Some pics of mine...

One more.....

Here's my fuel tank access. Brought to you by --- Sawsall, and --- 4.5" cutting wheel.

Rigidity who?


Ron

Holly **** !!!
What the hell would promt you to do something like that ron?

Because of this big metal box that's really been acting as an end table all winter.

I haven’t decided weather to box the area off, and hang the fuel cell or make a big tub with top access. I'll have to go weight the pros & cons on this one??? In either case I have a chance to add or at least think of adding a triangular or cross brace where the old tank used to reside to reduce twisting, and maybe work something off the rear strut towers.

Ron

The fuel pump in my '92 5.7 Anniversary never gave any hint of going bad until I shipped the car from Hawaii to CA, and hit the highway on my way to AZ. Smack in the middle of Death Valley the car went dead, like the ignition was turned off. Fortunately, it started up a few minutes later and I was able to limp into Las Vegas and a GM dealer. Yep, about $1,000 later I was back on the road ... for a grand, GM gave me a lifetime parts and labor warranty on the fuel pump replacement. If I had modded the car to change the fuel pump through an access panel, replacing the pump could have been a roadside repair, instead of a very expensive PITA [hotel room and gambling expenses for an unplanned 3-day stay went far above the repair job, heh]. So now I'm busy at work making sure I have an access panel in my '87 IROC-Z 5.7, and a spare fuel pump for my next trip through Death Valley!

What is the size and source for those fancy red and blue AN unions on the fuel pressure and return lines?

-6 russell, earls, aeroquip etc.

if you plan on using the an style unions on the existing hard line, let me know. There is a trick to get them to seal properly!

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What is the size and source for those fancy red and blue AN unions on the fuel pressure and return lines?
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What is "russell" and "earls"? And yes, of course please explain how to obtain a good seal with AN fittings on a fuel line!

Are AN unions the appropriate fitting for this purpose, or is another method better?

For the peoples who are interested in this mod here is the list of all the parts I used.
-Earl’s Hose End, 6 AN, Straight, Auto-Fit 2X part # 300106
-Earl’s Hose End, 6 AN, 90 bent tube, Auto-Fit 2X part # 309106
-Earl’s Tube Nut –5 5/16 1X part # 581805
-Earl’s Tube Nut –6 3/8 1X part # 581806
-Earl’s Tube Sleeve –5 5/16 1X part # 581905
-Earl’s Tube Sleeve –6 3/8 1X part # 581906
-Earl’s 6 AN line of 6’ 1X part # 306006
-Earl’s Union Male –6 2X part # 981506
-Earl’s Union Male –6 to –5 2X part # 991907


Pat

IRACE87 hope you dont mind me using one of your pics as an example.


If anyone thinks that there is structural intregrity problems from cutting a hole in the floor pan you could always make a frame 1/8th thick by 1 inch wide steel. Weld it to the underside of the floor pan "inbetween the tank and pan" and you now have a significantly strenghtened floor pan. Its possible that you could tie the frame into the rear shocks mounting studs and bolt onto them as well.

This is what i'm going to do on my 82targaz28 project. After having to drop my tank in the 85 sport coupe a few too many times i'd rather make an access panel and strenghten the pan up while i'm at it rather than having to remove the exhaust, take off the rear sway bar, and removing the tank. 5 minutes VS hours of labor.

It's been said that AN fittings are made for seamless tubing, and that the metal pipes used in the 3rd Gen fuel system have a welded seam. What was your installation process for these parts, including flaring, if required? I only ask because I have no experience with AN fittings, and if done incorrectly this mod can be quite dangerous, given the volume and pressure of fuel moving through the fittings.

im sorry i have to give my 2 cents worth .....its stupid to cut up your car to change a fuel pump when it only takes 2 hours to do it the correct way and not hacking up your car .....let the flaming begin !!!!

I originally had a carbed lg4. when i decided to install the Holley SR and 950, i figured on using a factory style intank pickup. I was unsure of whether i needed to run new line so ipicked up a roll of stainless seamless tubing. I also did my research and found a sweet rigid an flaring tool. I cut out the access panel and decided to use the factory lines. I somehow managed to forget about the seamless tubing issue. So i cut the lines and made my connections, ran power to the pump etc. i got the car running and found that the fittings were getting wet. i tightened the fittings up but that didn't help. An Aircraft mechanic friend pointed out that AN fittings do not require much tightening to make a seal. I took them apart and upon inspection of the inside of the flare saw the tiny little grooves of the weld!! Duh!! thats why i had the roll of tubing! At this point i had no intentions of running 2 new hard lines so i decided to make it work. i disconnected the lines and removed the pickup, polished the grooves out with a worn cartridge roll and flushed the lines. Everything sealed up fine and there were no more leaks.

if i hadn't had the access panel i might not have found the leaks in the rear, and the fix would have eaten up a whole day

Thanks for your help to make this very worthwhile and intelligent upgrade to my Camaro enabling simple roadside replacement of a fuel pump when traveling away from home.

When I did this on my '85 Z28, I cut a second hole on the down slope for just that purpose. I didn't want the top hole to be any bigger than it had to be and I thought cutting too far might result in a loss of rigidity to the deck.

And for those saying that cornering ability will be affected I say I drove that car for years after doing this mod with no adverse effects. Unless you've performed this mod, you can't speak from experience.

havent done it myself and i dont believe that it would affect handling or rigidity or make the car weaker i just think its a worthless "mod" to do when it only takes a couple hours to perform it correctly by dropping the tank ...and the itll make it easier to change on the side of the road thing is bull...lol...i mean what if your tranny goes out you gonna put a hatch in your tranny tunnell to make it easier to pull it from inside the car so its easier no! and if you decide to cut up your car hey its your car go for it but if i were to look for a car to buy i wouldnt buy one that had a hole cut in it because someone is just too lazy to do it right the first time ...think of it like this if you took your car to the shop to have them change a fuel pump would you be happy if the mechanic cut a hole in your car to get to the fuel pump to make it easier on him ..i seriously doubt it ...oh well do what you think is necissary ...i bet you spend cutting up your car the same amount of time it would take to change it twice the correct way ........i dont know about the rest of you out there but ive only had to change the pump in my car once in 10 years ..that doesnt make it a worthwhile "mod" in my book or alot of other people here ..lol...and if your haveing to replace your pump more often then that your buying crappy pumps go buy a gm pump and be done with it itll last atleast 10yrs ..oh well ...these words of wisdom are my opinion only you shouldnt take it as a threat or a fight or an arguement ...i am just solely expressing what many people think including myself its just not a "mod" its being lazy ...
..

Let's not get into this again! The post had just started to get technical.

IRACE87, thanks for the pic and the part # information for the fittings! That weld that you polished; was that on the AN fittings or the fuel tubes themselves?

Call it what you will, but isn't "mod" short for "modification". This is certainly a modification. Yeah, I know, now we're getting into semantics...

alright ill use it in a more sarcastic way so you can understand that what you call a mod is a hack hows that ..lol

and by the way improving handling and exhaust and hood scoops or t-tops arent hacks so dont start bringing that up ..lol...all im saying is a factory peice is a factory peice its not cutting a hole in your car to reach something easier

I agree. Comparing a fuel pump access panel to a hood scoop. shaved door handles, or t-tops is obviously the rambling of a raving retard. If you are gonna build a race car, by all means do it, but if you are contemplating doing this to a street car just to save work, then you need to buy a different car. Besides, instead of installing an access panel, why not just by an inline electric pump? Then you never have to worry about the ****ing tank at all.