Fuel pump not pumping, replace with electric?

[river_side]

64, 110, no fuel is being pumped.
I can suck fuel so the fuel is available.
Should I go electric (if so which?) or go for a used pump?
Thanks

[terribleted]

First make sure the pump is installed correctly. Pointy mounting bolt in locating hole in the bottom stem of the pump and that pump rod is under the pump. I assume you have verified no fuel flow by cranking the engine with a fuel line removed from a carb. if no fuel out of the disconnected line then indeed there is no flow, if there is flow through the disconnected line the carb filters may be plugged or needle seats stuck closed. OK so once you have determined for sure that the pump is not pumping it can be replaced by an y electric pump rated at 2.5-5PSI or so. (NOT MORE THAN 6PSI for sure). You need to take the existing fuel pump out of the system on way or another. Clark's sells a bypass plate which you install in the existing pump and makes it pass through only. This is handy as all the existing engine bay fuel lines stay the same. They also sell a block off plug which fills the hole if you remove the existing pump and make new fuel lines. Also the pump push rod under the stock pump should be removed as well. Electric pump should ideally be mounted near the tank. The pump should be powered from a circuit that is active when the ignition key is in run but not in off. It is also best (safest) to install some sort of shutoff in the pump power feed so that is the engine shuts off or there is a wreck the pump stops running. I use an inertia switch mounted to the firewall under the dash and feel that is adequate (also easy to wire as the wire runs are short since I mount my pump under the pass floor near the dash). One common safety is an oil pressure shut off switch.

[bbodie52]

ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP CONVERSION IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS

viewtopic.php?f=225&t=17257

[m37aswell]

As an aside to all this I have found that the one Corvair out of the 3 that I have on which I installed an electric fuel pump on starts almost immediately despite sitting for a week or more. It seems that the other 2 I have to whirl over much longer before they will fire. I suspect that these Corvair carburetors tend to "dry" out some after sitting awhile in the same way that my Holley 4-barrel carbs "dry" out in my old muscle cars. Gas evaporates easily apparently leaving the accelerator pump and\or float bowl well not full or dry and you then have to work the starter pretty good to get the stock fuel pump to refill the bowl. Best to just prime the carbs with a little gas out of a bottle rather then wear your starter out. Electric pump fills the bowls right away, much better.

[terribleted]

As an aside to all this I have found that the one Corvair out of the 3 that I have on which I installed an electric fuel pump on starts almost immediately despite sitting for a week or more. It seems that the other 2 I have to whirl over much longer before they will fire. I suspect that these Corvair carburetors tend to "dry" out some after sitting awhile in the same way that my Holley 4-barrel carbs "dry" out in my old muscle cars. Gas evaporates easily apparently leaving the accelerator pump and\or float bowl well not full or dry and you then have to work the starter pretty good to get the stock fuel pump to refill the bowl. Best to just prime the carbs with a little gas out of a bottle rather then wear your starter out. Electric pump fills the bowls right away, much better.

This is absolutely what happens. The fuel evaporates and it takes some cranking for the mechanical pump to refill the system sop that you get some good full squirts when you pump the gas a time or 2 before the engine starts. An electric pump tops up the carbs with not cranking, although you still need to pump the gas pedal a time or 2 to prime the carbs (like any carb car) before the engine will start easily. Ideally 1 pedal press to the floor should be enough fuel squirted into the intakes for the engine to fire. some engines even though everything seems perfect like to be a little richer like 2 or maybe even 3 accelerator pumps before starting cold. Once the engine has been running and is still warm only a turn of the key should be needed to restart although gain some engine want to be a little richer or it has sat a few minutes longer than ideal then 1 pump should be good. If you give it too much fuel and flood it it will not want to start. The procedure for starting a flooded engine is to pout the pedal to the floor and hold it there cranking the starter continuously until the engine starts. Do not run the battery down or fry the starter trying this but a good 30 second crank may be needed for a mildly flooded engine. Of course waiting 10-30 minutes for the excess fuel to evaporate usually works also:)

[azdave]

Best to just prime the carbs with a little gas out of a bottle rather then wear your starter out. Electric pump fills the bowls right away, much better.

I view the extra cranking as a benefit. An engine that has set for many days or weeks will have nearly all of the oil in the bearing surfaces and galleys drained back to the pan. An engine that takes extra cranking will be building oil pressure before the engine ever fires off. I like seeing the oil pressure light go off while I'm cranking and waiting for the carb bowls to fill with fuel. I figure starters are cheap and easy to change as compared to damage I might be doing by instantly starting an engine that has been in storage for a long time. As little miles as I put on my cars, who knows if it would make a difference either way but that's the way I've always looked at extra engine cranking.