ok so i have a austrum beach buggy and the fuel hose entering the floorpan tunnel and exiting out one of the rear forks is pretty shithouse... i assume that a metal fuel pipe runs the length (mostly) of the tunnel.. am i right?

if so how do i access where the fuel hose joins either end so i can renew the hose?

the only thing is if the shortened the floorpan of the buggy (which they indeed did!) then how would they of joined the 2 fuel pipe ends together? this then makes me think that it must be hose the runs the entire length of the buggy...

does anyone run a fuel hose on the exterior? as in under the floorpan or through the buggy body? im guessing not due to the dangers..

please help!:beer:beer

ps- i dont have an access cover cut into the tunnel yet behind the gear lever, but will be getting one..


cross posted in tech talk..

[Edited on 8-3-2005 by ~air fooled~]

I have a VERY easy solution for you. Forget the fuel line in the tunnel. Run a rubber hose under the top lip of the body on one side and just make sure it's not likely to be damaged by the wheels or anything coming off them.

The fuel line running through the tunnel is a "time bomb" with a dicky timer. Especially in an off roud VW, any fracturing or chafing of the steel line (yes, it's a steel fuel line all the way, front to back) will cause fuel and fuel vapor to be encased in the tunnel. When, not if, but when this ignites, it has the potential to explode the tunnel like a grenade sending shrapnel through your vital bits.

So, the easiest, safest and most servicable option, is to run a new rubber fuel hose under the protection of the top lip on the side of the fibreglass body. This way, if you ever do have a leak it's external to the body. And if you ever have fuel problems, the new line is so easy to get at.

I'm sure somebody will come on here saying it's a stupid and unsafe idea, and if they do, can they please state the reason they think so. I have had someone say to my face they thought what I'd done was the most dangerous thing they'd ever seen, but in reality, it's the safest place to put a fuel line. To run it through the inside of the main chassis beam originally (the tunnel) had to be the only "stupid" thing VW ever did with their brilliant design.

I am not going to get into an internet argument ... but I will happily say I disagree…..

Usually I replace the fuel line with new 8mm steel line when we shorten the pans. This is held in place with either the original clips or cable ties. It is not joined and runs full length. I have never had a VW fuel line die on a car that is looked after . Sometimes on old wrecks they rust through but usually after the tunnel has gone anyway.

The tunnel, in my opinion is the safest and cleanest way to get fuel from the front to the rear. It provides protection to it and is the most direct route. Running the fuel line in other places often results in not only a more complicated system but causes problems for the mechanical fuel pumps due to the increased head.

Make your own decision but ask how many people have actually had problems. Almost all the buggies I have seen with fuel line issues have fuel lines running outside of the tunnel.

When I do the EFI conversions I run 3 fuel lines down the tunnel and once again have no issue with it at all

thanks for the input guys... just a few things...

fire needs oxygen.. so if there was a fire inside the tunnel im pressuming that their wouldnt be enought holes here and there to feed it for long... whilst i had thought about that celtic warrior i think its fairly vulnerable also but easy to get too...

but this hasnt helped yet, i still dont know how to get to the fuel pipe! i see there is an oval plate held in by 2 bolts between the 2 beams on the front... maybe through there? but the back looks farkin impossible...

my other option



that i was thinking about was running the hose through some black plastic conduit pipe beside the left side of the tunnel, goin through the front fibreglass firewall and through the back of the buggy body.. obviously a bit of drillin reguried, but this would make the hose accesible but safe...

mine don't run throught the tunnel, but that's coz I had issues with the first pair I installed. They now are under the car covered in rubber hose and protected by the frame. But I can't see any reason why putting them in the tunnel should be a problem. Just don't weld them in, clip them on, I learn the hard way, welding makes them crack.

I used some 5/16" bundy tube. Its realy easy to bend. Just bend as much as possible to the shape you need, slide it in the tunnel, and pop it through the exisitng holes and you can even bend it while its in the tunnel by pushing on the protuding ends. I got the tube from the local brake place, needed 2.3m for a full length pan and they even flared the ends so the fuel hose won't come off under efi pressure.

I run 2 stainless 9.1mm 22000psi pipes down the inside of my tunnel:duhI don't expect them to rust or break for that matter:P They are held in place with cable ties.No way in the world would i run fuel lines on the outside of my car,but each to their own.....

just to throw another spanner in the works my engineer wants me to run the fuel line outside the tunnel for safty reasons.

Yes...but does outside the tunnel mean outside the car?? I would happily run my lines inside the car.I put mine in the tunnel as i thought it was the safest out of the way place to put them.

Mick H outside the car but protected .

Never had a problem with the original old fuel line? Well, my buggy for starters had a major issue, the steel line chafed through where it passes the gear shift mounting. I had fuel shloshing around inside the tunnel before I started smelling it (being an open car and all).

I also had a customer's Beetle in the workshop once with the very same problem, and it didn't even have a modified pan.

Apart from that, I've read reports and seen photos of the result of a fuel leak igniting in the tunnel, and it fairly peels it open. And before you argue one proof against another, consider that when one person has seen evidence of something, and another has not seen any evidence, it doesn't mean that the evidence doesn't exist. If a friend said he witnessed an accident, but you weren't there to see it, does your lack of evidence prove him a lier?

To whomever wouldn't dream of running a fuel line outside the passenger compartment, try thinking of all the makes and models of cars other than VW Beetles that have their fuel line under the floor, including four wheel drives. Under the floor makes it external to the body, and most certainly not encased within a secondary metal housing, but rather located so that it is in the open air with a layer of steel between it and the occupants. My suggestion was to run it up high and you could use a steel line or a rubber one. Oh, and my mechanical fuel pump never had any problems sucking fuel through the exterior line.

As for increased head... Wouldn't you need to place the fuel tank higher to increase the head pressure of the liquid? If the inlet and outlet are at their original hights (altitude) how can there be any change in head pressure from the tank by running a different line between the same two points? But, to understand this basic theology, you'd need some rudimentary understanding of fluid dynamics I suppose.

I have a length of tube running down the left side of the tunnel and inside that tube runs my fuel line.
Its nice and cozy in its little hole and safe from stomping feet and heavy items bouncing around on the floor.

yeah i was thinking of the same thing manx xtc... looks like it may be the way i got to go...

O.k just to stir the post, it is illegal to run a fuel line through the cabin of a buggy (or any vehicle for that matter)also not allowed to run a rubber fuel line the full length on the buggy-has to be preferably steel most will pass stainless if mounted corectly, engineers that follow the book will go through things with a fine toothed comb especially if they know nothing about them:puke

Mine runs down the passenger side of the tunnel.
It has a steal pipe of some sort of description, haven't really had a great look, pluss its painted black.
And i have a length of stainless or copper pipe running through it. I think it is copper, but un known.
I bought it from QLD with mod plates, so i guess an engineer has inspected it up there.
Plus i have since had it engineered here in NSW and not a mention about the fuel line where it is

wow half your luck, the guy up here wants it all ridgy dig,the fact that I will be using it for tourism is enough reason to go by the book but i spose with insurance claims and yearly inspections etc!!

As already stated I have no intention of getting into an argument with an internet mechanic.

As long as you secure your fuel line it will not rub through.

A 4wd, like Pete's buggy has a chassis so there is some way to protect the lines underneath the pan. VW's have no such protection.

Head will be increased when the lines are empty if they run up and down If your fuel line runs higher than the fuel level then you could well have issues priming your system after it has sat for a while. VW designed the fuel system to stay primed, thus the lines run out the tank bottom and down the tunnel. It does go up at the rear but that is a lot less air than is proposed. A normal car runs out and down as well. If you run them out and up and along the side of the buggy you are asking for issues.

Then again I have never done any basic theology, which coincidently is the study of religions and religious belief and has nothing to do with Fluid Dynamics, but hell feel free to use big words if it blows ya whistle.

I would be very keen to see the pictures and reports which have been mentioned, feel free to post them and enlighten us all as to the effects.

At the end of the day do what you feel will work for you. I support the factory location and like having them protected, out of sight and safely secured in the tunnel.

Mine works fine.
But someone else built the buggy so it wasn't my idea to run it there, but if i was to do a new pan i would have it gong through the tunnel again.

[Edited on 18/3/2005 by manx_xtc]

Far too many big words starting to happen in this post for me. As for where my fuel line will go.... it will be whatever the engineer I am using tells me I have to do.

Right on Andy. As long as it works and the engineer's happy, you're set... Go for it mate, and you'll have many happy years of buggying. :thumb

Anywhere apart from inside the tunnel in the stock location is asking for trouble. Get a new engineer if he advises ANYTHING different.

http://www.streetmachine.com.au 


or:
http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/Tig/Minisite/Minisite.aspx?alias=carpointau&id...

I compiled that list about six months ago so there may have been a few changes

right
yeah had a few mates that have said they have to go to inverell to get things passed.