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Fuel tank pickup modification
We began our fuel system upgrade at the source, the fuel
tank. While a popular, but expensive, option is to replace
the entire fuel tank with a fuel cell or modified tank with
welded in -8AN fittings, we wanted to stay within a very tight
budget. Therefore we opted to modify the factory pick up unit.
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For obvious saftey reasons drain all the fuel from the
tank and lines before performing any work on the pickup
unit. 
After removing the retaining collar the stock pickup and
fuel-level sending unit is carefully removed.
We removed the fuel level sending unit by carefully breaking
the solder points. We'll replace this once the 1/2"
line is in place.
We used a Dremel tool to cut out the "button"
where normally the terminal is for the fuel level connector.
This is where our 1/2" line will be placed.
A steel -8AN fitting is placed into the hole. This fitting
will be welded into place. Our plan was to leave the 3/8"
line in place, so we could use it as a return line if
in the future we went to a high pressure EFI style fuel
pump. 
We cut a steel 1/2" line to length. Our plan was
to bend this in the same shape as the 3/8" line,
and weld this to the -8AN fitting. 
Unfortunately we used the services of a novice TIG welder,
who royally trashed our pickup. Poor welding technique
followed by careless grinding left it with pinholes and
gouge marks and no hope of sealing.
We ended up starting over with the stock unit that came
out of the car. This time we simplified things but cutting
out the 5/16" tube and putting in a 1/2" steel
tube. 
We took no chances this time and had a pro weld up the
tube and fitting. Take a look at the quality of the bead
compared to above. We'll have no leaks to worry about
here.
AN
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