Im at the point in my restoration to install the brake lines and fuel lines on my '70 triple black GS 455. I'm wondering what color the fuel line clips and hose clamps were originally? Brake line clips? Brake hose retainers? Were the fittings on the rubber brake hoses zinc plated or something different? All of the old stuff was too rusted up and corroded to tell what color they were originally. Also, I'm having trouble finding new front sway bar bushings that fit the 1" sway bar.. Anyone know where to fnd these?? Any help would be great!
The fuel line clamps are red and olive green. I don't want to tell you anything about the other stuff, 'cuz it would be better from someone that has the same car. I'm sure about the clamps.
thanks, but which ones are red and which ones are green? are the larger ones (3/8") supposed to be red? I'm assuming that most 1970 gran sports with disk front brakes had the same clip color/configuration(flint plant). am i wrong?
The larger 3/8" are green, the smaller 5/16" are red. You can go to Advance or Autozone and buy Help stuff...a package of spring clamps and they will be the right colors. You can get them from all the repro houses also. The brake clips, the horseshoe shaped clips that hold the hoses on the brkts varied in finish. I've seen 2 finishes, cad gold and black like anodized. They may have had silver cad also, and I don't know what Buick was using in that time line. They could have used all 3 finishes in the same plant in the same year. They would get say 100 boxes, when they used them up, maybe the next batch came from a different supplier. The frame clips you can get from Inline Tube in the right colors. Look at their website, they have all these clips and widgets. Also look at that Kokomo or whatever 5 page 1970? Buick GS thread from yesterday. There are nice detail shots of some of this stuff, but they say everything is not 100% correct.
I bought a set of clips for the brake lines and fuel lines from inline tube and they all came silver cad plated. I have seen some being painted yellow on some cars?? Wondering if i should trust inline tube on their color selection. I aslo bought some new front brake hoses from inline tube and the fittings are quite a bit different than original, and are also silver cad plated. I've see other cars with gold cad plated fittings on the front brake hoses... I realize the factory used different variations of parts due to mulitiple suppliers, but what is acceptable come show time? Thanks again
+1, you'd think they would have it right, but they don't. They show a picture of a kit with colored clips, but claim it's just an example and you'll need to paint your own.ou:
The Inline guys are really into Olds, they just do Buick + Chevs, etc. 'cuz it's more biz for them. You definitely can't trust everything they say, nor can you trust any other major supplier who says their parts are exact repros. I've also received lines from them that aren't bent like my originals. .. Anyways, I know Inline WAS absolutely making colored clip sets before in addition to their regular sets. They may have been a limited run, or they may be in the Olds catalog.
yeah, i was thinking the same thing on the accuracy of the repro parts. Their marketing strategy includes misrepresenting the parts they have to offer in order to get more orders.. seems like some distributors need to either update their part description, or hire someone to investigate and advertise the truth about the parts.. Anyways, back to why i started this thread. It sounds like i need to do some detailing on the clips. Still wondering about the front and rear brake hoses and the color of the fittings. here are some pictures of what was on te car (assuming they are original, but really have no clue) and what i bought from inline tube.
Here is what I have found on after on these cars and also studying assembly manuals and checking what I actually found against the part numbers...The yellow clips DL shows are correct for the three main fuel/brake line clips on the drivers side frame and the smaller one is for the auto trans coolant line on the front passenger side crossmember. Next to the three main yellow clips there is a small black S clip that holds the small fuel return line to the main line. There is also a black S clip back near the tank to hold the two fuel lines together. A larger yellow S clip was used on the brake lines under the master cylinder. The metalic blue clip hald the brake line to the rear cross member in front of the rear axle. On a 70 there are three metallic green clips on the front brake lines. Two are under the engine and one is on top of the frame on the passenger side. The horseshoe clips that hold the brake and E brake to the frame were black....As far as the hose clamps on the fuel lines Most connections on the bigger 3/8 line were olieve green. The exception to this was at the fuel sending unit at the tank and the hose from it to metal tube. They were smaller black clamps. You can check the assembly manual and you will see it calls for a different part # here. All the smaller 1/4" connectors were red.....ow for a sales pitch. I sell all the correct hose clamps for you car. I can supply fueland heater hose clamps all in the correct sizes and colors for cheaper than the big guys sell them. I can put together a complete kit. The heater hoses are different for a Flint car than GMAD built. I supply the flint style
Check Rock auto. They sell 1" sway bar bushings. I got nice ones from NAPA that I am using but I had to cut the slit. It wa easy.
As far as inline tube goes you have to pick and choose. I bought several things from them that would not work. Now way no how. They sold me tie rod connecting bolts with the correct head markings. They were however 5/16" when originals on 71 were 3/8"???? They also sold me Idler arm bolts that were to short. The barely made it through the arm so the nut barely had enough thread to catch on. They told me I must have aftemarket arm?? Yes I did but it is the same thickness as original?? The washers that came with the kit were also this hardware store washers not the thick correct ones so maybe they tried to make up for short bolts that way. It still did not work. The grade on the bolts was also less that the originals. Lucky AMK had the correct stuff. The big fuel/brake line clips they sell are also not correct. They bolt in the wrong place. They do however sell nice clips that go on top of the rear spring tower for the fuel lines. Also the blue brake and metallic green clips are pretty close however they stamp their name on them.
Thanks for your time and info! this is all a huge help! anyone have any input on my brake hose issue?
I think the brake hoses should have cad gold fittings, single crimp not double crimped. I think they had a red stripe in 70 with specific info. I have a 67 NOS hose here, it's single crimp, cad gold fittings, yellow stripe. The color of stripes were changed as the safety requirements of the day changed. So a yellow stripe met 67 requirements, a red stripe met 70 requirements.
That sounds like what my old ones look like (minus the red strip i can't see). That being said, i am in the market for some NOS 1970 brake hoses. Know anyone who would have anything like this?
I realize your doing a concours resto, but why use 40+ year old brake hoses? I doubt you would lose any points for that. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, and for me that would be it. Dave- Are the 3/8" clamps supposed to be olive? I thought they were yellow originally?
I believe he was talking about the hose clamps that connect the 2 piece fuel lines together. The clips that hold the line to the frame would be yellow..