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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Category Archives: Products
PTFE Hose and Fittings
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
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.
FabBosses used to secure ECM
Grassroots Motorsports Fuel Tank Installation
Our friends over at Grassroots Motorsports recently installed one of our custom stainless steel fuel tanks. Check it
Unfair electronics device tray done
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
Fabricating with FabBosses
We sell our FabBosses in 1.25″ lengths, so they can be easily trimmed to fit. However, it might not immediately obvious how to precisely trim them since they are too short to put in a vise and cut. Continue reading