OIL LINES
Since Big Red’s inception, the dry-sump oil lines have been routed through the passenger compartment from the engine compartment to the oil tank in the trunk. The crew decided the rebuild was the perfect time to move the fluid lines out of the same compartment as the driver. Since Big Red sits close to the ground, routing the lifeblood of the engine under the car is just asking for trouble. The guys decided the hoses could run through the hollow rocker panels, and have built-in protection against road debris. They started with -12 oil lines routed through the driver’s-side rocker panel, but decided to increase flow and capacity with -16 hoses. They also routed fuel lines (used as fuel breather lines for the supercharged setup) through the passenger-side rocker panel in the same manner.
Tim cut large 1 1/8-inch-wide slots in the top of the rockers inside the quarter panels. This area is only accessible because the rear-window regulator panels were removed in 1987 during the original build. To secure the hoses in the engine compartment, Tim and Dave fabricated some tabs with holes in them to locate AN
bulkhead fittings. Old steel-braided lines and fittings shown were used for mock up, and were replaced with new ones later. The hoses routed through the rockers are wrapped with DEI products for additional protection from for heat and abrasion.
Plumbing the oil lines, Tim needed an F-shaped fitting with two -12 AN males and a single -16 AN male for the dry- sump hoses in the engine compartment. Mark tried to order one, but what he received was not what was shown on the
web page, so Dave fabbed one. The saying, don’t judge a book by its cover, holds true; it did the trick!
