I called Bob today and asked him about the AN210-3A vs -3B pulleys. He said either would work just fine.
I also asked him about the braided fuel line, which is something I’ve been waffling about for a while. The issue is that the current fuel lines are braided stainless lines instead of solid 3003 aluminum lines. The braided lines are popular with the race car crowd, but they are about much heavier per foot than the same size of Aluminum wire. In fact, the weight difference of 40 feet of 3/8′ is 1.76 pounds for the AL vs 5.8 pounds for the stainless. I don’t have any doubts that the stainless tubing is up to the task, since the pressure ratings and chemical resistance are great. I am worried about the longevity of the rubber line inside of the stainless tube. Is this concern well-founded? Probably not, but I really don’t know. By using these lines does it mean that the fuel system will only last 132 years instead of 250? or does it mean that the fuel system will only last 5 years instead of 50? Racecars aren’t built for the long term- they are built to be reliable for short periods but not for long periods- but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the fuel line won’t still last for as long as I need for it to.
I have consulted several expert opinions about the tubing, so I figured I might as well ask Bob what he thought. To summarize, he said that it should probably be fine, as long as the resistance to auto fuel was good (which I would say it is). He added that it was much more expensive and much heavier and thus couldn’t imagine why anyone would use it instead of the AL. Richard’s point was that it was much easier to install than the AL tubing. If I were starting from scratch I would have stuck with the AL tubing, but since the stainless is already paid for, cut to length, and installed, I will probably stick with it for now.