Quote:
Originally Posted by blue sky
Could someone specifiy whether the fuel lines from the tank to the fuel pump on a MK2 289 street car are 5/16" OD or 3/8" OD. A normal 289HP Mustang had 5/16" while the R models received 3/8" but I don't know if AC applied the same specifications. I classify the street cars as being fitted with a single 715 Holley carb and not Webers. Thanks so much. Regards
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5/16
A fabricated hose ran between the fuel tank outlet and engine bay. I was made by Smiths. It was a rubber hose protected by a stainless steel braided cover. Each end consisted of a plated steel tube nipple. Brass collars were compression crimped over the hose OD to capture the steel tube ends. A the fuel tank end a set of brass fitting pieces (male adapter, ferrule, and nut) connected to the fuel strainer assembly in the tank. The other end was lashed (same lashing cord as used on heater hoses) to the main frame near the fuel pump. A section of rubber hose connected the Smiths made line to the fuel pump; two clamps on the Smiths connection end and one clamp at the fuel pump. (Educated guesses before you ask, why two clamps at the Smiths' line end? No one put a MS/SAE type bead on the end of the steel tube nipple at the end of the Smiths hose in the engine bay. Without a bead on the tube the hose is fairly easy to pull off. My guess is that at some point Cobras only used one clamp and somebody had line separation. The quick fix was double up on clamps. Labor wise it takes several minutes to take an existing tube put a bead on its end. That would be easy on a work bench but difficult with the line lashed to a car's frame. It only takes seconds to add another clamp. If one of the factories had asked Smiths to put a bead on one end, the hoses would have become directional; i.e. they would have had to be always run with the bead to the front. It could have been a cost issue (added labor time to make a bead on one end), an installation issue (extra labor time to make sure the bead was up front during installation), both, or something else. In event that is the way unrestored Cobras examined have been found.
PS Fuel Delivery: I have seen a large percentage of original hoses that were badly damaged in the form of being mashed in places. I am guessing that this damage occurred by people using jacks and jack stands. The line runs where it can easily be damaged that way. The rubber liner in these hoses is thin walled and fairly soft. If the stainless steel cover is mashed flat it barely recovers when the load is removed. One to several of these mashed places along a hose cuts fuel flow a lot.