I am re-plumbing Amy's car right now before we do the color change at the end of the season. It is a little Mazzone a-arm car with a fuel injected 2387 VW. The fuel injection is from CB Performance. It is a great kit, I'm just looking to dress up the fuel system a bit as the hardware it comes with is not real exciting to look at.
I am plumbing in -6 braided with Aeromotive line and fittings.
Question #1
Anyone here use the black braided line? If so, does sand pack on it like the factory braided oil lines on my YFZ450?
Question #2
I have used Aeromotive pumps in drag cars and marine applications and have always been happy, anyone here have experience with them in the sand? It is going into a tight space, any problems or issues with heat from the pump itself?
Question #3
I am crazy for the black AN fittings, do they weather as bad as the old standard blue/red fittings? In the past, mine have lost that pretty color in less than two years- just want to know what to expect from these.

Use braided stainless teflon hose with stainless fittings.

I'm sorry Joel, I have no experience with what you're asking about in questions #1 and #3.


However, I was wondering why you were going to use an Aeromotive pump in that application. Isn't that a bit overkill?

Yup, overkill for sure but it sure does look nice!

I have ton more experience with heavy drag cars and fast boats (imagine that being from Havasu!) than I do with sand cars and one thing that has proven true is that you can't go wrong with a stout fuel system. They have a line of fuel injection pumps called "Tsunami" which are smaller than anything I have used in the past but still support up to 500hp in a boost application (will NEVER be anywhere near that). They accept AN fittings so the whole car can be plumbed the way I want without being mis-matched.
We are also kicking around the idea of going turbo over the summer when we do the color change, doing the fuel system this way now means no more fab work or changing the fuel system later.

In the end, it comes down to looking bitchen. I can't seem to talk Amy into getting rid of it so I might as well make it nice. After all, her decision to keep it saved me at least $50,000. Whatever makes momma happy!

Sounds good!

the black weathers into a cool purple, probably the best choice in anodizing

how about hard line with black fittings ? or anodize the stainless ? or powder coat it ?

black chrome looks killer also !

I know what your talking about when you say the anodizing fades, although I usually get more than 2 yrs out of it.



Jason Hiteman here on the board does his own anodizing, and described the process here on the board. You etch it with a weak acid, then use a dye (like food coloring) to dye the part. You could custom dye your own fittings whatever color you like.

I appreciate the input everyone.
I got everything ordered today to plumb Amy's car. I went with Aeromotive products throughout, pump, filters, line and fittings. Just under $1800 to do a little 2 seat car!!! I can only imagine what some of you ballers are spending on your big cars!

Can't go wrong with Aeromotive stuff. I plumbed most of my car with it but I went braided stainless/teflon with stainless fittings for the fuel system(which you can't see ) because of some nasty race fuel I was using. Sounds like you did it right and good looking out for future upgrades. You're right about the $...... turns out plumbing my car turned out to be a MAJOR expense I hadn't planned on. Good luck.

I paid a little extra for shipping to get the stuff here on Friday so I have the weekend to hopefully have it finished up. As usual, I'll post plenty of pics.

What color fittings and hose did you go with?

Black fittings with the same braided steel hose I have used for years. It looks good together, better than the black line when I saw it up close. I'd love to get it done this weekend and have pics for you!

I love shiny new stuff! These black AN fittings are just plain sexy.

Fuel stuff is just about done, here is the panel made to hold the pump and two filters along with the regulator.

Here is another shot of it. It wraps around the fuel tank and stays out of the way yet is easy to service the filters etc.

Needed a larger opening on the fuel tank to feed the new pump. Building a whole new sump made life easier on the plumbing side. Baffles in the sump will keep the pump from sucking air if the tank gets low while playing on big hills. The third bung is nothing more than a drain plug to make life cleaner when it comes time to work on this thing.

Right angles are a no-no.

I recommend that the regulator goes very near the engine.

I agree with Bill 100% but space constraints on such a small car made it hard to plumb any other way. Have to remember this is feeding a VW, not a V8. When the panel is in the car the regulator is less than 7 inches from the engine and the fuel line is not much more than a foot.

How about a pic of the tray mounted to the tank? I like the idea!

More pics to come in the next couple days. The tray wraps around the tank and is fastened to the frame in 4 different spots yet never actually touches the tank itself. Wheelsbase on the car is 110", that and being mid engine is like trying to cram 4 pounds of poop in a one pound bag. I'll post pics of the triangle that houses a BIG oil cooler with fan, fuel injection computer with relays and fuses and MSD all in less than 1 cubic foot.

Here are some unfinished pics of the triangle box that safely packs everything out of harms way yet still allows access when needed.

Here is what the "almost" finished version looks like mounted in the car.

Pretty creative use of space!

Space? You found space? Cuz I sure didn't!!!!!!!!!
Now I understand why people build bigger cars.

The last of the fittings have been ordered and this deal should wrap up by this weekend FINALLY!!!!

After finally seeing pics of the car, I can see why you insisted on those parts, the whole thing looks great!

Thanks Steve! I am real happy with how its turning out but am really looking forward to just being done at this point!

I hear that! One good side effect of over building something is that it's one less thing that you'll have to worry about, since it's built with high quality parts.

Don't forget, if that's a new tank, there's bound to be a lot of debris in it. I've seen the fuel filter clog up pretty quick on the first trip out with a new tank from debris. Keep a spare filter handy or be prepared to clean that one out. Do you have a fuel pressure gauge on the dash or mounted on the fuel rail? That can tell you in a heart beat if there's a restriction in the fuel system. I have one on my dash, and it sure has come in handy!

The tank is 7 years old but cleaned up good with some sanding and a little Mothers. The sump was just added though and care was taken to be sure nothing was left behind. The fuel system was designed with service in mind meaning easy access to both filters which I plan on pulling apart aftter she runs her first tank of fuel through it. Liquid filled fuel pressure guage will be installed on the fuel rail easily seen by driver.

I've experienced first hand how fast small filters can pack with metal shavings from the initial build. Filters, pump, and even injectors were affected and made for a long weekend. Helping my buddy work on the car while laying in the sand is what got me thinking about a system that can be serviced with minimal mess while standing up. It is also the reason I used filters the size of Red Bull cans with lots of service area.

What you got looks real good but for other people that havn't seen the black line here is what it looks like.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
I went this way because I wanted something different than the stainless red/blue setup. Ran stainless & nickel ends for my water, brake & ps lines. If routing is proper should never be an issue but with the black Nylon? line you do not have to worry about a hot 12v wire accidently arcing against the fuel line.

It looks nice but almost 2k? You must of used Aeromotive fittings(hose ends), they are CRAZY expensive! I used the Aeromotive adapters then Earl's(Russell now makes some "classic" ends that are black & silver) hose ends, much more reasonable. Never had an issue with my setup & I'm sure you will not either.

Summit sells hose ends really cheap, but I can never figure out the correct sizes!

Yup, spendy for sure. Aeromotive throughout. The number of fittings goes up the smaller the area you have to work with and as you can see, I don't have much room to work with. A lot of time has gone into figuring the best way to run the lines and no wires will be run across any stainless hose (aka cheese grader)- I found that out the hard way on a boat @18 years ago.
About the only potential problem I see might be the pump working too hard pulling and pushing fuel through all those fittings as WildBill pointed out. I e-mailed back and forth with Jared from Aeromotive throughout this project, sending him lots of pics. He's not crazy about all the 90's and 180's but says in this application it should work fine but would be an issue for sure if it was feeding a V8. We'll find out for sure next week.

I have to say that Les at Figspeed here in Havasu has been my Christmas miracle. He stocks more fittings than anyone else around here and has let me take upwards of $500 in fittings on nothing more than a handshake and has allowed me to return what I didn't use from the original invoice. Trying to correctly figure out what you'll need for mail order is almost impossible on a project like this since we changed so much around. Even though I'd pay more for service like this, his prices have been in line with Summit and Jegs so it really is the best of both worlds.

Wish I had fresh pics for you guys but WildBill seems to be my voice of reason rolling around my head. His post got me thinking (never a good thing) and after pulling apart and staring at it all for a good long while- it has been changed around to cut out 4 90's and get rid of the street 90's all together. Kinda funny that the regulator ended up even closer to the engine than before- just like Bill suggested. Damn you Bill.....

How much time and money did I spend of yours?

You owe me 1 day of my life back but i'd settle for a beer...

Here are pics from the revised plumbing. A total of 8 fewer 90 degree turns for the fuel to make.

Now that the business end of things is figured out it sure is nice to start seeing progress on the eye candy end of things. I lost a day by re-doing the pump/filters etc. so no finished pics yet but we're getting close.

Do you have skid plates for the bottom, especially under the engine? That deep sump looks like it's pretty vulnerable.

It looks much different when the seat pan is installed. It drops down way lower than the fuel line fittings. I think the angle of the pic makes the sump look lower than it is. Never has been a skid under the engine and everything looks perfect after 8 seasons.

Buying all the hose and fittings through Figspeed has been bitchen, they wanted all the hoses back after put together to pressure test/no charge. They put 600psi into them and they all held fine, don't think I'll have any leaks spring up.

Still on schedule for having her car done for the Christmas trip.......
From the day I bought Amy's car I knew it would be re-wired at some point cuz it was kind of a hack job. It worked ok but not real sano like I wanted. Tying in the fuel injection just made sense to re-wire now into a loom with weatherpak fittings that could easily be taken out this summer when we tear down for powdercoat. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Here is what came out.....

Here is what goes in.

New switch panel wiring with a new mount as well.

Here is the backside of the little triangle box that holds everything along with a pic of the cover for all the plumbing.

Fuel lines look much better now. Good job!

I'd hate to see when she wants long travel Awesome job Joel. There are alot of us here on the board who can appreciate the time and work you've put into Amy's car and I know she does too. kids will have alot to polish during the summer while the cage gets paint. can you afford to pay em off?

+1
Nice job on the lines.
I can vouch for Les at Figspeed.
He is the first place we check and often has as good a price as summit.
Nice that he is in town also.
Only drawback is most weekends he's somewhere at the drags races!

Les was cool enough to give me his cell number for after hours and on weekends in case we needed something last minute. Makes it nice to shop on a Sunday.

Thanks Steven...
Trust me, if she wasn't so insistant on keeping her little hot rod there is no way i'd be spending this much time and money on it. She has some sort of strange attachment to it (which saves me @50g!) so we'll make it perfect for her. Amy does so much for everyone (a lot of you here know what I'm talking about) and asks for very little. She deserves nothing less than the best.

Gettin' close.