Thread: Ford 390 lines broken off

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Hey guys, this is my first post here, and I'm here to ask you fellow Ford big block fans what is going on with the lines leading off of my carb. The cold winter was really hard on the metal lines and two of them snapped off, one of which snapped at both ends. How can I fix these?
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Sorry for the link, I don't have individual jpeg urls. Photobucket is in beta I guess..

Welcome to CHR

Now - those lines from what I could see go to the choke. Not an unusual occurrence as heat and vibration take their toll - and my history with FE engined Fords way back, was that these lines only lasted a very few years. Can they be replaced? Yes. I used on several, I believe, a piece of 1/4" SS tubing though carbon steel will last a while. You will have to drill out the piece in the exhaust manifold - easier said then done - flare the end that fits on the underside of the choke, bend to fit and done.

Then there is this choke stove kit (or similar) - Dorman Products 76850 . My recollection is that the FE's with original exhaust manifolds are not easy to wrap a clamp around. Probably can find that kit at any auto parts store that sells the HELP parts, usually on a separate rack or rotating display

It appears that you have headers----------that one line off the top part of the carb just supplies filtered air down to the area of the exhaust manifold where it was heated and then back uo to heat the choke so it would open

couple of choices---convert to hand/manual choke
get a piece of 3 or 4 ft look steel line from auto parts store, work it around a header tube(one thats easy to get to) by hand 2 or 3 laps, then up to choke housing---put a hose clamp around the tube on the header to secure and hold tube close for the heat absorbsion-----

and welcome aboard------

Welcome. There is also a third choice and the one I usually use, which is to convert to an electric choke. It's usually as simple as finding a listing for a later model carb of the same design and ordering the black plastic choke assembly and running a 12V wire that is hot when the switch in in the run position.

Mike P. nails it! Do the conversion to 12 volt and plug up the vacuum port at the choke.

If you do decide to stay with the lines, I've used brake line before and get the zinc coated one as it'll look better longer and last a bit longer.

Wow, thanks so much for all the informative responses, and a lot of options! I'll have plenty of time to think about which one I'll want to do considering the weather won't pick up again for about another week or two I'm guessing.
I'll keep all of these in mind, thanks!

Originally Posted by 390F250

Wow, thanks so much for all the informative responses, and a lot of options! I'll have plenty of time to think about which one I'll want to do considering the weather won't pick up again for about another week or two I'm guessing.
I'll keep all of these in mind, thanks!

No problem! And welcome to the club.. Did they also tell you the price of admission was 3 pictures??

(rofl... not really - we just like to see everyones projects!!!)

When you're standing there with the loose end of the choke wire in your hand and looking for a hot 12v source to tie it into, the plus side of the coil looks really inviting. Don't do it. Run the wire back to the firewall and tie it into the hot going to the windshield wipers.