Injection Pipe Re-plating for 3x8s and TRs

Ok Gang,

An individual (won't even say if they are an F-Chatter) I know has figured out a way to recondition old fuel injection pipes into ones SO GOOD you cannot tell the difference between newly re-plated and OEM.

His/Her new process does two VERY important things:

1) Safety First: It does NOT embrittle the re-plated parts as almost all other re-plating process do (READ: Dangerous especially to the welds at the ends).

2) Second for the Purists: It reproduces the "Peacock-Gold" coloring of the originals perfectly. When new, they were not plain gold colored but had the shades of the rainbow within the gold.


He or she (I helped via cheer-leading) did this mainly as a "Proof of Principle" to see if it could be done. Whether he/she will entertain doing this or not again I cannot say. I can tell you that IF they did it would not be cheap (READ: Several $ Hundred per set) but it would be cheaper than buying new .... IF you could find all the pipes (You likely can't).

If enough owners like the results ..... this MIGHT become another option available.

I will encourage the individual to come forth from the ether AFTER I post the answer as to which is the NEWLY REPLATED Part and which is OEM.


I will post the correct answer Sun, 12 JUNE 2011.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Come on Guys/Gals, don't just VIEW;


VOTE.

 

Steve,

Yes of course. Unless it relates to my lousy photography.

That info MIGHT influence the guy/gal that came up with this process to offer it, or further refine, it or just give it up as it is expensive.

I am in a possession of a complete re-plated set. I'd pay for it (did) but the origonater is VERY dubious this would be accepted owner-wide. He/She does not necessarily think it is worth the effort.

I honestly CANNOT tell the difference. And I have ZERO financial interest other than I spent alot on a different and local effort that completely ruined a set of pipes (Read: $ Many Hundreds).

This was a "Pity on me" "Proof of Principle" effort.



P.S. My pics are not the best. Sorry.

 

Scott,

Honestly I don't know. I'll pass along your question/concern though. Thanx.

He/she taught me everything I know about the process BUT, they did NOT teach me everything THEY know.

The problem with your suggestion is getting the lines. REF the 3x8's, you can buy most from only a few suppliers new at $150 or more for each line (both ends included) and there are 9 lines having a hard line and not JUST a banjo or screw-type connection coming off each Fuel Distributor. Used lines WHEN you can find them run about the same. The line to Cylinder Number 1 is 99.9999999346549% NLA and Special Order Only from what I have found to date; price unknown by me. Also there are Huge differences between the 2v and the 4v lines. So finding, plating and having sets sitting on a shelf as an exchange or buy option is not really feasable.

I cannot speak about the TRs and varients, fuel lines. I don't have one and just don't know. There should be 14 lines in total with hard lines (not just a banjo or screw-type connection) coming off the 2 FDs on each TR varient, if my math is correct.

Ship them "YES," BUT they will not go outside of the US. I found talent "Local" to you guys. I tried to find someone at BASF in Ludwigshoffen, Germany (arguably the finest company for chemical plating/coating processes on the planet), but found "No Joy." IF you don't know somebody or want to talk EU/$ Millions, they are not interested. I thought I found some local to me (Eastern Germany) but that failed miserably and set me back over $800.00 in losses at retail pricing.

Just guessing, but IF the individual will take this venture on commercially, (and it is really up to the membership here to express a serious interest) the usual (I AM GUESSING) turn-around would be 3+/- weeks once the pipes are in their hands. There are a few logistical considerations that just take time to effect. Doing several customer's lines in batches might keep the costs lower. Could it be done "RUSH/Over-Nite," as "I have to be at Pebble Beach next week." Probably. BUT the cost would probably raise considerably.


Again, I am JUST GUESSING on what they have told me.

 

Yes. And there is an F-Chatter in the 400 forum who can get the ends from WE BELIEVE the OEM supplier. He also makes the white plastic "holders" for the injectors for the QV's and 328s for next to nothing compared to OEM each, too.

YES, Absolutely right. Talk about effort and cost!!!

Yes, Again. I gave up. "No one" wants to pay for the work necesssary to make new lines.

Roger That, Scott. I found a way to DIY but the cost and effort was about the same as buying new so I was glad that someone saw a need and used me as the "Proof of Principle."

(EFI) And that is also why this may NEVER go any further. So far, just NO real interest. This poll is leaning that way. Red or black krinkle valve covers, air box, etc, etc, etc, But new reconditioned FI Lines does NOT(so far) seem to be of interest. And that is OK.

Poll is still "young" yet though ....

 

Bump.

Time is running out on the poll and the View Rate is good but the Polling Rate stinks.



Come on all,


IF you WANT this process offered, tell me (us) what you think.

 

As I understand it, you are right. Conventional replating is potentially VERY BAD NEWS. BUT, you have to look at where it is being applied. A hood orniment or instrument bezzel or a myriade of other parts NOT directly safety related likely poses no real threat to anything.

All I know is this was THE TOP CONCERN when this individual was reserching for a process to replate my pipes. The are soldered and under a fair amount of pressure. They are subject to some pretty good vibation as well. Definently a SAFETY related issue.

If embrittlement was even a remote a possibility in the process under consideration, it was discarded and something else saught. They tossed a number of conventinal processes as UNSAFE for this application.

The real trick was getting the Peacock-Gold color. It is a several step process that was not revealed to me.

 

Well, here goes.

The answer is ...........

























Those that chose A did so for their own reasons. Nobody posted any reasoning or thought process in their choice so the "WHY" is unknown.


I am assuming that all/most of you (I know that is not completely true but humor me, please) who voted for B did so due to the same thought process that Steve M. shared in his post above. That is what it took to make that decision. The VERY, VERY CLOSE-IN, detail level. The level that at which almost no one would ever look. The close-in pics were taken at about 10 inches and then with a ZOOM lens setting. So you are “looking” at it from about 5 inches away, maybe a tad closer and essentially with a magnifying glass. I do not believe anyone is getting THAT close to those things when mounted, not even a show judge. These things should pass concourse scrutiny with Z-E-R-O effort.



I led the person who came up with this process for our parts to this thread and they even refused to vote. They had no clue which was which and I did NOT tell them. They will read about it here along with you. Actually, I even double-checked the photos a couple of times before I posted to INSURE I GOT IT RIGHT.



In my feeble mind this was a huge success. The final product is way better than the person who thought it up, imagined. They were not originally going to offer this outside of their own business, as it “just wasn't worth it.” The process is not cheap (compared to a can of paint), it is very time consuming and the logistics are a real PITA. No amount of prodding on my part (MANY MONTHS WORTH, actually) was going to change their mind.


But, I was SO IMPRESSED by the end result, I pulled this sorry-a$$ed stunt of a thread essentially behind their back. For that, I apologize.


This thread was the only way I could come up with to get this “OUT THERE” and get the owner’s perspective on the product and perhaps get the originator’s attention and for them to give owner’s a shot at a LOWer COST option compared to buying NEW. We spend enormous amounts of time and money making our engine bays look absolutely stunning to have it all “trashed” IMO by rusted and crappy looking FI lines. The details DO matter.
This process can also be applied to many other parts (like: nuts, bolts, metal cam gears) as well, thus improving durability and slowing the rusting process we all experience. It can also be done in a silvery finish too. My original lines are going in for Peacock-Gold plating and my ashtray insert in silver. I’ll find other bits and pieces to plate as I go along.



Anyway ………..









The Answers are:


"The Memorex" (re-plated) piece is ......... B.


Piece A is New/NOS OEM from a UK supplier.


Piece C is off my car (‘81 - GTSi) and actually looks quite a bit better than B did BEFORE the cleaning and re-plating process. I am sending my OEM pipes in to get plated. They are VERY BAD.




With the results of this poll the originator will likely offer this as an advertised option to us. I thank you all for voting. It mattered.


As to pricing, I am sorry but I cannot say and anything I did say would likely be incorrect. However, I can say it would be significantly lower than buying new OEM, assuming you can find them all.




Time is the BIG factor here. It takes hours to prep and plate a single set of pipes from scratch. To keep costs down, there will be a bit of prep work required at the owner end which is easily accomplished prior to shipping. Oh, and don’t worry about clogging the pipes (I have a box full of clogged pipes from failed conventional plating attempts ) during the plating process as they came up with a novel approach to prevent that.






I will leave the originator the option to "Go Public" in this or another thread. Frankly, I screwed them by even creating this thread; I won’t do it again.


Until they come forward, or explicitly tell me to publicly publish their contact info here, anyone SERIOUSLY interested in this, PM/email me for contact info. I'll get it to you straight away.





A Final Word: I will restate, I have ZERO financial interest in this effort. I get absolutely NOTHING if 1 or 1000 or none take advantage of this option. I just saw a fantastic looking product I truly believe owners other than myself would want to have on their cars. Yep, I am absolutely giddy over plating ; who’da thunk it?