Tag: Fuel System

The fuel inlet lines to the fuel valve only needed a slight modification to get them to hook up. But the fuel outlet needed a new line run. I got that done but it took me two tries. I ended up making the first attempt too short but the second one was good but I needed to bend it to the side so that the elevator controls wouldn’t hit it. I will say I might end up switching to braided flexible lines as many of the others have done. I don’t like the bends in these fuel lines but we will see if it leaks in the future when I get it all hooked up to the fuel tanks and run fuel through it. It will be a few more days till my next post as I will be going to Washington D.C. for a cybersecurity conference.

I’m getting close to finishing up this part. I got the new plate drilled for rivets, deburred, primed and riveted in. I then installed the Andair fuel valve, cut the extension to the length I needed it, modified the cover to accept the fuel selector and installed that. Now I just need to modify the hard fuel lines to mate up with the new fuel valve and then install the pins through the top and bottom of the extension to the selector and the fuel valve.

I ended up wasting a bit of time tonight by not using the right tools. I tried to be precise by hand and that was a terrible idea. Ended up wasting an hour. But I went the second time around using the drill press and other items and got it spot on. Now tomorrow I just need to drill 6 #30 holes for rivets for this custom plate and then I need to grind a small portion away where the bolts will go so they will seat properly. Then prime it and rivet it in and mount the valve. Then I have to turn my attention to the cover plate and mounting that in the proper spot as well. Luckily there is a bit of fudge in that component but I have the valve in the identical spot down to a 32nd of an inch where the old valve was so I don’t believe I’ll need that much of a fudge number. The image in the slideshow below where it is finished is what I’m roughly shooting for. I wanted to keep the same bracket just so I could be more accurate in my placement as well as even stiffen that area up some more.

the Andair value arrived from the UK today. It is definitely quality and is almost a direct replacement for the Vans fuel selector. The selector is very smooth in its operation and I will feel much better switching tanks with this valve. I will need to cut a larger hole for the selector to be mounted to the top cover of the center channel. I will also need to get some screws and nut plates that appear to be 10 size screws. Probably AN515-10 but I’ll see what others have used before I go off on my own.

I finished the last two lines of the fuel system this morning. The one that took the longest was the short one. Those are seriously the hardest ones to make because there is no room for error, and trying to measure the distance between offsetting lines is difficult because you have to determine how much more is needed between the devices at an angle. I’m pretty sure there’s some geometry I could have brought into play here but I didn’t want to deal with that lol.

The other thing is that the gas tank switch was not the same size as everything else. I think the rod was just slightly larger than it was supposed to be. I had to file down the tabs on the cover to allow it to fit through and then I ended up finally just having to sand down the outside of the rod so that the handle would fit on it loose enough to allow for movement. I might have to do more of it down the road as I just don’t like the way it feels still. It’s just too difficult to move. I might end up going with the andair solution down the road because this is such a hodgepodge