Fuel pump pipe connections

sidevalve

Hi folks - back on the forum again after a huge absence - lots of things got in the way of enjoying my car over the last couple of years (my health, my finances, my workload, work needed to the car,the death of my mom, Covid, etc., etc., etc!). But anyway, I have now got a bit of time and a bit of money, and it is running well except that it needs a fuel pump - this one stops after a certain amount of time. I want to replace it with both a mechanical one and an electric one, with the elec one plumbed so that it only works for starting and is bypassed for running. I have got an NOS mechanical one, but as the car hasn't got one on at the moment (it has a blanking plate), I need the pipework and joints to fit it, and those are not available in France, where I live! I am sure that if I were in the USA I could go into NAPA or somewhere and they would be on the shelf, but that is not how France works (plus they are metric anyway!). So I would be really grateful if anyone could point me towards a supplier of fuel system pipes and joints, and also tell me what sizes I need. Sorry for the long post. Pic of my new turn signals attached just for fun!

onerare39

Ken U, from Texas is really good at putting stuff like this together, maybe he'll respond.  One word of caution on a NOS fuel pump, the rubber parts are probably brittle or deteriorated, it should probably be rebuilt first.

54coupe

As stated above…. And the alcohol in modern fuel doesn’t agree with the old rubber diaphragms.

Toddh

As far the “plumbing” there’s typically a flexible hose between the fuel tank feed pipe and the mechanical fuel pump intake.  The Factory always installed a hard line from the pump outlet to the carburetor.  You can use copper or copper nickel lines for this. These are easy to form and I suggest that you route the pump/carb line well away from the exhaust pipe but short as possible.  You’ll need a flaring tool as well.  The fittings are unions or elbows in 1/4” US standard pipe fitting size, I believe. Others will correct me if I’m mistaken. 

50C8DAN

A couple of comments: 1) Ken U is no longer on this forum, 2) have your fuel pump rebuilt or buy one that has a new material diaphragm.  I made the mistake of using a NOS one for my '50 16 years ago and within a year it was leaking all over the place!  The alcohol did a number on it.

eddiehudson

Ken U can be found on the official HET forum.

sidevalve

Thanks guys - really useful info. I was going to replace the diaphragm on the fuel pump with an ethanol-compliant one (I think there are some on eBay), so the heads-up is useful (they put a lot of ethanol in French gas!). I will contact Ken to see if he can help.

sidevalve

Hmmm... there don't seem to be any rebuild kits on eBay now - could have sworn there were. anyone know a source?

cheyenne7271

Try Dale Cooper, or Dr Doug Wildrick

Toddh

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254736090013?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EH3n8YSzQS6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ZowKstuNSZq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

50C8DAN

As a side note on the alcohol in gasoline.  Poulan sold a lot of chain saws through big box stores a number of years ago, and may still be selling the same ones. They were actually made by Husqvarna for them (Poulan is a subsidiary now of Husqvarna).  Anyway, my father-in-law bought us one as our old one was having issues.  The engineers there weren't too smart as the gas cap is made from rubber that is greatly affected by alcohol!  It swells and it is extremely difficult to remove without pliers.  Everyone complains about this and Poulan denies that there are any issues!  If you leave the cap out overnight it will shrink back to the original size and it screws right in, at least until it gets wet again!

Toddh

We’re fortunate in this part of Virginia to have access to no alcohol gasoline.  That’s all I run in my Hudson’s and lawn equipment 

Old Fogey UK

Alan,
I think the pipework and joints are pretty standard stuff as regards dimensions and threads (in the Anglo-American world, that is) that you can get in GB from the likes of Paul Beck, etc., if you don't mind paying his prices.
Otherwise, it's a case of scrounging from other enthusiasts in the local old car club (my frequent modus operandi) or going through the junk boxes at car flea markets.
Cheers,
David.

sidevalve

Thanks guys (a year on!). In the end the problem has been totally solved by buying a modern high-quality ethanol-compliant one. I would have preferred to keep the car bone stock, but a) if the Powers That Be insist on selling us junk gas we have little choice; and b) the car had an electric pump anyway, so all I have done is replace it with a better one. And I have a nice NOS pump to keep in the trunk to go with the car if/when I ever sell it. Turns out that my problem was that the old pump didn't have a pressure cut-out - it was trying to pump all the time. This meant that it tended to overheat, and unbeknownst to me it had an overheat cutout which switched it off for an hour or so when it overheated (which was pretty much every time I drove it!). The new pump only pumps on demand, and although I have done no journeys of over about 10 miles since I fitted it, it has been brilliant so far (and the old one was cutting out after about 5 miles on a hot day!).