Can anybody give me a reason NOT to go back to mechanical? What would have the best long term reliability? Ive had my electric pump in the car for 12 years and its worked flawlessly until recently. Only problem now is my braided hose has deteriorated and my filter plugged up. But I took off the nitrous kit so the fuel system needs to be modified anyways. Im thinkin gabout taking off the Holley Blue pump, fuel regulator, fuel pressure isolator and gauge, and bolting on a mechanical pump. Id be removing all kinds of hoses I dont need anymore because Im not running the nitrous or really racing it like I used too. I just want a reliable car I can cruise in and still take it to the track. Next question is which mechanical pump? I have a stock bore roller 5.0, .512 lift cam with 236 @.050 duration I think it was. It has Twisted Wedge 170 heads , 2.02 valves. Running an Edelbrock 650 carb. So I see 2 common choices for fuel pumps, either 85 or 110gph. And I think if I stay at the 6 PSI I wont need a regulator. I see Edelbrock makes a 6 PSI 110gph pump. most other 110gph pumps are 8 PSI or more and I would want a regulator at that pressure. Has anybody else had good luck with a different pump besides this $100 Edelbrock pump? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-1725/ Heres an old pic but shows the fuel system I'd be taking out in place of a clean simple mechanical pump.
I scrapped all my electric pump after pump and regulator issues. I just got tired of messin with it. My engine isnt much over stock with a 600 on it so I just went with a factory pump. Best move I made on this car. IT works perfect. If I make changes in the future it will be to a higher flow mech. pump. NO electric for me unless it gets nitrous which likely wont happen.
I saw that for sale. But the pump is a 6.5 to 8 psi pump. Although it may not require a regulator I would want to run one on a pump that puts out 8 psi max. I think thats too much for the floats to hold. the Edelbrock pump is max at 6 psi which is perfect for the carb. But if I dont need 110gph then I have more choices for 6 psi pumps in the 85gph range.
Whatever pump you end up with I would keep the fuel pressure guage...it's always nice to know what it is and to diagnose issues. How about this Carter pump? Alot cheaper than the Edelbrock and puts out 5.5 to 6.5 psi... http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRT-M6588/
I dont like that stock style Carter pump because I want threaded inlets and outlets. And I want a newer style pump with a different diapram design than stock. Ive had a couple of those go bad on my truck and want something with more technology behind the design.
Ryan, i went with a Holley pump, i cant tell you if it's dependable yet, but io can say it works. 12-833, It's a 7.5 psi with a free flow rate of 80 gph. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-12-833/
That one only has 1/4" npt fittings. I want to stay with the 3/8 to not resrict flow too much when needed. And 7.5 psi is a bit much I think for a carb without regulator. Im sure at cruise it will be fine and not put out that much pressure but if I make a run with it up to 6000rpm it may hold the floats open and flood the carb. unless somebody has used something like this and confirms its not an issue. Which is the reasoning behind this post.
Well ya that will make the pump work...... But I need to pull the timing cover just to put one on there.
I like the Carter mechanical pumps with the threaded inlets and clockable housing. I have one on my Maverick (runs 11.50 1/4), my '66 Fairlane 427 (12.0 1/4), and ran one on a Fox Mustang that I raced for 4 years with no issues (10.30 @130 mph). I prefer the simplest solution, wherever possible.
What did you run for carb? and with a regulator or not? My thing is I want to run a pump that wont require a regulator to work with my Edelbrock carb. I think the safe thing to do is to use the Edelbrock pump that they say is good for the carb with a max of 6psi and 110gph. But if theres a cheaper solution then Im glad to hear it. And no, there is no fuel pump lobe on the front of my timing gear. I would know because I built it. I never thought Id go back to mechanical.