I figured I’d share the fuel system build on Buford, and maybe at the same time give you some insight into how I assemble AN hose and hose ends. I picked up my first piece of AN hose (and hose ends) in 1978 and I’ve been using it ever since. Over those years, I’ve managed to pickup a tip or two (and they’re included below). None-the-less, here’s how I build and test fuel lines: The first step is cut the line. A fine tooth hacksaw is what most recommend, but I like this better. It’s a cut off wheel on a 4-1/2-inch angle grinder. It works super slick and leaves fewer stray wire ends. By the way, I wrap the hose tightly with duct tape, and then clamp it before making the cut.



Next, tap the junk out of the cut hose. I usually give it a blast of compressed air too.



Push on the hose end socket. Sometimes you have to twist it a bit to get the hose to seat correctly inside the socket. This is where a nice clean, square cut on the hose can pay dividends.



I always mark the hose behind the socket before assembly. The reason is the socket (and consequently the hose end) can back out when you thread in the hose end nipple. It’s a rare occurrence, but it does happen once in awhile.



I really like assembling hose with Aeroquip’s soft jaws. They have a magnetic insert and you simply drop them onto your bench vise. Slip the hose with the socket into the vise jaws, leaving maybe 1/16-inch or so of the socket above the vise jaws.



You should lube the threads of the nipple carefully before assembly. This is one place where you shouldn’t be cheap with lubricant. The best lube I’ve found is from the folks at Aeroquip. It’s designed just for this and definitely makes assembly easier.



Thread in the hose nipple and tighten. Don’t use an aluminum hose wrench for this job! Aluminum hose end wrenches are designed to tighten completed hose assemblies to aluminum adapters. If you use it to assemble a hose end, the jaws will flex (open). It’s a quick way mar the fittings. I use a tight fitting Mac open end wrench for this job. I tighten the hose nipple to the point where the respective hexes are aligned and the gap between the last nipple hex and the socket is no larger than a fingernail.



Here’s the finished hose end. I always check to be sure the hose end hasn’t backed out (against the mark I initially made).



This is the finished hose assembly. What you see here are -10 AN fittings and hose. Other sizes and shapes (bent tube and so on) are similar to work on. The only exceptions are hose ends for Teflon line. I don’t like making those at home, and prefer to use crimped ends for those applications.



Not done with the hose end yet. Next, I install a set of Earl’s test fittings (note the use of aluminum wrenches – this is where you use ‘em).



At this point, I charge up the completed hose with twenty of so pounds of air.



Then it’s off to the sink to test for leaks. See the bubble? This hose end was simply leaking at the flare (I didn’t tighten the test fitting enough). But it’s still better to test this stuff before it goes on the car.



The next part of my fuel system was the gas tank. I bought (actually, my wife bought me) a new Turbo Buick gas tank. The old one was perfect. I just don’t like having fab work done on a used gas tank. Additionally, the repro tanks have metal internal baffles around the sump. The OE Buick Turbo tanks have plastic baffling. One of the steel AN bulkhead fittings is for the pickup (the larger -10 size). The smaller fitting on the left is for the pump by-pass (return line).



I built this -10 AN hose to go inside the tank to the pickup. The end you can’t see is slash cut. Internally, the hose is captured inside the tank baffling (by peening one baffle over another) so that the slash cut end resides in the rear section of the sump.



See the string? See the duct tape surrounding the sender hole in the tank? My arm just fit in the hole, but it was so tight I couldn’t risk losing the wrench inside the tank (the baffling is pretty convoluted). Since the AN wrench is aluminum, using a magnet to fish it out wouldn’t work. So I tied a string to it and if (when) I dropped it, I could fish it out. The duct tape around sender hole saved me from going to the local clinic for, uhm, personal repairs <g>. It’s a bit of a reach to get to the fitting, but I got it done.



This is the pump I used. It’s a bad boy setup from the folks at MagnaFuel. In reality, MagnaFuel is one of two (reliable) companies that are used by Pro Stock teams for fuel delivery (Weldon is the other one). MagnaFuel’s stuff is like jewelry. If you fondle it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Anyway, the pump is a flow through model. That means the fuel passing through cools the pump, allowing it to function full time (continuous duty). It’s actually engineered for fuel injection use, but can be adapted for a carburetor with a different regulator and by-pass valve. As you can see by the tape measure, it’s one honking fuel pump.



Here’s the by-pass setup (stainless steel). There’s a big needle inside that operates much like a carburetor bowl needle. Reach a specific fuel pressure level and fuel is bypassed back to the tank. What this does is to reduce the aeration in the fuel by a considerable margin. Fuel pressure is very stable with this setup (you don’t see surges that you see with other pumps). By the way, these pumps can pull a prime; so mounting it above the gas tank isn’t an issue.



The folks at MagnaFuel recommended that I use two filters – one before the pump and one after. Like the pump, these are massive. They have internal filter elements that are easily cleaned or replaced.



You’ve probably seen this view before. It’s the mounted pump and pre-filter installed under the rear axle kickup. Given the size of the pump and filters (not to mention the inlet lines are -10 AN), packaging was an issue. This was the only likely spot, but I was really concerned about ripping the sheetmetal due to the weight of all of the components.



After looking through several aircraft airframe repair manuals I have on hand, I figured the solution was to use a couple of doubler plates – one for the fuel pump and one for the filter. The idea here is to distribute the load and prevent the pump and filter from tearing the kickup sheetmetal. The doublers were fabbed to size, and then installed with -3 AN fasteners.



This is a bird’s eye view of the trunk. You can see the filter and pump doublers on the kickup. I can cover them with a trunk mat, but I think they look good they way they are.



From the pump, fuel goes forward to the after-filter shown here. I installed it on the passenger side frame rail, just ahead of the lower trailing arm pickup point. The clamp is an aircraft fuel pump piece from Weldon. Part of my plan was to make both filters accessible. There’s no point hiding this stuff, but I wanted it away from the scrub line.



The fuel line is -8 AN out of the pump. I routed the line inside the OEM frame rail channel. It’s clamped by way of Adel aircraft clamps, and bolted to the channel by way of short -3 AN fasteners. I usually measure the distance between clamps and make them all equidistant. I think it makes it look nice under the car <g>.



The fuel line wraps over the frame rail near the leading edge of the door. Here it runs upward in between the fender and the inner fender. I installed a -8 AN bulkhead fitting on the inner fender. That allows the fuel line in the engine compartment to be easily removed and installed.



This is the MagnaFuel high flow regulator. It can be installed right on the engine. Moroso has recently released a bracket that allows this regulator to be installed on the carburetor (between the respective studs on the passenger side). In the case of the Buick that means a relatively short -8 AN line can run from the fender to the regulator. Like other components from MagnaFuel, it’s a gorgeous piece of machining.



And that’s it. I think I’ve covered most of the construction, at least in abbreviated form. I also hope didn’t mind me sharing these vignettes of Buford the Buick on your website. Thanks folks!


Wayne Scraba