[TR] 3a fuel line routing

[Randall]

> Not too worried about the main length of it front <-> back, but can
> someone direct me to a picture of how it goes on the input side of the
> fuel pump? And where does the flexible section come into play? I know
> that this car was new enough not to have the shutoff near the pump.

I'm not certain (since my cars have the shutoff), but I believe there is
still a short section of hard line that curves around from the pump inlet,
and then soft line that joins it to the hard line coming from the tank.

> Also - if it comes to this - what is the thread size? Something hard
> to find if I am making up new lines?

I don't recall the dimensions offhand, but the threads are standard for a
5/16" compression fitting.  Looking at the MMC catalog, I think that makes
the threads 1/2-24.  Shouldn't be too hard to find a suitable nut at your
FLAPS, and ordinary brake line tubing will do for the tubing.

But there are two flies in the ointment :

1) The original compression sleeves were longer than those readily available
today.  Although a new one might work, frequently the nut will bottom in the
threads in the hole before compressing the sleeve enough to make a tight
joint.

2) Although the pump outlet is configured for 5/16", the line to the carbs
is 1/4" OD.  Triumph accomplished this with a special nut.  I was able to
find one of these nuts at my FLAPS, once ... but it was the last one they
had (in the wrong bin) and they said they had no idea where it came from, or
how to buy more.

So I wound up making some special nuts on my own, with extended tips to work
with standard compression sleeves.  I used brass, but next time I'll use
hex-shaped steel stock.

There are other creative solutions as well, but since they didn't work for
me, I'll let someone else tell you how.

Randall