Filling The Engine Bay

I have been saying for quite awhile that I cannot wait to get to the point where I am finally putting stuff back onto KITT. It seems like all we have done is strip the car down and I am ready to start putting things back together. I mean sure the sound deadening was something we put into the car, but it also was not something that was originally there.

Well, these last few days I started doing just that. I decided to install the front to rear fuel and brake lines yesterday. I started by getting out all the new brake and fuel line clips I had purchased and comparing them to the originals I had saved. There were some slight differences, but nothing that would really matter.

I also pulled out the stainless steel lines Sara and I had straightened out last weekend and started looking at the pictures we had taken when we removed the original lines. I noticed a major difference. The main 3/8 fuel line does not match the one I took off. It runs along the left frame rail just as the original did, but it does not cross over the transmission tunnel to the right frame rail before entering the engine bay like the original.

I called Fine Lines and talked to them about it. I explained the difference and they requested I send pictures so they could investigate. I am not sure if they will have one that will be a direct match for mine or not, but at least they are looking into it. I did a little research of my own and it appears that this style and routing path was only used on the `82 and `83 Cross-Fire engines. That would explain why every other 3rd Gen picture I can find shows the same style as the one they sent me. All of the other front to rear lines, including the brake line, are correct and will work perfectly.

I got to thinking about the brake lines and wanted to make sure that they are correct. Luckily there were no surprises there. I installed the passenger side front brake line using the new clips. 

I also installed the drivers side front brake line.

When I was comparing the new clips I ordered, I noticed there were a few pieces that were not included. The most obvious being the bracket that secured the fuel line as it crossed over the transmission tunnel. Go figure, right? I decided to just clean these up with the wire wheel and then I will hit them with a couple coats of POR-15.

Since I would not be installing the front to rear hard lines today, I decided to see what other brackets I could reinstall in the engine bay.

I decided on the idler arm bracket and the K-member support brackets. I found the hardware for both quite easily thanks to Sara's organizing. :)

They needed to be cleaned up though, so I used the wire wheel on theses too. Here are a couple before and after pictures. I am still amazed at how well they clean up.

As I finished each bolt I threw them in the WD-40 bath to soak until I needed them.

I laid out the brackets in their proper place. They are not identical as you can see.

I wanted to use threadlocker on these brackets, so I needed to make sure the hardware was clean and free of oils. I wiped each bolt down with a rag and then sprayed them all with electrical contact cleaner. If you did not know this, electrical contact cleaner can be used to remove oils and grease and it dries extremely fast leaving no residue. It works perfectly to remove the oils from bolts.

I applied threadlocker to each bolt just before installing each bracket.

Driver side K-member support bracket installed and torqued down to 40 foot pounds.

Passenger side K-member support bracket installed and torqued down to 40 foot pounds.

The idler arm bracket is ready to be installed.

I torqued these bolts down to 40 foot pounds as well.

Here you can see all three brackets installed.

The last thing I did was to put the front to rear hard line mounting hardware I had cleaned up into the WD-40 bath to soak. It is amazing what WD-40 can do to clean parts and dissolve rust.