I want to buy a 25' roll of aluminum tubing to replace my rusty stock junk that's spliced with rubber all over, this is for a carburated/mechanical fuel pump setup. Tubing like this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g2538

do I buy a bead roller for the aluminum tubing and just use few inches of rubber+hoseclamps (tool is like $45 and I'll use it twice, kind of a waste) OR what's the right AN type of fitting that would work with 3/8" aluminum line?

or should I get some sort of braided hose and just go with that?

 

I wouldn't simply slide rubber hose over a tube with hose clamps without some sort of bead on the tube to provide something that a clamp can not slide off. Especially for fuel line even at a low 7-15 PSI.

The best way would be with a 37* JIC/AN flare tool. I own a Rigid brand model. More expensive than the $45 model but a blind person can make a perfect 37* flare with it. Before the tube is flared, a flare nut and sleeve need to be slid onto the tubing. Once the line is flared, the sleeve sits on the back side of the flare and the nut secures the line to a JIC fitting while pushing against the sleeve.

All the hard lines on my race car are custom made for JIC fittings so the tool paid for itself.

 

^^^ This ^^^

It's AMAZINGLY eeeeeezy to work with that kind of tubing and AN flares. That's exactly what the JIC system was originally made for.

I have the AN flare tool from Speedway Motorsports, don't know how it compares to Alky's, but it works pretty well. Seems like it wasn't all that cheeeeep either, but it doesn't take long for it to prove its worth. Might have been $75 or so I think.

I also highly recommend NOT using "standard" AN hose for the ends where flexibility is needed. Get the PTFE kind. Also VERRRRRRRRY EEEEEEEEEZY to work with, eeeeezier by far than the regular rubber kind. Cut with a wizz-wheel after taping, deburr the inside very slightly with a razor blade, then just push onto the fittings, put a drop of oil on the threads, and tighten the nut to maybe 12 - 15 ft-lbs, you don't have to go full gorilla mode on them. The Summit brand works fine, I prefer the black fittings to avoid the gaudy red/blue look.