Back in June I made my first attempt at bending steel lines. It wasn't pretty. Without really thinking about it, I had decided to start with the much stiffer fuel line (compared to the thinner brake line) and dive into the trickiest set of bends first. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had straight pieces of pipe and a bending tool--you just use one on the other and away you go, right? The first bend was fine, but since I hadn't planned anything out, there wasn't enough room for the tool to make the second bend where I wanted it. Well, I forced it anyway and the bend ended up in the wrong place. I kept going anyway. The third bend would get the fuel line running from the back of the car to the front, and it would allow me to test fit the line for the first time. I made the bend and brought it over to the car. Oh no, I made it 180 degrees in the wrong direction! Instead of running to the front of the car, it ran out the back like a tail pipe. I still wasn't ready to give up so I tried to reverse the bend 180 degrees, but the line wouldn't have it and it just snapped. That's when I raised the white flag.
That experience created a lot of anxiety for me. Back in August I got up the courage to work a few pieces of brake line. It wasn't too bad and I started to figure out a few techniques that helped me plan out the process. I still wasn't excited about working on these lines, but this week, I was determined to finish them. A couple days ago I finished the brake lines. Here are a few pictures.
I'm very happy with how they turned out.
Maybe it even restored some of my confidence to get back to the fuel lines. Yesterday morning, I went to the garage first thing determined to give it another go. This time, I installed the brackets first so they would act as a guide and allow me to make more accurate measurements. Boy, did that work much better. I also started in the middle of the line and worked toward both ends. That way, I could test fit the line with each bend. And finally, I came up with a marking system that helped me to make sure I was bending in the right direction.
Well, here they are. There are two because one brings fuel to the engine and the other returns excess fuel back to the tank.
This is the back area.
This is up near the engine.
These are the connectors so the line can transition to flexible hose near the engine (to account for the vibrations while the engine is running).
You can see the black flexible line running up to the pressure regulator. I made a plywood template for a mounting bracket. I need to finish that tomorrow.
I'm proud to say I've overcome my fear of bending lines. And I didn't realize how much anxiety I had bottled up because of it. Now that it's done, I feel like the kid in school who kept hoping the teacher wouldn't call on him to give his oral report even though he knew he'd eventually have to do it. Once it's over, it's such a relief.
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