Re: Electric fuel pump vs original mechanical fuel pump

Posted by Highlander160 On 2021/3/26 10:58:40

late to this party, but I'll toss in some opinions to snack on.

1st, show of hands and be honest, when is the last time anyone has experienced real vapor lock? Me personally, in the mid 90s. Actual vapor lock. Today's fuels fairly well stave off the old menace. Given the heat and operating conditions of new cars it makes sense. The only way you MIGHT see it is if there's a heater hose or exhaust really close to the fuel supply line.

2nd, again with today's fuels being the topic, evaporation is pretty dadgum quick. Park your car in July, forget it for 2-3 weeks. Go out and crank away even after the long pedal was tapped a few times. Nuthin, right? because it mostly evaporated out of the carb on that hot engine and continued as it sat in the hot garage for weeks at a time. It happens so we have to deal with it. I too don't like the idea of cranking away on old 6V starters. High amp draw, heat, junk batteries mostly, why allow that which gives us pleasure create a hemhorroid in our fun?

All you need is a simple pump you can draw thru, as stated above, prime the system and go. Not once have I ever had a failure or loss of reliability having an electric pump in the system. True, "they" didn't have one when new, and they had good ol gas with more "heavy end" molecules than we have today and it was a bit more stable. Also, in their heydays the cars didn't sit for weeks on end. They were used year 'round and never had to worry generally speaking. I don't recommend high output with return lines, regulators, calculated flow, blah-biddy-blah-blah-blah. That OEM pump can exceed the performance needs as it is, your little ticker pump won't work it that hard. Sorry to be a dick about it if it came off that way. Just keep it simple and you're good to go. For the science hobbyist, a gasoline engine needs 0.5 lbs of fuel per HP hour. Fuel weighs 8 lbs/gal. Work back from there, and each fitting can restrict flow by 1-5% depending on use and location. I used to know the volume loss per foot on fuel line but that was my drag race days which are sadly long gone. Enjoy...