Speak to me of Fuel Pumps, Please...

seadog · November 10, 2005, 02:17:15 PM

I have a Holly electric pump, the "blue" pump, that I want to use on my Deuce 5 window/Small Block project. The instructions that came with the pump say that it must be mounted below the tank and the fuel outlet must be on the bottom of the tank. My fuel tank, which will be located in the trunk, has the outlet on the top. I called the maker of the tank who said that it is illegal to modify the tank for bottom feed, for safety reasons. In case of an accident it would be easy for fuel to leak out. Will this fuel pump work with a fuel outlet that's on top of the tank as long as the pump is lower than the overall tank? What am I missing here? Thanks.

rooster · November 10, 2005, 03:03:58 PM

from what you are saying it sounds like the pump must be gravity fed. With the inlet in the top that kills that idea, if you ran out of gas you would loose prime to the pump. You need one that does both actions! No expert here.

seadog · November 10, 2005, 06:05:35 PM

Quote from: "rooster"from what you are saying it sounds like the pump must be gravity fed. With the inlet in the top that kills that idea, if you ran out of gas you would loose prime to the pump. You need one that does both actions! No expert here.

That's what it sounds like to me, but what kind of electric pump do I need? I can't use a mechanical pump because the frame is pinched and there's not room for a pump to clear the rail. I should have researched this a little more before buying the Holly pump. Is there a way to make the pump I have work? Anybody???

rooster · November 10, 2005, 06:23:13 PM

Quote from: "seadog"
Quote from: "rooster"from what you are saying it sounds like the pump must be gravity fed. With the inlet in the top that kills that idea, if you ran out of gas you would loose prime to the pump. You need one that does both actions! No expert here.

That's what it sounds like to me, but what kind of electric pump do I need? I can't use a mechanical pump because the frame is pinched and there's not room for a pump to clear the rail. I should have researched this a little more before buying the Holly pump. Is there a way to make the pump I have work? Anybody???

If you cant find a answer here do a search of the net for holly ele pumps maybe throw in the model # also. Other guys have to be running
into this problem to.

A buddy of mine had this problem to, I tryed calling him but hes not home right now, let you know what I find out.

enjenjo · November 10, 2005, 07:21:07 PM

It should work ok. The only extra load on the pump would be when you run out of fuel, otherwise it will hold a syphon in the line to the pump.

FWIW, I haven't had much luck on Holley pumps lasting on the street, even when installed exactly as directed in the instructions. I would like to hear from others on this.

34ford · November 10, 2005, 07:49:11 PM

I used a carter on my last 2 cars. They have a high flow yet it doesn't need a regulator. They come in 6#, 7#, 8# pressure. The last one I put on I put a gauge in the line and it ran at a steady 6# so this works great with an edelbrock carb. I mounted mine on the frame rail infront of the rear end and the input line is level with the top of the tank and the tank has a tube in the top that feeds off of the bottom. They self prime. When I first started the car I just had a small gallon gas can sitting on the garage floor and the line from the pump ran down into the can about 16" below the pump and it primed itself and built up the pressure. Also like that if you need one in the road you can find them at the local parts house. Check them out on this page
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=egnsearch.asp&N=400415+307759&autoview=sku

Scroll down and check out the 1st 3 on the page.

rumrumm · November 11, 2005, 12:36:17 PM

I also have a pinched frame and am using a Holley Red pump with a regulator on my '32. I never had any problems with the same pump on my other rod so I decided to use a Holley again. But most of the guys on www.chevytalk.com Performance Forum recommend the Mallory electric fuel pump over all others. If I had to do it over again, I would probably have used one of those, but I did not know about their recommendations prior to buying the Holley unit. The Mallory unit has a different kind of pump design that is a lot more durable. But the Holley should not be a problem if you use a fuel filter before the pump. Holley pumps do not like contaminents in the fuel.

flt-blk · November 11, 2005, 03:32:35 PM

If you are worried about it move your fuel pickup to the bottom.

what are they going to do, revoke your warranty on the fuel tank?

40 · November 11, 2005, 07:54:23 PM

I have not had good luck with Holley pumps....had 2 out of 3 fail in the first year....all three were fed from the top of the tank....perhaps that was the problem.

seadog · November 11, 2005, 09:56:25 PM

From what I'm seeing here I think I'll just try the Holly pump with the fuel line running from the top of the tank. It will either work or it won't. If it works, cool. If not I can try one of the other pumps mentioned or relocate the fuel output to the bottom of the tank. Sounds like I may be OK as long as I don't let the tank run dry.

C9 · November 13, 2005, 08:27:23 AM

Like Enjenjo says, the top outlet tanks siphon fuel.
I have a top outlet fuel cell and the feed line on it goes to the bottom of the tank.
If I open a fitting on the pump or remove the spin-on fuel filter the tank will dump the fuel out on the ground due to the siphon effect.
Install a shut off valve in the fuel line so you can maintain filter, pump etc.

The pump starts the siphon with no problems.

Bottom outlet tanks are for drag racing and in fact bottom outlet tanks are against Federal law.
The law probably pertaining to auto manufacturers, but I'm sure it could be applied to you if your bottom outlet tank created a problem on the street.

Far as the Holley pumps go, I had one start running low pressure.
That was due to the internal regulator bore was slightly rough and the piston stuck.
Some 400 grit wet/dry rolled up and sanding the bore a bit smoothed things out and the pump regulated properly after that.

I lost another Holley pump (blue) due to low voltage at the pump.
Once you ran the electric supply line from ignition switch through fuel pressure safety switch (goes on the oil pressure line and cuts power to the pump if oil pressure is lost), through the terminal block, through another switch (used to kill power to the pump so you could run the carb dry) and finally back to the pump, voltage at the pump was about 11 volts when the battery read 12.2 volts.

A relay that was fed from a short 10 gage supply line and then a short 14 gage line from relay to pump had 12.2 volts at the pump with 12.2 volts at the battery.
The original pump wiring controls the relay with no problems.

I think a lot of electric fuel pumps burn up due to low voltage at the pump.

seadog · November 14, 2005, 08:19:23 PM

Quote from: "C9"Like Enjenjo says, the top outlet tanks siphon fuel.
I have a top outlet fuel cell and the feed line on it goes to the bottom of the tank.....

Thanks, your point about the need for a shut off is somethign I hadn't considered. Knowing this in advance will be a big time and headache saver.

Skip · November 14, 2005, 08:53:41 PM

All fuel tanks since the sixties are top-outlet tanks.

What Holley wants you to do is mount the pump LOWER than the tank. The pump has the ability to create the initial siphon necessary to prime itself. Once the line is filled, the pump, tank and line are one with respect to the fluid being pumped. The pump being lower than the tank will mean that the pump will NOT have to pull the fuel UP in order to maintain adequate flow.

Remember, these pumps are marketed to the masses driving every day run of the mill production cars that may or may not be converted to racing. In any event, they're sold to folks with top-outlet tanks 99.999% of the time.

47convert · November 18, 2005, 12:33:07 AM

Quote from: "rumrumm"I also have a pinched frame and am using a Holley Red pump with a regulator on my '32. I never had any problems with the same pump on my other rod so I decided to use a Holley again. But most of the guys on www.chevytalk.com Performance Forum recommend the Mallory electric fuel pump over all others. If I had to do it over again, I would probably have used one of those, but I did not know about their recommendations prior to buying the Holley unit. The Mallory unit has a different kind of pump design that is a lot more durable. But the Holley should not be a problem if you use a fuel filter before the pump. Holley pumps do not like contaminents in the fuel.

I've had trouble with both the Holley blue and the Mallory pumps as well as aftermarket mechanicals. I guess if you don't have room you need one, but there's nothing like a stock OEM pump for reliability.