Installing elephant lines in a 73?

wayner · 02-24-2011, 12:41 PM

I did a search and found lots of discussions, but no pictures of what I am looking for.

Are there any issues with routing these on an early car?

I have a 3.0 in it. m ok into the rear wheel well.

Looking for advice on running them forward from there. (lines are here, don't have access to the car for a few more weeks)

Thanks in advance..

70SC · 70SC's Garage

You will love them

Shaved off 5-10 degrees & they look fast

Pretty simple job . Hardest part is getting the fittings off the thermostat at the rear fender. Outer one (return line)comes off first then you can access the inner one. Reverse on install. Inner line first, Torque to specs . Then the outer (return line ) Good luck & Don't GALL the threads

BTW mines a 70 911t with a 81 SC drivetrain

Dantilla · 02-24-2011, 02:21 PM

No problem. I had Elephant's lines in my 3.2 powered '73 coupe. Pictures are on the other computer....

wayner · 03-23-2011, 04:35 AM

I looked on my other computer and couldn't find your pictures

Thanks everyone. sounds like installation is NBD.

ossiblue · 03-23-2011, 07:12 AM

Just to add a bit. I have the external cooler on my 73.5, though the lines are not Elephant, and there are a few things to be ready for.

First, the lines and thermostat are held in place by clamps--three under the rocker, two in the front wheel well, and one in the rear wheel well. Your 73 does not have the brackets under the rocker that hold the factory type clamps as they are the brackets used to fasten the 74 and later wide rocker moldings so be prepared to either fab some brackets or use another type clamp such as rubber coated hose clamps instead.

Second, the return lines from the thermostat back to the engine are clamped to a factory 10mm stud in the wheel well that your car also does not have. Again, you can retrofit a stud/bolt for a clamp or use another type fastener.

Third, the lines returning from the thermostat to the engine run along an indent in the longitudinal that is likely not on your car either--it appeared sometime late in 73 for later model cars (my car was made in May of 73 and does not have the indent). This indent allows for clearance of the lines away from the wheel. If your car lacks this, you can still run the lines back but you need to be very careful of the clearance with the back tire.

All in all, the job is not difficult. I only posted this to give you a heads up on some things that you can be ready for so the installation goes smoothly.

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

LJ probably gives you the most head's up. Use a real Porsche thermostat. Be prepared for a fight getting old lines off if the thermostat is more than a few years old.

In my opinion it fits kind of like a puzzle piece. Don't crank down any of the lines until you get the thermostat and engine lines positioned cause you are dealing with few acute angles to get the thermostat to be positioned properly.

wayner · 03-23-2011, 07:32 AM

LJ, thanks for the heads up, particularly inside the wheel well.

Jeremy, thanks for the pics.
Do I have to paint my car blue first and then install the oil lines, or will they still work if I paint it a different colour?

Must...decide...colour....sigh

wayner · 03-23-2011, 07:53 AM

I just found out that Elephant has alternate oil lines for the wheel well to provide extra clearance specifically for cars without the recess in the longitudinal. Line to be routed over the top for more clearance

The pic on the right hand side of the page shows what i will need aside from the lines that I already have from the wheel well forward.

Thanks again for the heads up LJ. I think Jeremy's picture shows the recess that mine may be missing.

Oil lines and oil pipes for Porsche 911 / 930 - Elephant Racing

Carrerax · 07:55 AM

I just did this to my 70t. The problem that I had was the lines in Jeremy's top photo. The ones from T-stat to the oil tank and engine. It was very tough to get the oem porsche lines to clear the wheel/tire (7R's). They would miss but not enough for my peace of mind. elephant sells lines that go up and over the wheel that worked perfectly. The other thing that hasnt been mentiones is that the early tank has a 26mm thread on the oil tank and the Sc oem lines are 30mm. You will need to buy a conversion coupler from elaphant/Pelican or you can get the over the wheel lines already made for what you want. As I said, I just did this and HIGHLY suggest going up and over the wheel... Just my $.02

Here is mine before I switched to the high lines from E.R.
Here is my new/old project.....Lilly

wayner · 03-23-2011, 08:01 AM

Thanks.
One more piece of the puzzle.

Now I have to figure out which oil tank configuration I have since my 73 has a built SC engine and I am not sure where the 73 ends and the SC components begin

This has been helpful

sabeo.m · sabeo.m's Garage

It was hard for me to remove the lines from the thermostat... Be careful not to damage it, they are not cheap to replace. I got the oil spanner wrenches from Pelican, Part # PEL-TOL-P242. These work great and helped out a lot.