Fitting an electric fuel pump

[alexblack13]

Thanks Bill. I have just blanked off the pump-hole. For the want of a better description!!

Couple of pic's of where I've mounted the little pump. V quiet. So far so good. The regulator I have set to 2lbs / sq". Good flow at the other end. Nice.

Mech' pump now removed and it was indeed the cause of the oil leak! So that should be sorted too. Happy days.

Blanking plate made and fitted and the area de Oiled....

Have fun Guys....

Al' .....

[billwill]

I do have a BurtonPower blanking plate covering the old mech fuel pump hole. behind that aluminium bottle,

[alexblack13]

Took me all of 10 mins to make that one.

Nice job Bill ....

Al' ....

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Oxometer shoot off at dawn

[alexblack13]

Having a high speed metal cutting Band Saw and Belt linisher certainly helped John.. I would have bought one otherwise.

Fancy cutting the thing out of 1/2"Aluminium plate by hand hacksaw?? Nononoono no.

I am waiting for a reducing straight coupling now to connect the fuel supply pipe to the Carb pipe... The latter is a 5/16 fitting and the supply pipe is 1/4" ..... I bought a straight 5/16-5/16... Wrong!! ( In the key of G .... |)

Carb rebuild kits on way from Dellorto... Cabs having a dip sometime this week. I will need to change the fluid in the HF ultrasonic tank before dipping them. Keen to see what kind of job that makes..

Al' .....

[billwill]

Took me all of 10 mins to make that one.

Nice job Bill ....

Al' ....

I get no credit, I didn't do the electric pump conversion myself. It was done by Vegantune (Finchley) c 2001 as part of the work involved in repairing the damage after a traffic-light queue prang that I did.

But I have just replaced the rubber fuel pipe they used, with a metal one to remove the smell of fuel in the cabin.

[alexblack13]

Car up and running again. The pump is almost inaudible and certainly is with the boot floor in place. One can't hear it at all. Flow is good and the little regulator looks to be fairly accurate calibration wise. I have it set to 2lb's / sq "..

Carbs serviced up (again) and tick-over very nice and smooth. Very happy.

Cant report further at the moment as I wont take the car out with salt on the roads..

Front suspension rebuild now to fit new uprights (again!). Powder-coating various parts this time. The hammerite did not work too well last time.

Al' ....

[pamitchell]

I discovered the blanking plate for a Chevy I picked up at the local parts store worked perfectly.
On furthur reflection I have to believe the mechanical fuel pump mounting area is a universal size as fuel pumps are not engine maker specific AFAIK.
When I rebuilt the fuel pump, the kit was designated for an AC pump model not a Ford block.
I also learned that the thermostat gasket is common for a Chevy.

[elanern]

Like Alex, my fuel pump is leaking fuel into the sump. I am going to replace it with an electric one. Thought about a mechanical replacement, or rebuilding mine (again), but do not want to wake up to the smell of fuel in the garage from an overfull sump again.

A couple of installation questions:

1) Does the pump have to be below the fuel level in the tank? Recall my tank is mounted high, on the shelf are behind the rear bulkhead cover, so mounting it low should not be a problem. Finding a way to run the fuel lines will take some thought, though.

2) What did you use for your source of power - ignition switch, fuse block, etc? Does an electric pump require a relay? Where did you run the wire - behind the kick/side panel, under the carpet?

Thanks in advance.

[vernon.taylor]

Salut Alex

I think most oil breather mods are to stop sending oil vapour to the carb' box. Your blanking plate could be a convenient place to return condensed oil rather than collecting it in an oil catch tank but you would still need to vent to air. You can use coarse wire 'wool' wedged in a tube to create a baffle/condense the oil and the principle that oil is heavier than air (;-) to create your system. Only difficulty could be to make it look elegant but you're well equipped Don't forget to blank off the air-box hole, too.

Cliveboy has a nice T for the purpose.

@+

Vernon

[billwill]

What I had not realised until I read Miles Wilkins' engine book thoroughly recently is that that back right corner of the cylinder head is actually a condensation chamber for the oil vapour to condense and it then runs down the tapered rubber tube back into the sump.

So I surmise that any attempt to make another oil vent without a condensation chamber is likely to lose a lot of oil and taking the existing vent and dripping it back in through the former fuel pump opening is rather pointless as that operation has already been done by the existing chamber and you still have the problem of pressure equalization.

[alexblack13]

Hi Guys, Vernon / Ernie.

Many thanks for the info Vernon.. Some good tips... I ended up just leaving as is. Why try n fix what isn't broken eh?

Installation. The Pump I used did not require fitting below the tank level. Have a look at the pic's above. The Pump is a facet Posiflow fitted with a small regulator which is also sold by Facet.

Power came from the ign switched supply at the fuse-box, and as id does not draw much current a relay is not required. I fitted an in-line fuse at 3.5 amps. I also wired it through an inertia switch to shut off the pump in the event off accidents. The wiring route (all hidden!) is through the bulkhead by the fuse-box down to the dash rear area and along the transmission tunnel and through (under the carpet) and into the boot. very simple and all hidden.

Ernie.. My pump leaked oil which dripped onto the starter. Not a lot, but it was getting messy. Now gone! I never had any issues with fuel in the sump... I'm happy to have killed two birds with one stone. Oil leak gone and I removed the primer bulb too. Happy days...

Al'......

Thanks again guys..

[vernon.taylor]

Salut Bill

I think all wet sump TCs vent to air, probably at the point and for the reasons you mention. The vented air still has some oil vapour (the vapour space in the small condensation chamber will quickly become saturated I imagine) as came be verified by attaching an oil catch tank. The vent is normally attached to a tube venting to the road or a tube venting to the air box. Some people have blamed an oil fouling of spark plug Number 4 to this venting, hence mods.

Returning oil to the sump would be preferable I guess but drilling a blanking plate is less traumatic than drilling one's precious sump.

Thanks for the info Bill - I'll have to dig into my new Wilkins book to see where exactly this condensation chamber is.

@+

Vernon

[billwill]

Salut Bill

I think all wet sump TCs vent to air, probably at the point and for the reasons you mention. The vented air still has some oil vapour (the vapour space in the small condensation chamber will quickly become saturated I imagine) as came be verified by attaching an oil catch tank. The vent is normally attached to a tube venting to the road or a tube venting to the air box. Some people have blamed an oil fouling of spark plug Number 4 to this venting, hence mods.

Returning oil to the sump would be preferable I guess but drilling a blanking plate is less traumatic than drilling one's precious sump.

Thanks for the info Bill - I'll have to dig into my new Wilkins book to see where exactly this condensation chamber is.

@+

Vernon

>I'll have to dig into my new Wilkins book to see where exactly this condensation chamber is.

It's the rectanguloid bit on the underside at the rear on the right. The book contains pictures of prototype lash-ups that Lotus used before it was cast into the production heads. It's why you have a big core-plug on the underside of the head there.; that plus the hole where the tapered rubber tube fits would be what supported the sand-core during casting.

>Returning oil to the sump would be preferable I guess but drilling a blanking plate is less traumatic than drilling one's precious sump.

Trouble is I suspect the vapour and oil would go the other way!

[Quart Meg Miles]

I've just installed a Posiflow in my boot, like Alex's but vertically as I DO carry a spare wheel. But it won't stop pumping!

Voltage at pump is 12.2 V, without starting the engine, and flow from a disconnected Weber banjo looks good with the regulator set to 1? lb. There are only three possible reasons for the non-stop:

1. Pump is broken;

2. Webers are overflowing without smelling. I can check them visually tomorrow but I get 31 mpg (26 in USA units);

3. There is an air leak at the tank coupling (which is rather battered but sealed with Blue Universal Hylomar). Could that interfere with the electronic switch operation? The petrol tank is full so there's little suck required at the moment.

Any ideas out there? Thanks in advance.

BTW Alex, where did you get your little rubber stand-offs?