cowl mounted hand oil pump?

whats the proper name for the little pump mounted to the cowl on many old racers.?

were they used to build pressure before starting or to supliment the pump in low pressure situations? thanks

 

They were used to pressurize the fuel tank.

 

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Hand-Operated-Fuel-Pressure-Pump,7600.html

When you aren't running a fuel pump, you gotta get the fuel from the tail tank up and into the downdraft carburetor somehow.

 

Many old cars had a "one shot oiler" This would lube the chassis. They had a foot pedal on some cars. Other had a little plunger lever under the hood.

 

thanks rootie....and all

 

No reason to have one, other than looks, if you don't have a vintage race car. How about making it a pump for livations, or Cool-aid, or drinking water or go-jo, or? with a little holding tank inside the cowl? Gary

 

Before cars had fuel pumps fuel transfer to the carb was by gravity feed from the tank, a pump that pressurized the tank and forced fuel to the carb, or a "vacuum tank" that pulled fuel from the tank into a reservoir where it gravity fed from there. To start an engine that had been sitting, old cars with vacuum tanks or pressure pumps had a dash mounted pump to pressurize the tank, or to pull some fuel into the vacuum tank's reservoir. Once the engine was running fuel supply was automatic.

Race cars often had no fuel pump, automatic tank pressure pump, or vacuum tank. In that case fuel supply was provided by a periodic manual pressurizing of the tank with the hand pump.