Electric Fuel Pump & what a great day!

[gbullman]

My car had to sit for a week because the mechanical fuel pump started leaking pretty bad (externally) and the spare I had on hand I was not comfortable using (supplier has agreed to refund me once I send it back).

So today was install day for an electric pump from Clark's. I'm happy with the way the install came out (sorry no pictures, I'll get some in a couple of weeks when I do the shocks) and my car is back on the road. It took most of the day but I don't move as fast as I used to and needed to make a couple of runs for parts so that slowed us down.

Where the great day came from is just how rigid my convertible is. I jacked the front up as high as I could and placed jack stands under it. Then my buddy and I used a floor jack on each side of the back and lifted it in sync as much as we could. A couple of times one or the other front jack stands didn't have weight on it because we were a bit out of sync, the car really doesn't flex at all. Was a little nervous opening the door with the car on jack stands, that ended up being a completely unnecessary concern. The doors literally opened and closed just like they do with the tires on the ground. I got another good look underneath and was reminded just how rust free this car is. Today made me appreciate it all over again.

Clark's is sending me the inertial safety switch that was missing from the first kit they sent so I have a little more wiring to do, but for now the car is back on the road and running as good as ever.

Looks like a bunch more miles on this car the remainder of this year!

[gbullman]

Couple of pictures of the installed fuel pump. Did not modify the existing hard tubing at all.

[JohnDB]

Is your power wire going through a grommet? Hard to tell from the picture. Glad to hear you are back on the road!

[terribleted]

I would be concerned about this install in 3 ways. 1. The power wire to the pump appears to not have a grommet to keep the wire from eventually shorting to the body. 2. Where the fuel hose passes through the steel body between the pump and the filter it appears that the hose is against roughly cut edges of the hole. this hole should be enlarged and grommeted also. You can use split rubber hose to make a grommet if need be. 3. The hose making a nearly 90 degree bend coming off the tank outlet is likely to kink closed or partially closed restricting fuel flow and making the pump work harder. rubber hoses can not be bent this tightly and perform properly in most cases. To maintain what you have done already I would suggest getting a short piece of 5/16" steel line and a tubing bender. Bend this line near 90 degrees and replace the center most bent part of that hose with the steel line.

[gbullman]

Wire and hose are all suspended in silicon sealant so they don't rub against the edges. I may end up doing just that with the feed hose, it seems fine so far but I have a similar concern.

Lot more work than I was hoping for but car is back on the road.

[terribleted]

Ahh so that is what that stuff is around the fuel hose. Might work. I would prefer larger holes with more clearance and rubber grommets or isolation.

Yeah that hose out of the tank is likely to at least partially close off as it gets used to being that bent.

[1949chevy]

https://www.corvair1.com/fuel-pump-installation

This is from Rafee's web site as I mentioned earlier, he has now moved to Europe. I miss him as he was ALWAYS there to answer any question about corvairs. This is the way I did my 66. It is all TUCKED under the frame and not exposed to direct water and damage due to being exposed. The pump and filter are made to be attached together...not separated like you have them ( more connections, more places to leak, not counting its appearance and I am sure extra work). I also, as terribleted said, I have rubber grommets where gas/rubber lines and wires pass through metal. With vibration, contraction, weather, hot, cold, wind, etc I would not feel confident with your protection methods. Maybe use that stuff to help home made grommets stay put if you feel like it. With my degree in Management, I was taught to get different solutions, chose the best one, and proceed with the one chosen. That has been good advice as to things like " let me find the different methods of installing electric fuel pumps and then make my decision".