Nickel Plated Injector Rails

[OwnerCS]

I found a local plating company that will nickel plate my injector rails for $50. This is providing that I prep the rails so the plating folks can just run them through the vat.

Many years ago, I worked with nickel and copper plating for ammunition. I really do not mind doing the pre-plating polishing and prep work to keep the cost at $50.

Here is a picture of some nickel-plated rails from a Nissan Z engine.

Nickel plated fuel systems components seem to be more popular with aircraft engines.

Is there any reason why I would not want to get the rails nickel plated?

[lino]

They look great . The only reason I can think why someone woudn't do it would be because they don't want to spend $50 on something they don't see everyday. Superuber should have done that. Here's a pic of his engine:

[Q451990]

Does nickel plating provide a benefit other than cosmetics? Would the insides of the rail be plated as well? If so, I would want to know that the plating couldn't react with the fuel in some way...

Heath

[OwnerCS]

I might have stumbled on another benefit here.. Honda's E85 vehicle modifications..

Modifications on the FFV variant include tin and nickel plating of fuel lines, installation of methanol-resistant rubber and plastics, the use of steel alloys for valves and seats, and installation of high-volume injectors. Special methanol-compatible motor oil is also used.

http://www.greencar.com/articles/cars-a ... merges.php

E85 dispenser guidelines

Use ONLY steel or nickel-plated swivels, connectors and nozzles with E85. Do NOT use aluminum gasoline nozzles.

http://agr.wa.gov/bioenergy/docs/E85Eth ... elines.pdf

[OwnerCS]

More on Nickel Plating below.

"In Brazil where they have run high ethanol fuels since 1939, they found that to convert older cars designed for gasoline, long before ethanol blends were common, needed several changes to convert the cars over. This led to changes in valve materials, piston rings choices, nickel plating of the fuel tanks etc. "

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=803341

Fittings and Connectors. All fittings,connectors, and adapters that will be in
contact with the fuel blend should be made of materials like stainless steel (best choice), black iron, or bronze to avoid degradation.
If aluminum or brass fittings are used, they must be nickel plated to avoid any contact between the bare metal and the fuel ethanol.

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/30849.pdf

[Q451990]

Sounds like it could work nicely!

[Skibane]

More on Nickel Plating below.

"In Brazil where they have run high ethanol fuels since 1939, they found that to convert older cars designed for gasoline, long before ethanol blends were common, needed several changes to convert the cars over. This led to changes in valve materials, piston rings choices, nickel plating of the fuel tanks etc. "

The benefit comes from plating surfaces that are exposed to fuel - The outside of the fuel rail doesn't qualify.

[OwnerCS]

More on Nickel Plating below.

"In Brazil where they have run high ethanol fuels since 1939, they found that to convert older cars designed for gasoline, long before ethanol blends were common, needed several changes to convert the cars over. This led to changes in valve materials, piston rings choices, nickel plating of the fuel tanks etc. "

The benefit comes from plating surfaces that are exposed to fuel - The outside of the fuel rail doesn't qualify.

Exactly. Electroless plating.

Also the threaded screw holes will need to be protected to keep plating out of those areas.

[OwnerCS]

Just finished prepping the rails for Electroless Plating.

When the rails come back from plating, I doubt they will have this shine. They should look more like stainless steel or a little darker (like pewter), as the plater will be using a high phosphorus nickel that is commonly used in petroleum industry for corrosion prevention.

[lino]

I can't believe how shiny they are now. Thanks for sharing those pics and all the other posts you've been contibuting . I can't wait to see them when they're finished.

[OwnerCS]

I can't believe how shiny they are now. Thanks for sharing those pics and all the other posts you've been contibuting . I can't wait to see them when they're finished.

Thanks Lino. If it wasn't for the knowledge, generosity, and kindness of this group, the car project would not be such a happy story. Sure I've spent some time working on it -- albeit like refinishing some piece of fine furniture or fixture. To me that's the most rewarding part of the process.

The Q is made from high quality materials. So it's like finding a diamond in the rough -- just needs some final polishing to bring out the real gem.

[OwnerCS]

Learning more here every day. The reason the original rails polished up so nicely is because they were originally "electro plated nickel" -- must have been done at the factory for corrosion protection reasons.

So the plater had to strip off the old nickel finish before he could put the rails in his electroless-plating tank. Otherwise he would have contaminated his electroless tank with electro plating from the original finish.

The plating company says the rails and fuel lines came out looking great on both the inside and outside.. I can't wait pick up the rails and lines on Friday.

[OwnerCS]

Yesterday I picked up the nickel-plated rails and fuel lines in Memphis.

For this first phase this enhancement, I wanted to have the rails and lines on the engine (under plenum) side of the fuel filter plated. Any further fuel system plating will be slow as time and other fuel system maintenance opportunities occur.

Another objective was to have any metal surface area that has contact with an injector o-ring to be as perfectly smooth and corrosion resistant as possible. Deatsch Werks offers a special “plated version” of the Phase II adapter for enhanced corrosion resistance. I was glad to see the guys at Deatsch taking the lead to offer advanced corrosion protection for o-ring contact surfaces.

The plating guys do a lot of work for the commercial aviation industry in addition to corrosion treatment for large commercial air conditioner system freon carrying pipes, evaporators, condensers, and nickel plated hydraulic systems for John Deere tractor manufacturing in Memphis. So they are all about corrosion prevention processes.

As for Qs being already advanced in this area, the original rails had been nickel-plated. I would like to do some research on the internals of some older Q rails.

I'm expecting parts to start arriving from IOS next week.

Here are some pictures below.












A glimpse of the plating inside the rail line is below.

[lino]

Pure eye candy

[Infinitiguy19]

I have read many NICO posts, MANY But this topic here will always be special to me.

Owner CS you make NICO worth coming to!!!

[OwnerCS]

Now I am finished with the rail part of this project. I set the injectors in the rails last night. I will recheck/retighten after another 24 hours. The cap bolts really went on easy.

Also, I used copper anti-seize on the threads -- to avoid the issues I had with removal.

I plan to bench test the new injectors (in the rails) in advance of installing the rails on the runners. I want to be confident there are no fuel leaks before the rails are installed to start the engine.

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[lino]

Absolutely gorgeous

[Q451990]

I have read many NICO posts, MANY But this topic here will always be special to me.

Owner CS you make NICO worth coming to!!!

No doubt! CS, your posts take me back to the glory days of first generation Q ownership in the early 2000's when the enthusiasts were here in full force... those rails are absolutely beautiful!

Heath

[LEMHEAD16]

Oh my sex! Sexy, sexy, sexy.

thats extreme attention to detail. mmmmmmmm