Fuel Vapor return line

The fuel vapor return line was rusted out and leaking as well, so I had to secure a 25' long spool of 1/4" steel piping and bend it to match the rusty vapor line I pulled off.  It is nearly impossible to get an exact match on the bends, but this one turned out pretty close.  I am still doing it by eye.  My technique is pretty good, but I know a tape measure and some math would greatly improve the final fit.  I still need to create 1 more rear brake line and the fuel and return lines to complete this part of the project.

Rusty brake lines

After 30 years in the salty streets of Minneapolis, the brake lines finally acquiesced to snow melt.  The brake lines are longer than the standard 8 ft lengths you can get at the auto parts store, so I have to start with a 25ft coil of 3/16 brake line.

Step 1. Built a tool. Instead of spending $300 on a brake line straightener.  I found the general idea from a blogger building up a classic mini; but he's dropping in a 1.3l turbo from a toyota starlet.  I built my own for $50.  It will straighten 3/16" and 1/4" line.  I built my tool to mount to the bench vice.  It allows flexibility of a variable distance between the dies.  If you remove two of the five dies you can then use this set up to bend a large diameter bend in the brake line.  Something I needed to do to follow the contour of the gas tank.  This is the same technique used to bend curves in sheet metal with a 3 wheel roller press.

Remove the jaws and mount the tool

Step 2. Straighten the line

Bend the line as close as you can to the original