How They Make It: Earl's Fittings and Hose EndsFor over 40 years, Earl's has been one of the leaders in performance fluid-line plumbing. What began as a retail outlet selling aerospace surplus plumbing components has evolved into a sophisticated manufacturing facility that makes most of its own hose ends and adapters. During this evolution Earl's actually improved on the original aerospace hose-end configuration, developing in 1972 its patented Swivel-Seal, which permits the hose to rotate independently of the hose end after assembly. This simplifies hose installation on assemblies that have elbows on both ends, eliminating cumbersome hose-end "clocking" and minimizing hose twist that tends to weaken the assembly.
Today, Earl's is part of the Holley Performance Products family and manufactures hundreds of hose-end variations for a variety of hose types, plus adapters, hose coverings, kits, custom hardware, and tools designed for reliable plumbing of fuel, oil, and brake systems. It also markets a full line of oil and transmission coolers. Let's take a closer look at how Earl's precision hose ends are made.-Marlan Davis