Fellas, I just finished rebuilding the original 361 cid in my '59 Edsel. Among other things, I was recommended to install an additional in-line filter in between my OEM fuel pump and carb. The pump already has a built-in filter. Will having this extra in-line filter hamper my flow enough for me to notice, or will it be valuable extra protection? I'm curious to hear others' experience with this. Thanks, -Hudson
If your pump is good you won't notice a thing until the filter gets clogged. What kind of a filter does the pump have? Are we talking sediment bowl or ?????
My neighbor, who was building back in the 50's, recently advised me to run 2 filters and proceeded to explain how many of his and his friends carbs got fouled and how often. One time the stuffing straw/hair from the sear in his truck ended up in the carb. So I'd say you're fine. I've got a Skinner aircraft filter I'm going to use and will probably run a second back by the tank.
So before the build, I flushed the tank and cleaned out the original screen that was on the tank end of the fuel line. The fuel pump/built-in filter is only a month old, and now I have technically a third level of protection in the in-line filter. I'll be darned if I end up getting a gunked-up carb down the road!
I've run a filter by the tank on every rig I have put together for the past 30 years plus the filter in the carb or pump. I lost a fuel pump in Montana in 1981 after forgetting my gas cap on the pump at the Grand Teton park gas station and picked up grit from road construction on I 90 headed west and killed the pump and coasted down hill to Whitehorse. That was enough to convince me that I needed a filter between the tank and the pump. I've plugged up a lot of filters since then but never lost a pump due to dirt and crud from the tank. If you see a 70's (looks like a big Nova) Cadi Seville in a wrecking yard they have a filter just in front of the tank just inside the frame rail by the left rear wheel that takes the same filters as the Cad fuel pump takes with that spin off canister. They even come with a bracket to mount them.
Definitely a belt and suspenders approach but all of my builds get a filter coming out of the tank and between the pump and carb. I prefer the metal canister type under the car and the clear type under the hood where you can see if there is trash in it. I also run the dual inlet gas line on my Holley carb that is tapped for 1/8" pipe tap and screw in a small pressure gauge so I can tell if there is a pressure problem.
most of the crud you will see in todays gas is the chemicals they put in it ( detergents and octane chemicals ) when it evaporates , a second filter will help but it should be a finer mesh than the primary , a modern fuel injection metal filter would work in that spot better than a paper element filter as thats the micron size of the primary filter , the thing is with a fuel injection filter is they have to have pressure behind them as they are a slight restriction and need it to push the fuel thru it it doesn't like to have a suction applied to it as it will cause a vapor lock style condition from the vacuum because of it . they do make small micron filters for non Fi units that work for carbs . that are a smaller physical size . I do not like glass or plastic anywhere near heat or metal specially with gas inside it .
Neat old car! I have the same engine and ended up putting a new tank in mine. That stopped 99% of the crap in the gas. I just have one filter.