Battery Cables

Making a custom length battery cable takes a drill, mini-torch, crimper dies, flux, and solder.

We do lots of custom electrical work in the fab shop, and one job that seems to come up all the time is making custom battery cables. Trying to find ready-made cables that are exactly the right length is difficult at best, and damn near impossible for those extra-long cables when your battery has been moved to the trunk. Given the weight and cost of heavy gage copper cables  we make our own, using SAE-rated battery cable, and heavy-duty cable lugs to get exactly the right length.
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PTFE Hose and Fittings

There’s no ferrule in this hose end. The collar slides over the hose, and the fitting threads directly into the PTFE liner. It’s lightweight and easy to do, and no bleeding required.


We’ve gotten a lot of requests for more information about the hose we used in our twin vent install on the Tommy Camaro. It uses a PTFE inner liner, which is important to reduce fuel permeation (smell), and an Aramid outer braid. Aramid is a Kevlar brand name and it is tough stuff. It is literally bullet-proof. The braid feels soft to the touch, but requires side-cutters to cut the thread — it just laughs off heavy duty scissors.

Assembly is easy: just slid the outer (silver) collar over the end of the hose, and then twist the fitting (black) into the hose with some light lubricant. The fitting twists easily into place with your hand or a short AN wrench, and the fine threads on the inner fitting support easy clocking for non-straight hose ends. The hose is rated for high-pressure applications, including power steering. You can get all of it at Pegasus Racing.

I’ve also gotten several requests for the part numbers we used in the install, so here they all are in one place:

  • Vent fitting: 90 degree AN ORB fitting is an Earl’s part: AT949006ERL
  • Tank fitting: 90 degree 1/4 NPT to AN 6 is also Earl’s: AT982206ERL
  • Vent hose end: 90 degree AN 6 Pegasus Racing hose end: 3481-06-90 DEGREE
  • Tank hose end: straight AN 6 Pegasus Racing hose end: 3481-06-STRAIGHT
  • Hose: Aramid braided (Kevlar… and it will take its toll on your cutting tools) AN 6 PTFE hose from Pegasus racing. 3490-06-FOOT

Fuel and Differential Vent Install

Fuel and differential Vent sit nicely on top of the DSE Quadralink crossmember.

Modern muscle cars like the new Camaro have performance and drivability that could scarcely be imagined in 1969, but as technology has found its way into the aftermarket our older muscle cars are accelerating, braking, and cornering so well that fuel slosh, spillage, starvation, and odor have become a bigger problem than ever. A common problem is that under acceleration fuel will leak from the vented gas cap found on many older cars. Switching to a sealed cap eliminates the leak but now a properly designed vent system is needed.

Fuel tank venting is a deceptively complex problem and when improperly executed can result in spillage, fuel pump overheating, tank deformation, “burping” during fill ups, and strong fuel odors. Many resort to running a half tank of fuel and hoping for the best. To ensure we have a steady supply of fuel at all times we equipped our Camaro project with a Rick’s Tank and Vaporworx fuel pump system. Rick’s Tank and the Vaporworx system do not address tank venting, and both Rick’s and Vaporworx recommend our Fuel and Differential vent for this. We’ll be running our vents side by side — one for the DSE built 9 inch and the other to the Rick’s Tank

We’ve already upgraded the rear suspension to a DSE Quadralink, and the beefy crossmember that’s part of the kit is the ideal place to mount our vents since they need a 2.5″ hole in a flat and level space. All plumbing runs underneath the car, and the location needs to be chosen so that any collected liquid in the vent can run back to the tank or differential via gravity.

The gray nylon gasket resides in a precisely machined groove to keep it from being over-compressed, the white washer prevents scratching when tightening the main nut, the gold bit is a 40 micron sintered bronze filter, and the set screw keeps everything in place after installation.

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FabBosses used to secure ECM

The GM E67 ECM is securely mounted with 4 FabBosses

Progress continues on the 69 Camaro. We’re working on wiring the car and adapting the GMPP harness to manage our LS3. Using FabBosses to mount the ECM was easy. We bolted a 1/4 – 20 versions to the ECM, trimmed them slightly to deal with the curvature of the panel, and welded them in place. It wasn’t necessary to fully weld the FabBosses — we just put two solid 1/2″ welds on each side of the ‘Boss. Total time: 1 hour.

Unfair electronics device tray done

Welded Fab Boss

The device tray is fully mounted, taking 9 FabBosses — 2 on each side and one in the middle. Only the one in the middle took any real careful measuring — and that was because I couldn’t get my MIG gun all the way underneath the tray. All the other FabBosses were bolted to the tray, trimmed to fit, and tack-welded into place. Continue reading