I have installed an electric fuel pump on my '55 Fairlane last summer. It is only a 3.5 psi pump and car is rated for 4 to 5 psi on my 2 barrel carb. When hooking it up I got as close to tank as possible about 2 feet from it. Everything went together fine as I planned and I have a filter before the pump. I had to cut the gas line and arrange the end across the trunk bottom and install the rubber type gas line from old to the pump. Then put rubber piece from pump to filter and one from filter to tank. Those last two pieces a short. All went together fine and no leaks found after testing it. I had run the car for one last cruise in September only a few miles and maybe a couple short ones after and no problems. My concern is will that rubber line be ok as is? It is only 5 or 6 inches away from exhaust output on longest piece. I read minimum should be no less than 3 inches. Is this ok? By the way I created a safety switch under the dash so pump can be shut off for emergency or working on car. I Have a shut off valve I bought to put on tank line to filter I was wanting to put on for another safety, but that adds another piece of fuel line. That concerns me as well!
Did you flare the ends of the fuel line you cut to add rubber? How long total is the length of rubber line? I read here that some sanctioning bodies allow only up to 1 foot of rubber hose total for the whole system. Did you use a decent quality hose? I’ve started changing rubber hoses annually because it doesn’t take long anymore for parts store crap to get hard or swollen it seems.
Modern fuel is hard on rubber parts, if left to sit. With regular use, it's not usually a problem. Also they sell "fuel injection" rubber hose that is quite a bit more expensive, and lasts a lot longer.
Not that much. couple feet from line to pump just before that tank. and maybe just over a foot between pump and filter and filter to tank
PROBALY NO MORE THAT 3 FEET TOTAL. 2 FEET FROM LINE TO PUMP JUST ABOVE TANK THEN A FEW INCHES BETWEEN PUMP AND FILTER AND A LITTLE BETWEEN FILTER AND TANK
When they say fuel injection rubber line is a lot more expensive they mean about double reg line. So while it IS significantly more than reg line it's still easily affordable
I use non-oxy all the time. Try to save some money on this as is. Old fuel pump was mechanical and only 3 years old and quit working and catalog I bought it from stopped carry it because was not good quality.
We plumb all fuel systems with steel, or copper/nickel line and fittings. If rubber is used in some areas we use EFI rated, (the other stuff breaks down) use barb to flare fitting adapters, we can't take short cuts with customer work.
I'm familiar with the cost and availability of mechanical fuel pumps for old cars...some of them are really expensive and don't work very well! Adding an electric pump is a good way to deal with it for not much money. But if you want us to check your work, it helps to show us pictures, not just talk about it.
As strange as it may seem to some now days , some don't have the capability to take & send pictures over the internet . I know , we're lesser beings .
I do need to go back and flare the fitting to the old line and the piece from the tank. Means I have to empty tank for the 3rd time. I will use the EFI stuff if that isn't what I have now. Not sure if metal line from old one to pump will have fittings that go into the pump. Have to check that out. That would eliminate the longer 2 ft. piece. Thanks.
I can get pictures of it later this spring. As for right now my garage is not heated and we are in Minnesota with below zero temps. Not very good working conditions.
I guess you don't really need the info at this time, then When you get a chance, post some pics, we'll be glad to look it over.
Why do you need to drain the tank to do anything? Are you saying the outlet is on the bottom of the tank? If it's not all you need to do is clear the line by blowing the fuel back into the tank. It shouldn't flow out again until the pump makes it move. The feed to the pump is syphonic, kinda. Chris
Does this statement mean you have the new electric pump inserted into the existing system, feeding into the old mechanical pump, and then using that existing line from mechanical pump to the carb? If so, mechanically, it works fine and will push fuel through, as you know. Many people do that, but I think about what happens if there's a bigger failure inside the mechanical pump. I dont know about Ford pumps, but if the worst happens inside that failed stock pump, is it possible to electrically pump the contents of the tank into the crankcase? I'm sure someone knows that answer, but it's one that I would definitely want to know. Like I said, I'm not well versed in Ford fuel pumps -rick
One thing that is in your favor now. To drain the tank, simply disconnect the hose where it's easy to catch the fuel and actuate the electric pump.
Your concern about pumping fuel into the engine is valid...I would not connect an electric pump to run fuel into an old unknown mechanical pump. But I have used one on a few vehicles, in series with a rebuilt mechanical pump, that just has trouble supplying enough fuel on hills, or when it's real hot out, etc. To overcome the vapor lock that is pretty common with modern fuel.
I put regular rubber hose in two 6' pieces to my electric fuel pump to allow me to service the pump. It lasted 2 years and I stepped into the garage one day and got hit with a heavy gas smell! There was a puddle on the floor about 4 ft. in diameter, and the rubber hose was soft and spongy! It was just leaking through the hose like the hose was porous! I went and got EFI rated hose at about $3 a foot and it's been on there a decade now with no problems. I hope your fuel pump is also on a keyed circuit that shuts off whenever the key is off? If not there will come a day when you forget the toggle switch and you'll try to start your engine and find it hydro locked when the fuel pump keeps pumping fuel into the carb. Had a friend who did this on his SBC engine and he called to tell me his engine was locked up. I pulled the plugs and cranked the engine over and gas came out every cylinder! Drained the oil and changed the filter and rewired the fuel pump to a relay run off the ignition switch so he wont forget again.
Don't need to drain the tank. You can get a hosetail end and a compression "Olive" [sleeve] that slips over the old fuel line Gas fitters use them
I have an electric pump feeding to a mechanical on my 57 Chevy. It is not recommended to pressurize the inlet side of a mechanical pump. My pump is used for priming the engine only then shuts off once there is oil pressure. I used on of those noisy "facet" style reciprocating pumps, that also act like a flow through "check valve" [the mechanical pump can easily draw through it] I used a relay that grounds via the oil pressure sender to switch off the pump when the engine is running. This relay also "diverts" to the electric choke [so it doesn't cycle off until the engine is running] The electric pump cured the cold start issues from leaving the car parked for months. [it would probably remedy a few vapor lock problems as well] The connection is Terminal # 30 to the switched side of the fuse box [this is dead with the ignition off] Terminal # 87 to the fuel pump Terminal # 87A to the electric choke [optional] Terminal # 86 bridged over to Terminal # 30 Terminal # 85 ground via oil pressure sender unit
Yeah, starting after sitting for a while is another good reason to add an electric pump. Making sure it only stays on when needed, is a good thing to do!
I have it on keyed circuit. Safety switch is just for emergency or if I need to work on car with key on for somethng.
The Jalopy Journal
