I am about to buy all the parts I need for my fuel system but again don't know where to start. I have an electric fuel pump that came with the fuel cell. So what else do I need? Where do I run the lines to? At what point do I need to switch from hard line to flex line? Are there certain point I should be mounting the lines to?. Anything else I need to know before buying this stuff.
Yeah, definitely need more information like ..... is the fuel pump mounted inside the tank or outside near the tank. Is there a return line? Is it carbed or fuel injection?
I ran an external Carter fuel pump in a car I used to own and it sounded like I had a helicopter in the trunk .... next car I owned/built I made sure I ran a mechanical pump.
In my cars, I start at the tank, run a foot or so of rubber line, then steel line from the back of the car right up to the engine compartment, along the inside of the frame rails (don't want the line on the bottom of the rails because it can get pinched or ruptured by the rear end housing or stuff on the ground/speed bumps if you bottom out and don't want it between the body and the frame for the same reason, then another foot or so of rubber hose from the steel line to the mechanical fuel pump, then steel line up to the carb. That's how I did it, basically copying the same thing GM did. Rubber line between the tank and the steel line allows you to lower the tank easily and rubber line between the frame mounted steel line and the fuel pump is to allow the engine to move around without stressing a steel line .... rubber obviously flexes easily, a steel line can flex too but then it will weaken a break at some point.
Thanks Guys so far. The pump I have is inside the fuel cell, it is electric. The plan is to use a carb'd motor for now. Hoping to get a 383 stroker with about 400 hp. I don't hae the motor right now. Out of the pump there are two openings one labeled "o" and one labeled "r" If you need more info please ask, this is all new to me and I am so dumb I don't even know what questions to ask.
As far as I'm aware, the in-tank electric pumps are (usually?) for fuel injection. Fuel injection generally runs at much higher pressure than a carb. You definitely need to know the pressure your pump puts out so you can either run one specifically made for carbed engines or add a fuel pressure regulator to knock the pressure down if the one you have is made for fuel injection.
The Carter external electric pump had an in and an out .... fuel 'in' from the tank and 'out' to the carb.
Factory in-tank fuel injection pumps run an 'out' to feed the engine and a 'return' to return unused fuel back to the tank .... this may be your 'O' and 'R'.
Do you know anything about the pump? Who made it, what pressure it puts out, installation instructions?
-- Edited by Barchetta on Friday 19th of June 2015 04:18:34 PM
I will have to find out about this fuel cell. It came as part of the truck but no paperwork on it. Went to NAPA this afternoon to get some lines and the guy helping me could not find a fitting that fit into it. So I am at square one till I can get some info on it I guess. If there is a supply and return should I be putting a tee fitting close to the carb so the unused fuel returns?
Marten
You can google fuel systems and see what some guys have done to design there systems. Seeing a diagram paints a good picture of what you need to do. The pressure really needs to be figued out so a reg and guage is a must.
I have a electric pump and ran russell brand lines from my tank right to the engine compartment to the pressure regulator..The lines are mounted with rubber lined clamps .I have a filter (100)micron about 1 ft from the tank . Used a fitting before the carb where i can use a guage to set the pressure. The guage and hose are not permanent and the fitting has a 1/8 port that i have a plug for .My regulator has a return orfice where i ran hose back to the tank.
As i mentioned there are different ways to run a fuel system and other options on using lines.
Hope you can figure out the right way to do this.
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gotta be young and dumb before you get old and wise
What fuel pump is it, should be your first question. You need to know the pressure it operates at, and flow rating. That will determine your fuel line design, and line size. If it is a low pressure pump (it probably is not) you can probably deadhead it at a regulator. If it is a fuel injection pump - which most in take pumps are - then you need to run a return line and low pressure return style regulator. You cannot just use a T.
Minimum fuel line size should be 3/8" for any high performance car, but I usually use 1/2". Size the return the same size as the fuel line to ensure you never get fuel pressure creep and to make life easy on your pump. You can use hard line, or braided line to run the entire system, except you need to use some sort of flexible line between the tank and body, and the body of the car and the engine to allow for movement. Never use rubber line longer than 1 ft.
