea of what I wanted to do and figured everything would be worlds easier with the motor out of the way, out she came.
That was easy. I'm getting pretty good at yanking that little mill out. With that out of the way, I decided I would cut out the left side panel as I'd seen on a lot of the modified cars in Italy. She's a fair-weather car, so I wasn't really concerned with too much road grime getting in the engine bay, and it would make plumbing the fuel system that much easier, so time to hack away again.
There we go, clean and open. While I was in there, I cleaned up the wiring, wired it for a LH side coil, and put everything into split loom for a neater appearance. Now to start in on the fuel system. I wanted to put something in that was clean, long-lasting, and modular, so I decided on braided lines and AN fittings. I had braided stainless PTFE lines made for the center section that runs through the tunnel, thinking that they would last the longest, be the most resistant to wear, and since they're the low point in the system, the PTFE would be the most resistant to fuel just sitting in there. Those lines were the priciest part of the system, as I couldn't DIY PTFE fittings and had a local hydraulic shop make them. In the front, they connected to 90-deg bulkhead fittings leading to separate lines to the tank, and I fabricated a bracket for bulkhead fittings for the rear lines leading to the carburetor. Now, I could easily disconnect the motor or tank and not fiddle with the main lines - modularity!
Back in February, I went to install the shiny new, stainless steel sports exhaust I had ordered from D'Angelo Motori only to find that it wouldn't fit with the body in the way on the right side of the engine bay and a traditional distributor cap. Whoops.
At the time, I was living in a condo without a garage, so I was a little stuck. In May, I moved to a home with a 2-car garage, so once I had a workspace in order, I set to work. With the motor in place, I cut out completely, the RH panel interfering with the exhaust primaries. That was easy enough.
Then I decided it was a perfect time to continue the project... and tackle the long-simmering idea of integrating a proper fuel return line. I had an idea of what I wanted to do and figured everything would be worlds easier with the motor out of the way, out she came.
That was easy. I'm getting pretty good at yanking that little mill out. With that out of the way, I decided I would cut out the left side panel as I'd seen on a lot of the modified cars in Italy. She's a fair-weather car, so I wasn't really concerned with too much road grime getting in the engine bay, and it would make plumbing the fuel system that much easier, so time to hack away again.
There we go, clean and open. While I was in there, I cleaned up the wiring, wired it for a LH side coil, and put everything into split loom for a neater appearance. Now to start in on the fuel system. I wanted to put something in that was clean, long-lasting, and modular, so I decided on braided lines and AN fittings. I had braided stainless PTFE lines made for the center section that runs through the tunnel, thinking that they would last the longest, be the most resistant to wear, and since they're the low point in the system, the PTFE would be the most resistant to fuel just sitting in there. Those lines were the priciest part of the system, as I couldn't DIY PTFE fittings and had a local hydraulic shop make them. In the front, they connected to 90-deg bulkhead fittings leading to separate lines to the tank, and I fabricated a bracket for bulkhead fittings for the rear lines leading to the carburetor. Now, I could easily disconnect the motor or tank and not fiddle with the main lines - modularity!
- Year
- 1966
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