Fuel System: Fuel pump location

[Photoguy]

Looking through various threads of recent I assume this set up (installed by a PO) on a 55 President is not the most ideal. Correct?

[Mike Van Veghten]

Guy -

Nope, especially one of those pumps (very low volume). You have the very bottom of the line type pump there. While they advertise reasonable pressure, the volume output is just barely adequate. And...the carburetor bowl(s), need volume, not pressure.
Usable, yea, as long as you don't push too hard (higher speeds up hills, etc.). And yes, as usual, some will disagree (mine works fine..!)...and that's fine. Do some real world homework if you want to push your car a little harder than just cruising.

Anyway...back by the tank, as low as possible (gas tank bottom level) is the best place for any "inline" electric fuel pump. The second best is anywhere along the fuel line, as low as possible (mount to the frame).

Any higher than the center of the gas tank is asking for trouble (pump cavitation) anywhere, from front to rear. And that's if you keep the tank...full.

Just remember, there's a well designed system, and there's a system that..."just" works.

Mike

[JoeHall]

Pay no attention to the naysayers. You cannot buy a better pump than that one. I have been running those for hundreds of thousands of miles. I mount them in front of the radiator on top of the gravel shield including on 56J. They siphon well, so it works well there, and stays nice and cool.

[wittsend]

Recently I added electric fuel pumps to two of my cars. One was the type you have and the other a vane type Holley stated to flow copious amounts of fuel. I originally intended the pumps for priming purposes because the cars often sit. I found the car with the Holley vane pump needed the electric pump turned on for anything but a flat level surface. Apparently the "bleed through" the pump was not sufficient. Where as the "cheaper" pump seems to have much greater flow through if you are planning on primarily using it for priming and driving on the mechanical pump.

I got my pump from a "Free" box at a swapmeet. It looked near new but oddly had a wire clipped very short to the pump. Careful soldering took care of that. I believe it is only a 4 PSI pump but even with a 4 bbl. Edelbrock carb on a 350 Chevy engine it was only under hard, sustained acceleration that I needed to turn it on. If I were buying a pump I might have considered the 6 PSI version.

You did not state the intended purpose. To use it sustained - exclusive of a mechanical pump, or just priming. It might help to let others know.

[E. Davis]

I don't know anything about the pump quality but the location is a little troublesome. Gasoline lines and the possibility of line seepage that close to a major electrical connection would make me a little apprehensive. You know, one spark and kaboom.

[graylark]

Due to age and arthritis I put my pump in the easiest place I could on my '61 v8 Lark, up on the inner fender. Mechanical pumps kept leaking so I blocked off where the mechanical pump was and run the electric pump all the time. If you run one all the time I suggest using a relay between the ignition switch and the pump. I first had it directly wired to the ignition side of the switch, with an inline fuse, and not long after the ignition switch failed. I re-wired it using a relay to minimize the current through the switch contacts. I chose the ignition terminal so I could play radio without pump running. I moved the inline fuse to the pump's power feed out of the relay and used the wire from ignition to energize the relay coil. Everything works fine and no more leaky fuel pumps.

[Photoguy]

Thank you for the information. The car isn't seeing much use at the moment so really would serve to prime the mechanical pump for now. Appreciate the tip on setting up a relay!

[TWChamp]

The free box was a better deal than the $5 I had to pay for mine, but for a $125 Holley, mine was a good deal also. I mounted mine on a plate that covers the pump hole in the block, so it serves two purposes. I also added a heat shield over the pump. My 12 volt Holley running on 6 volts was still too much pressure and volume, so I use a 1 ohm 50 watt resistor is series with the pump. This cuts the pressure to 2 to 3 lbs. I don't think the vane pumps like mine can be used as a flow through style for priming only, but I haven't tried it either.

[52hawk]

Besides all the rubber hose,the copper tubing is prone to cracking.

[JoeHall]

Besides all the rubber hose,the copper tubing is prone to cracking.

Avoid copper fuel lines and the old fashioned rubber hose that now cost about a dollar per foot. Instead, use fuel injector rubber hose.