Rule 3.I Page 24 Fuel Systems

[Sumner]

...................I will get some "C" channel of at least .125 and cover the existing tubing. That will give me 2 layers of protection totaling .250 and I will not have to alter my current  fuel line......................

Sounds like a good plan.  Structurally the thickness of the roll cage and the thickness of this protection have nothing to do with one another as they serve different purposes.  I would have thought .120 would have been good enough, but after reading the thread agree with the .250.  I also agree that the rule should be changed to specify the thickness, go for it Willie.

..........................Since the entire chassis is already powder coated, I did not want to do any more welding. .....................

I plan on only powder coating the small parts that wouldn't be changed (welded on) due to the difficulty of going back and welding on something that was powder coated and I feel my car will most likely be in constant change.  I've mentioned it before that PPG's DP series paints are extremely corrosion resistant.  They are an epoxy paint and should be top coated and I'll us their K36 for that and it can be tinted and is waterproof also.  I've been extremely happy with both of these products.

c ya,

Sum

[Peter Jack]

Charles:

If I were doing it I'd probably leave what you have in place, then install a piece of 1/4" thick channel or tubing around your existing shield with some clearance. This would giver you maximum protection and if you've ever seen the results of a clutch letting go that's exactly what you need. This is especially important with an electric fuel pump which doesn't necessarily stop when the engine does.

Pete

[MCR]

The frame rail on a one-ton truck is about .125".  Maybe less.  I went out and looked.

So a .125 frame is OK?  Or do we need to beef up the frames if we run to the outside?

[Peter Jack]

I've seen clutch parts go right through a frame with very little indication that they even slowed down.

Pete

[thundersalt]

  I've mentioned it before that PPG's DP series paints are extremely corrosion resistant.  They are an epoxy paint and should be top coated and I'll us their K36 for that and it can be tinted and is waterproof also.  I've been extremely happy with both of these products.

c ya,

Sum

Sum, I don't want to change the topic of this thread, but, I know from experience that k36 is not very waterproof if left without a top coat. I don't have a PI sheet in front of me but we have used k36 here at the shop since they took k200 away from us in CA. and it holds moisture like a sponge.

[MCR]

I've seen clutch parts go right through a frame with very little indication that they even slowed down.

Pete

So everyone is bracing their frames up to 1/4"?

[RichFox]

MCR It has been my understanding that the frame dosn't count as part of the shielding. Again, It's cheap and easy. What's the down side of running some heavy wall tubing along side your frame with your fuel lines inside it? There are so many other things worth argueing with the inspector about.

[willieworld]

if you run the fuel line outside of your frame you wont need to run it through any tubing---if your frame is 1/8 inch wall channel i would run 1/8 in wall tube on the outside--if the frame rail is square tube or boxed in the flywheel area then if you run the line outside the frame you would have your  1/4 inch protection  --i still think someone needs to submit a rule change form to change from "heavy steel tubing" to .250 wall steel tubing     willie buchta

or at least specify a min. wall thickness     

[Cajun Kid]

Willie, I don't want to rock the boat, I just want to fix what I have and be safe and Legal.  With a Auto Trans and Blow Shield, I made the mistake of thinking 1/8 was Ok as the rule did not specify.

I am going back with another .125 or more  over the existing tube/shield.. That way I will have 2 shields that total over .250 and I don't have to undo what I have.  (I can make and bolt on the extra piece)

Thanks again, I appreciate all the help and insight.

Chales

[willieworld]

charles  that should get you through tech ----when i build something i always ask myself what is my hide and life worth  is it worth some more money and some more labor--you bet your ass it is --is always the answer ---i guess that sounds strange  coming from a bike guy   just a thought  willie buchta

[Cajun Kid]

Willie, I agree... If I would have been running a manual transmission I would have had the best bellhousing, shield and used thicker wall over my fuel lines... With the auto trans and my setup, I did what  I did and now see that more is better in most any safety situation.   Thanks for the heads up.

Charles

[Sumner]

  I've mentioned it before that PPG's DP series paints are extremely corrosion resistant.  They are an epoxy paint and should be top coated and I'll us their K36 for that and it can be tinted and is waterproof also.  I've been extremely happy with both of these products.

c ya,

Sum

Sum, I don't want to change the topic of this thread, but, I know from experience that k36 is not very waterproof if left without a top coat. I don't have a PI sheet in front of me but we have used k36 here at the shop since they took k200 away from us in CA. and it holds moisture like a sponge.

Yes we are off topic here, but I'll throw in one more thing.  I use to use the K200 also and liked it, but like the K36 better.  It was my understanding that the K200 was not waterproof and that the K36 was.  Maybe I had that wrong.  The main thing is that with the DP-40 under either it was the moisture barrier.  I drove my truck for years with the K200 over the DP and then the trailer for a year was out in the weather with K36 over the DP and I never had a problem with either.  Since the DP has to be top-coated withing a week I like the K36 over it as then when I want to go on with the body work and/or painting I can just sand it and keep applying more coats.

now back to Charles fuel lines..........

Sum

[RichFox]

Wait a bit. Rule 3,I pg. 30 2008 rule book. "All fuel lines in the area of the clutch and flywheel shall be run through heavy steel tubing or outside the frame rail."  To me this means that If you have an attomatic and a flexplate with no clutch you don't need anything. And no matter what you have outside the frame rail is OK. So MCR I take it back. And Kid I don't know why they questioned you at all.

[Cajun Kid]

Rich, it is a new car and it was my first tech.. So I did not question anything.. All I wanted to do is get my sticker and run... I did that so all was OK,,,, But I do want to resolve this issue before I get to the next event (wherever that may be)...  I too read the rule the way you did, and since I had no clutch or flywheel, I was not sure I needed anything, but wanting to be safe, even with automatic, I decided on what you see in the pictures.

Water under the bridge now,, I am going to add more shield as if I had the clutch and flywheel there....


Thanks again.

Charles

[Glen]

Charles, another thing you need to think about is a blown engine and parts bouncing off the track can also hit the fuel line, rear tires etc. There are many things to consider and thats what this forums all about. 100s of years of experience here.