OK guys and gals...this may a simple one, but I don't know so that's why I'm asking................. I have a gas tank from a late 80's / early 90's Chevy Blazer with the electric fuel pump in the tank and I want to use the set up in my Studebaker to feed my 327 carburated motor. Can I do this with out lots of aggravation and if so is there anything I need to be aware of? Thanks for any guidance or constructive comments
You can use the tank but not the pump. Just take the fuel pump assembly out of the tank. Now take the pump off and put a pick up tube in it's place. And now re-place the whole assembly. Get a frame mounted pump.
I havent tried it but I have heard you can run a pressure regulator with a return line (bleed off) to the tank.....You Cannot run it without a regulator, you'll blow the seals out of the carb...... Any particular reason you want to leave that pump in the tank instead of a mechanical or inline elec pump??
I am not aware of any intank pumps for carb applications. You are really taking a chance by running even a TBI (low pressure) pump through a regulator. If the regulator fails you will have blow torch under the hood. IMHO you should use the tank with a Carter P4070 pump.
Thanks all for the responses. I kind of figured the pressure would be to much, but figured I'd ask just in case. 40 Chev....I figured I had the tank laying in the garage and if I could get it to work, it would save me buying an in line pump. I have an S-10 front frame under the Studebaker and with the way I have the motor mounted (down and back from the S-10 stock location), there isn't room for the mechanical pump. This set up (moving the engine back and down in the frame) works well and really changes the center of gravity for better handling. I did it on a 39 Plymouth several years ago and that thing handled great. Had to go the in line pump on that one too, but again, I had the other tank laying around and thought if it'll work...why not. Guess I found out why not. Thanks again to everyone...anyone got a cheap inline fuel pump laying around? (yes I'm a cheap SOB too)
I just picked up a Carter P4070 pump for my SBF swap based on all the glowing reviews on this board. It's going in this weekend. It looks like there are fancier electric pumps out there, but the Carter is a workhorse.
That is very true Rich, unless you set it up as a demand regulator at the tank. My 68 GTS uses the Walbro inline EFI pump (can't remember the pump number) at the fuel cell with a Mallory Regulator at the cell. It utilizess a very short return line at the cell. It works great, but it does return a lot of fuel unless I am under W.O.T. I engineered that when I was still at Walbro back in 2001. Been using it ever since, but the down side is it does return a lot of fuel, which can = heat. I don't drive mine enough for it to be a problem. I'd have to look at a flow curve for the vehicle in question to see how much fuel it would bypass under normal driving conditions.
If you really want to run the pump that's in the tank a bypass regulator is one way to go. I have a friend that used to race Porches (hang on it's relevant) he was a plumber by trade and didn't trust regulators for the reasons mentioned. He came up with a needle valve (Parker fluid products IIRC) used for regulating or limiting fluid flow. He adjusted it so the carbs (those 3 BBL Webbers, $$$) would get the minimum safe fuel presusre (not to starve) at WOT, and the fuel pressure would not climb enough durring the rest of the time to generate a problem (Webers don't like mutch fuel pressure). That and a good filter should be all you need (not counting the return line). If you are worried about heating the fuel by running it through the pump that often, rout the feed and return lines in the air stream so they get cool air flow and run the needle valve at the engine end of the system (not necesarily on the engine). I am expecting you would use metal tube for the feed and return lines with hose connections at the ends (like the factories do).
Why not run a mechanical pump off the engine like stock? Or, a good cheap pump to use is a "lift pump" off of a 90-97 Chevy diesel pickup. Mounts on the frame rails, puts out maybe 5 psi. Nice thing is, they're threaded ends so you can plumb them in easy.
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