Most of us have seen the beautiful old hand fuel pumps during our time in this hobby. I've been aware of these and have always thought they were works of art. I did a HAMB search on hand fuel (air) pumps and came up with several results. Most of the results were threads answering a myriad of questions about parts and who may have one available for purchase. Since the information is somewhat ****tered and there is not a thread (at least that I could find) that is dedicated to photos, I thought we could have one. If nothing else they are great to see. Here is a pretty good thread on how they work https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hand-fuel-pumps-can-anyone-tell-me-why.48646/page-2 I know very little about these. What I do know is I came across this one last week and bought it. The price was right and I've always wanted to have one. Doing a little digging on the HAMB mine may be a Lunkinhiemer?? Although it was in need of a little cleaning, the pump is in great shape. The leather cup gasket on the inside is in great condition. It's as if someone lightly greased it as it is nice and supple with no rot or cracking. It provides a great seal as it makes pressure very fast. The one way check valve seems to be working great. Please post photos of your pumps!
I have only seen one first hand. It was in the Carrillo Roadster during the restoration. I hate the photobucket logo but you can still see the pump. It was mounted horizontally on the frame rail
I’m making this just for looks on my speedster but don’t see a reason it couldn’t be functional with the proper check valves Need to make some appropriate mounts
Here is a couple I have ,made by Dole in the USA . One has a 1/4 inch shaft and the other is 3/8 th .
I have this more modern one, made by Eelco. Thanks to info provided in that thread Speed-On provided the link to, I was able to resource a new leather plunger gasket. Since I don't really have a need to pressurize my gas tank, I've been thinking about figuring out how to repurpose it as a primer for my carb. One thing that I've always was curious about was that since most old gas tanks had a breather hole in the gas cap, how did the old-timers that used these pumps maintain pressure in the tank? I must be missing some basic principle concerning hydraulics, but if you don't have a vent in the tank, a vacuum would be created & the gas couldn't flow to the motor very efficiently (if at all)....right? But, if you have a vent, you can't keep pressure in the tank...right? What a I missing?
I'll add some more pics later, but here's a late teens Stutz dash with it's Han**** (iirc) pump missing it's knob, and the somewhat common (for early hand pumps) Bell Auto Parts unit in a mid 30s Bell/Cragar catalog. Same as Carrillo roadster pictured above.
Not sure if this would work, but I bet it would. I think it was somewhat common for these to have a bakelite knob. There are plenty for sale on ebay and at swap meets. I bet you could drill one out and make it work...and probably make it look as if it came that way. https://www.ebay.com/itm/185359938794?hash=item2b285034ea:g:uZwAAOSw**piNzUA
Thanks Jimmy. I still have my originals on a remote hard drive but can’t access it with my I Pad That Detail thread of the Carrillo restoration that I posted got butchered by photobucket…
Photobucket ****ed so many threads, lucky for me I have a grandfathered account I still only pay $2.99 month and pics are still visible in my old posts.
I believe in the old race cars the tank would be sealed and one of the ride along mechanics job would be to keep the tank pressurized. Phil
@Speed~On You and I are definitely into a lot of the same things. Here's some more pics. A Bell unit with a real pretty knob. Another Bell mounted on the old steel sprint car cowl on my bobtail car. A quartet of dash-mount units, some with mounting brackets. A similar unit with strap type brackets soldered on, bolted to the side of my steel-bodied early midget project. A Dole primer pump A closeup of the Stutz Han**** A selection of early Cadillac gas caps as used on many an early race car fuel tank. The wing bolt presses a plate and seal against the tank bung to seal the tank for pressurizing. Loosening the wing bolt vents the tank. And lastly, a more modern unit, perhaps an EELCO?
Carter, your Caddy gas caps answer my question in the post #7. Also, the pump that you think is an Eelco looks pretty much identical to mine. Mine has the Eelco name etched on the knob, but if yours doesn't have the name, they could have produced ones with the name & without the name.
I always liked Stewart -Warner gauges, Engine Turned Hollywood Panels & Hand Fuel pumps. Here are few I have owned in some of my old cars that I built. A lot came from Big ED' Speed Shop in Alexandria, Va . as advertised in pictures shone in his 1965 catalog. The first pump ( an EELCO) with a Fuel cut-off switch went in my 4 in. chopped 32 Ford 3 window coupe that I built in the mid 1990's. That car now is owned by Lurker Mick in Utah. The next one is dash mounted MOON brand in my 32 Ford 5 Window Coupe which I still own. The last one is a new old stock one ( Chrome Dash mounted EELCO) I have owned for a very long time & was planning to use in my 33 Willys Coupe but have backed out since the dash is getting cluttered due to my using another SW Hollywood Panel. Maybe on another project
I'll dig it out for pics later ... Some of these look just like the old one I have... BUT I was told mine is for tapping a Keg ..(don't know ..don't drink beer) Would it be possible to use it as a fuel pump like these ?
I have a Bell surface mount, a Bell side mount, and an Eelco side mount. I usta have a Moon like Moriarity showed, but mine had the valve still in it and the handle was clear with a Moon logo cast into the middle of it. I got it at a swap meet from a famous sprint car racer/builder in Des Moines, but sold it for GOOD money.
A little crowded, but at the time, necessary. Corvette Interior Moon Gas Tank set up Circa 1960 Hello, As cool as the Moon Aluminum Tanks are, going back to the origin of the movement to the outside was partially my brother’s fault and my fault. On August 13, our 1940 Willys C/Gas 671 SBC coupe blew up after the timing lights. The clutch blew and the whole interior caught on fire. The particles of the clutch, ****ter shield and floor flew all over the place and consequently hit the Moon Aluminum Tank. (with the hand pump) The Moon Tank was attached to the floorboard of the p***enger side, it blew, leaked gas and the resulting inferno was seen by a packed house. The aftermath of the explosion/fire and what not, was the start of the Moon Tank removal from all drag racers’ interior spaces. They had to move in to the rear or front. At the time, most racers moved it to the front behind the grille. Atts Ono was on our crew and immediately designed a milled aluminum bracket to hold his newly moved, Moon Tank to the front, behind the grille of his 40 Willys. The fuel pump that was once a part of the whole system that was usually part of the Moon Gas Tank System was now removed or placed elsewhere. Most just moved the tank to the front and the trend was started. So where was the hand fuel pump? It could have been anywhere in the car, but not in the interior, anymore. Jnaki Street cars that supposed to look like race cars had no use for those pumps, once they were outlawed from direct access inside the interior area. No remnants of any sort of gas lines or tank hose lines were allowed. Including pumps. So, technically, a period correct build specific to summer 1960 and earlier would/could have a moon tank and hand pump inside the cab. (for show purposes only...) But as years rolled on, those that could not figure out how to put it in front, just bolted it to the bumper brackets or bumper. The ugly movement was on the books, fake or real. Car insurance inspections and public protection was not a topic of discussion, illegal as it seem to be… YRMV In looking back, if we had put the Moon Tank in front of the radiator and not inside, One, it would have given plenty of room for the p***enger on our trial run cruises. Two, there would have been no fire, although the clutch blasted its way out and up. We would have gone on to our next level of racing... but, that would have been a parallel universe version of what happened in 1960.
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