The Official 356Talk Forum

New to 356 and trying to decipher the little differences to ensure I've got the correct parts. In tearing down my motor, I noticed how long the soft fuel line was from the pump to the hard line which splits to the carbs. After a little research online, I discovered that there seems to be different lengths. Can anybody shed some light on it for me? Mine is similar to the second image. Running Zenith carbs if that makes a difference.

Dave,

If your engine has Zenith carburetors, you should disregard comparisons to Solex fuel lines, which are different and continued into the 912 era.
Please tell us the model year of your car & engine, and identify the fuel pump for us.
Early Zenith fuel lines did not have hose sections. There was also a fuel pump change during the B/C era.

Thanks for the reply. The car is a 64c

Here is a period photo of a 356C engine with an original fuel line, from the Conradt book.
You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

Here is an old C fuel line with original hose fittings, currently in the Samba classifieds: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds ... id=1782966

Dave -
Not knowing the year or model of your engine (or your location), perhaps helpful as a reference may be the below photo of my C engine in its original configuration, showing the short hose and fittings from the fuel pump to the tubing feeding the Zenith carbs.
- Wil

Pretty much a short hose with the metal end cap. All the long ones I think are repairs from removing an after-market fuel filter.
Go short.

Vic Skirmants wrote:Pretty much a short hose with the metal end cap. All the long ones I think are repairs from removing an after-market fuel filter.
Go short.

That's what I guessed had happened since somebody added a fuel filter between the pump and hard line which I hate. Based on the original finish on the hard line, under where the hose was pushed on, however, I was confused. Somebody had obviously cut this a long time ago to add the filter. Once I started searching online, I discovered a bunch of different lengths and asked for clarification. Confused even more once people started asking for the year of the car. I figured that they should all be hardlined as close to the pump as possible with just a short hose for vibration tolerance.

So, who has a correct line they can sell me?

jim nelson wrote:https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds ... id=1782966

Already sold by the time I contacted him. Thanks for the link.

Why not buy new. It is not that expensive.
http://www.stoddard.com/61610805901-nla.html