Ok so here goes... What the hell is with AN fittings any way??? Why do they seem to appear on everything even remotely "race prepped" they are so damn ugly and out of place?!?! Okay so I've vented now let me explain. I cannot stand the look of a perfectly traditional car that's engine compartment is filled with ugly anodized doo-dads. I realize they are easy and safe and... blah blah blah Why doesn't anyone use brass fittings any more? Are they that much more difficult? Are they somehow inherently unsafe? How did racers get by before the onset of blue and red anodizing??? So the safety rules require you to run AN fittings... Boil them (I've been told this strips the anodizing), buy anodizing remover do anything but leave them that god-aweful color!!! Then you can paint them or hell leave them bare but if I see one more beautiful traditional car ruined by AN fittings I'll puke! Did I start ranting again at the end there? Thanks for reading!
1st - I agree completely, at the very least paint the damn things. 2nd - Time to switch to decaf my friend.
Well... maybe you need to read up... if you trace AN fittings to the beginning you would realize that they come from WW2 and they were used by the Air Force... later used by hot rodders in places like Bonneville etc... and the rest is "history"... I think you just relate them to Jegs like most people born after 1959... I hope this thread stays on the straight and narrow or it'll get closed.
Thanks for the history lesson Tuck. You are right in assuming I did not know that and also that I associate them with JEGS... For me its just such an eyesore. Were they always anodized?
They ARE ugly....I know, I've got 'em.... I'm gonna try the stripping technique...nice to know. I'd never put 'em on a street car...but, for some reason, I have different rules for a race car. Oh, yeah...it might be because if something happens they are fairly easily obtained...Probably find what you need at the track to get running again a lot easier than asking around to borrow some 1/2" or larger hard line, a bender, flaring tool, and brass.... The NHRA ALSO seems to like 'em...at least the tech guys do...so that rules out rubber... I've used the black braided hose before, its less "blingy", but, again...It doesn't bother me on a race car... Nothing a hood won't cover... My father plumbed EVERYTHING on his XLCH in the late 70's with them...it was the trick shit then! I HATE the blue and red, though...fucking clown colors...I'm gonna try the above trick for sure, while the truck is apart, and the fuel system on the bench. Ya know they DO make 'em in a non-hideous finish, but your fuel fitting bill goes from $ 500.00 to $650.00 then, for some unknown reason....
they were always red and blue anodized... someone posted a pic on the hamb on the last thread like this of a B-29 or similar with AN fittings thoughout...
Let me know how it works. I've been told you can boil it in tap water but that adding salt will speed up the process... I've seen several chemical stripper products as well.
AN = Army/Navy They are ugly, but they work. Oven cleaner gets the anodized color off them. I don't use them on my own shit, but I've used em on customer cars.
I've seen a few old aircraft (WWII) and engines but don't remember seeing any blue and red. They might have been painted over...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367517&highlight=an+fittings+history&showall=1 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127956
If you want to remove the anodize use some oven cleaner, does a pretty good job of taking it off, especially if the anodize is not very good. I use them because they are proven by the military and really don't mind the color. If you really want to have something different, but the same you can get almost all of the aluminum AN stuff in steel but you had better have a good flairing tool if you go to anything 3/8 inch or bigger. Trouble is stee will rust! Never a perfect choice. Rex
they are coming in black and stainless now you can get a black hose with black fittings which looks very tuff and professional in a darth vader sorta way in my opinion
Another way around the silly color thing, is to go to your local hydraulics supply place and ask for JIC fittings.(Joint Industrial Council). They are available in Cad plated, or stainless. They are 37 degree fittings, and are interchangeable with AN fittings. The hose or tubing choices are the same as AN. The thread pitch is the same, but the rating specs are somewhat different. Another real plus is that they cost about 1/4 of the price of the AN fittings.
My grandpa was a machinist for Lockheed during WWII. He did a lot of the build-up of pieces for the P38. Among some of the stuff I got after he passed away was a few old, unusable hose lines, oil I believe and the fittings were a kind of light pea green anodized color. They definatley were for aircraft and since my grandpa never threw anything away. probaby very old, so maybe this will help with the color originally on airplanes.
The color isn't for looks........the color is to easily identify what material the fitting is made of: http://www.tpub.com/content/aviation/14018/css/14018_209.htm Traditional or not, I think they're ugly and I work with 'em every day!
At least respect the amount of work that goes into plumbing a complex set up with them, i have a lot of them on my off topic project and it took a very long time to convert everything over to threaded fittings,so I could run AN stuff. it's not like you just slap on a rubber hose and a hose clamp. each fitting and connection has to be planned out. It tells me someone went to a lot of trouble to put them in. now if you want ugly, look at overbraided hoses and fake AN ends on them, now that's ugly.
Els Lohn (EELCO) bought surplus AN fittings after the war as did many other hot rod pioneers for resale and use on the dry lakes. AN fittings were cheaper than brass at places like Palley's and Goodrich on Main after the war. Wonder if Wally Parks used AN fittings on the V8-60 he stuffed into a Jeep in the South Pacific during WWII?
The overbraided hoses are pretty ugly, but not bad if you stick with the stainless......I remember when these faux AN stuff came out & the first kits weren't even overbraided stanless hoses, but were a clearish PLASTIC overbraid hose you slipped over the rubber hose. Looked pretty cool for about the 1st week of driving. Gotta agree on the fake ends that cover the hose clamps....them damn things always fell off. Hahaha....it's been years since I've had that stuff on my car.....probly back in 1990..... Carl Hagan
Most of the early air-craft fittings were stainless steel. As I have a stash left over from the air surplus store. The lines were stainless too as it was a flare and nut type of system. Tough to plumb but a work of art when it was finished !! And I never have figured out the aluminum copy thing as exotic fuels destroy the aluminum, like just plain eats it up !! How safe could that be ??? >>>>.
Not sure,,,but I think the original purpose of color was to indicate the lines use,,fuel, hyd., lube oil, etc.. You can get clear anodizing if you don't like 'BLING-BLING" colors.
I don't take it that personally , if I see AN fittings on an other wise cool car I say well they almost had a nice car and walk off
You can also get unanodized fittings from Earls. A lot of the common fittings are available without color. Their tech guy warned us that the unanodized are designed to be coated by the end user.
I took off the anodizing in my blast cab... used black fabric for my Hemi Water crossover. Looks good. I, too, walk away when I see red/blue fitting OR those stupid Cool Flex radiator hoses...
Actually the anodizing is what protects them from the fuel. Bare aluminum will corrode and flake eventually. Hard anodization is the only way aluminum can survive.
Thats what Holley did with their new HP125 and 150 gerotor electric pumps. They are clear anodized billet. It is why they are rated for Methanol/Ethonal use and the Blue, Black, and Red rotary vane aren't. Also, the gerotor pumps have seals that are compatable with the corrosive fuels.
The Jalopy Journal
