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A/n fittings period correct?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Von Kragen, Jun 2, 2009.

  1. Von Kragen
    Joined: Jan 19, 2008
    Posts: 71

    Von Kragen
    Member
    from linwood,MN

    what time period did A/N fittings come in to common use in drag racing and hotrodding? i always think they look just wrong on anything pre 60's especially the red and blue anodized ones(totally disco) would the steel or polished ones be right for a 60's gasser style car?
     
  2. Bettlejuice
    Joined: Apr 27, 2009
    Posts: 481

    Bettlejuice
    Member
    from WV

  3. 61bone
    Joined: Feb 12, 2005
    Posts: 890

    61bone
    Member

    I was using the cad plated ones in 61 with cloth braid lines.
     
  4. bobwop
    Joined: Jan 13, 2008
    Posts: 6,115

    bobwop
    Member
    from Arley, AL

    on a full up race car, I think it is matter of necessity. That has to trump being period correct, IMHO
     

  5. Rot'nRodder
    Joined: Apr 19, 2006
    Posts: 145

    Rot'nRodder
    Member

    if you go with any, go with Parker Hannifin fittings. Industrial is always better than auto aftermarket, made in china crap. They're not all fancy gay and disco anodize either.
     
  6. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    aeroquip are not made in china, they have to meet very strict standards for aerospace, the ones for automotive are just as high of a quality as the aerospace ones, the FAA just requires different numbers or something for aircraft,same stuff. you can get them in black fitting and use starlight hose which has a black braid, I like the red and blue ones personally, you can tell the guys with fake overbraid that they are the real deal. If you see genuine aeroquip stuff on a car even if it's the red or blue it's not just for show, those are some of the higest quailty fitings and hoses available. I just redid my off topic car, all fuel,power steering,cooling lines,vaccume lines,oil lines,etc. took a lot of time and a lot of money, little bit at a time, had to make a lot of welded on pipe thread adaptors to change over hose barbs, but the end result is worth it. the braided stuff isn't just for the overbraid and the flare fittings,the hose itself is far superior to anything you can buy at the auto parts store. If someone wants to call my fittings disco fittings,oh well, they are the real deal. If the fittings were cheap made in china stuff, i guarantee Nascar teams wouldn't be using them for how much they invest in an engine, most of them use the same Aeroquip you can buy from a catalog.
     
  7. I wasn't there, but in my research for my own projects I have old car magazines (Hot Rod, R&C) that clearly show "aircraft stainless steel braided" hoses from at least mid-60's and on. Natural colored fittings, not red/blue

    They are called out for their high-quality cutting-edge usage. ("Check out the stainless steel aircraft hose usage...")

    I prefer the OEM black rubber look myself... anybody know where to get black AN brake hoses? (not that I need brake hoses any time soon...)
     
  8. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    aeroquip makes hose thats black, not sure on the brake lines but i'm sure it's made in -3, the starlite hose is the black stuff, and there are black fittings too, holly also makes earls fitings, same an stuff, but a little cheaper(sometimes) they also have black anodized fittings
     
  9. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    Here's a link for you, aeroqup stated in 40 making hoses for aircraft,they are most certainly period correct. lots of car stuff is handed down from the aviation industry. It's interesting that they Started in jackson michigan, same place BD Maule started making stuff for airplanes, about the same time, he was quite an inventor too. I've heard rumors that peter Hurst and him knew each other, isn't too far fetched, in 40 it wasn't that big, they both made aircraft products, and BD started the airport there. I really like when I can link these old time pioneers to what I do now, BD started off making these tailwheels when Hurst started making aeroquip,in the same town, and now in 2009 i'm still making those little wheels. http://www.hydraulic-supply.com/html/productline/mfgprod/aeroquip.htm
     
  10. Tony
    Joined: Dec 3, 2002
    Posts: 7,350

    Tony
    Member

    Here's a quick simple "fix" for the braided brake line situation.
    Go to your local electrical store and get yourself a few feet of heat shrink tubing used for wire joints...you know the stuff i'm talking about..
    If you get the size that will just fit the fitting through, it *should* shrink down snug...
    Slip it over your hose and LIGHTLY heat til it's nice and tight...instant hidden stainless brake hose.
    I have a few friends that have done this and it's actually pretty slick IF you wanted to run braided lines but don't want that look...
    I should do a silly little tech post sometime on it just for the hell of it.
    Anyway, just a random idea.......
    sorry, don't know the answer to the original question...but it looks like other's do anyway :)
     
  11. Little Wing
    Joined: Nov 25, 2005
    Posts: 7,505

    Little Wing
    Member
    from Northeast

    Yes Eelco and Moon both sold them,,Check out and Warbird site and you should be able to get the Era you need
     
  12. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

  13. KJSR
    Joined: Mar 7, 2008
    Posts: 2,494

    KJSR
    Member
    from Utah
    1. Utah HAMBers

    In earlier aviation, there was not AN (Army/Navy) fittings....they used AC (Air Corps) fittings. The AC fittings were a finer thread and had a 35 degree taper rather than the AN 37 degree taper. I guess it all depends on what "period" you are looking for:)
     
  14. k9racer
    Joined: Jan 20, 2003
    Posts: 3,091

    k9racer
    Member

    The first I saw was in 1956. On a 28 roadster and a 34 jalopy race car. But the cars owner worked as a air craft maintance at Penscola naval air station. Their were several drag only cars with these setups too. I can guess the cost was nothing as these parts were to old or defective to use on aircraft..lol
     
  15. Harry Bergeron
    Joined: Feb 10, 2009
    Posts: 345

    Harry Bergeron
    Member
    from SoCal

    Don't forget all that was war surplus, should have been available cheap in the 50s. By the 60s we were buying it by the pound at the L.A. aircraft surplus yards.
     
  16. Steves32
    Joined: Aug 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,280

    Steves32
    Member
    from So Cal

    G&J Aircraft can make up braided brake lines & other sizes w/ a color sleeve in any color you want- including black. All my cars have AN fittings & stainless line. Always have- always will. I don't like leaks. You won't find any blue or red fittings though- they are all natural (not polished) stainless ends. That's for brakes, fuel & tranny cooler- even the radiator overflow.

    They do carry anodized flat black fittings- would look very cool IMO on a natural (not polished) SS hard line.
     
  17. Von Kragen
    Joined: Jan 19, 2008
    Posts: 71

    Von Kragen
    Member
    from linwood,MN

    wow! alot of great info came out on this.i figured it came available commonly after the war. it would be nice if there was a good military surplus place around here but all we have got are fake ones with camo wear and junk like that...... i think ill be going with natural fittings and that starlite hose. also i've always just wondered why they chose the red/blue combo? it does not work with anything very well astheticly personally the anodizing makes it look cheap
     
  18. RAY With
    Joined: Mar 15, 2009
    Posts: 3,132

    RAY With
    Member

    As stated above AN fittings and line has been around a long time and is more of a safety factor that appearance situation.A race car with dry sump system can invest over $3,500 on lines and fittings . When you get into the #12 and 16 size your getting into mega buck cost but its well worth the time and money for the durability it provides.
     
  19. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    Now there's some history. I suspect (don't I always) that as soon as any "vintage" aviation mechanic returned home to hot rod his car or work for a race team he would tell them to use what he had learned was the best line available, AC or AN or whatever came before that. WWII surplus made them cheap and post WWII race cars and hot rods had lots of it. Gary
     
  20. Ruiner
    Joined: May 17, 2004
    Posts: 4,141

    Ruiner
    Member

    Red and Blue are probably for discerning supply and return lines on aircraft without having to look too closely and figure out which hose runs where...I'm just guessing, but it seems logical to me...
     
  21. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    I think in the old days the red and blue would have said hey these are real AN lines, but with the cheap overbraid trying to copy it and looking really cheap,like the hose cover kits at most auto parts stores,it has kind of damaged that image. I work around aircraft every day and on a small airplane engine the red and blue fittings with carefully run wires and hoses is just art to me, those engines aren't going for looks,just pure functionality. I guess that style has someone gotten a cheap image, even though those particular fittings are about the highest quailty lines in the world, aircraft don't use cheap junk,peoples lives depend on those fittings
     
  22. Steves32
    Joined: Aug 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,280

    Steves32
    Member
    from So Cal

    As far as what's "Traditional"

    My dad was a machinist for a airline manufacturer. Both our rods in th 50's & 60's used AN lines. Always used surplus- but price was right at free. ;)
    Hard for me to break that tradition.
     
  23. If you already have red & blue fittings and want to tone them down a bit the way I did for one of my cars.

    Easy off oven cleaner (yellow can, with lye) will remove anodizing. Just spray on and way, then wipe it off, I then clean it up with some scotch brite.

    To make the SS braided lines a bit less showy, some simple heatshrink will solve that.

    [​IMG]

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    Maybe I should make a tech thread...
     
    pila38 likes this.
  24. gas pumper
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 2,957

    gas pumper
    Member

    For 50's and 60's I would stay away from the aluminum fittings. We sometimes borrowed fittings from work. Brass for low pressure, water, gas and oil. Plain Steel and cad plated steel for any hydraulic higher pressure (PS etc). Black aeroquip fabric wraped braided lines. Industrial stuff, not the kind of hose you see today.
    late 60's/Early 70's started stainless covered teflon lines. Cad plated steel ends but different configuration for those hoses. Same male fittings in brass and steel.

    I used to buy fittings and hose from Ronco/Vertex, the mag people. They were a big aeroquip dealer .
     
  25. Little Wing
    Joined: Nov 25, 2005
    Posts: 7,505

    Little Wing
    Member
    from Northeast

    Yeah ,,the steel and brass ones are what I see in the early stuff,,have a 40's Boeing tank that has teh brass fittings

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2009
  26. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    you can get aluminum fittings in black anodized now for the more traditional look, summit has a number of styles made to tone down the appearance,
     
  27. Von Kragen
    Joined: Jan 19, 2008
    Posts: 71

    Von Kragen
    Member
    from linwood,MN

    thats awesome talk about a budget way to get a great look you can buy fittings at swap meets any day that are faded and nicked up,then clean them up like this.....sweet!!!!! the heat shink tube would probably make the fitting easier to get on the stainless hose if installed first. i always get at least one of those wires jammed into my finger whenever i work with that stuff
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2009
  28. h2omonkey
    Joined: Dec 8, 2008
    Posts: 165

    h2omonkey
    Member
    from vegas

  29. enjenjo
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 2,689

    enjenjo
    Member
    from swanton oh

    In the late 50s the military surplus stores had the AN fittings, and made up hoses by the barrel. You picked what you could use out of the barrel, and it cost 50 cents a foot for the hose, and a quarter each for the fittings. It was red and blue then too. by 1970 most of it was gone, so Russell, and Earls started making their own.
     
  30. DirtyThirty
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 2,396

    DirtyThirty
    Member
    from nowhere...

    THAT....
    is cool.
    Thanks!
     

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