Fuel Line Plating

[Tomnistuff]

In stripping my car for restoration, I've already got about 25 pounds of parts to CAD plate.  DeTray will do my plating, but I have a logistics question.

Since here in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, I'm probably closer to the north pole than I am to DeTray, how do I handle the shipping of those ten or twelve foot long fuel and brake lines under the car?

I seem to remember something I read on some web site about "shipping bends" in long fuel lines, that have to be straightened out by the owner.  That sounds risky to do on old replated tubes, and I don't know how to do it correctly anyway.

Does anyone have any suggestions?  Benz Dr?

How do those of you not near your plater handle the long fuel and brake lines? 

Tom Kizer

[66andBlue]

Tom,
when I shipped the lines for the 280SL from Joe's place in Blacklick to DeTray I used a kind of cut up "bicycle box".  The injection lines were taped together in a separate compartment and the contraption was kept apart by wedging the bracket for the spark plug wires in between - I hope you can see it in one of the photos. The sides of the big box where then cut to the minimum height required for the tallest line in the middle to save on shipping costs. 
Clean the lines as good as you can with steel wool, the results will be better and if you have some small rubber/plastic caps cap the end of the injection lines. The plater may not like it because the lines tend to swim in the tank but it will keep any tank crap out of them.

I used FedEx for shipping but I have no suggestions how you can get it over the border - shipping it directly from Canada may cost you more then a trip to the closest FedEx or UPS office in Vermont. 

[wwheeler]

I second the motion about cleaning them as well as you can BEFORE you send the lines. The more work you do at the beginning, the better they will turn out. Platers only spend so much time prepping which can really eat up time.

[Benz Dr.]

That's a completely silly waste of time. The injection lines you would get plated but brake and fuel lines you can replace with new stuff. Why even bother?
 These parts are not exspensive and are less hassle than dealing with shipping large objects.

[66andBlue]

But tell me please, where you can buy new ones already  yellow CAD plated? 
Do you have a web site to point us to or a catalog?

[Tomnistuff]

I agree that I would rather buy new than replate the fuel lines and the rear brake line under the car, but from M-B, the fuel supply and return total 374 Euro without tax and shipping.  I expect the brake line is about the same as the return line, so the total would be about 570 Euro.  To me, that's expensive.

I'm beginning to think I need to buy S.S. lines, bend them myself, put the flares on the S.S. brake line and to hell with originality.

Those three lines are 10 feet long, so shipping from Canada to the U.S. is probably out of the question.

Is there any reasonably priced alternative for those three long ones?

I'll bite the bullet on the shorter ones and buy new short brake lines for safety, since they're down low and potentially thin from rust.

Thanks for all your comments so far.

Tom Kizer

[seattle_Jerry]

get them made locally. I just got my 3 rear ones made in stainless for $60

[Benz Dr.]

I agree that I would rather buy new than replate the fuel lines and the rear brake line under the car, but from M-B, the fuel supply and return total 374 Euro without tax and shipping.  I expect the brake line is about the same as the return line, so the total would be about 570 Euro.  To me, that's expensive.

I'm beginning to think I need to buy S.S. lines, bend them myself, put the flares on the S.S. brake line and to hell with originality.

Those three lines are 10 feet long, so shipping from Canada to the U.S. is probably out of the question.

Is there any reasonably priced alternative for those three long ones?

I'll bite the bullet on the shorter ones and buy new short brake lines for safety, since they're down low and potentially thin from rust.

Thanks for all your comments so far.

Tom Kizer

Which makes no sense when the 190SL main fuel lines are about 85.00 each. They're not the same but they're not that different either.

I wasn't aware the 113 lines were that much.

[seattle_Jerry]

Personally I wouldn't get too caught up on originality on a semi-disposable item like brake lines/fuel lines under the car. Like the exhaust, they are a maintenance item that gets replaced from time to time.