<VV> Electric Fuel Pump / pick-up

[Tony Underwood]

At 11:56 PM 2/7/2007, Sethracer at aol.com wrote:
>
>In a message dated 2/7/2007 10:22:04 PM Pacific Standard Time,
>vairologist at verizon.net writes:
>
>Smitty  says:  I know this is going to come as a shock to you all, but when
>the  car is upside down the fuel pickup is at the top of the tank.  Man you
>guys are  smart.
>_______________________________________________
>
>
>
>Usually true (not the smart part, the fuel pick-up part)  - So if you  have
>an electric fuel pump, don't worry. Thanks for clarifying it, 
>Smitty! -  Seth


Lemme restate what I said in my previous fuel pump post:


Flip a Corvair upside-down and the engine quits immediately (unless 
it's wearing fuel-injection or the like) because carbs won't work 
upside-down.   ;)
Thus, the mechanical fuel pump wouldn't pump any fuel either.


Besides, it's pretty much a moot point since there's only one person 
I know who ever flipped a Corvair onto its back and it did indeed 
have F.I. on it and I don't recall him saying it caught fire.    I 
suppose he's the authenticated source for anecdotal commentary as 
regards 'Vair fuel spillage when inverted although I admit that 
unlike a F.I. outfitted car, the carbs would have emptied the 
contents of their bowls into the air cleaner where it likely would 
have puddled in the tops of the filter lid(s) and not actually 
cascaded down onto the ground like a miniature Niagara.    Still an 
unlikely scenario for a fire unless the negligently unsecured battery 
tumbled out of its box dangling by its cables, + terminal bumping the 
sheet metal making sparks.    Even then, fuel would still have to 
find its way close enough to the sparks to lite off while the 
gathering passerbys would stand around mumbling "Damned Corvairs"...

I've seen more flame-ups from loose carb bowl fittings that dribbled 
gas onto the 30+ year old cracked and arcing plug wires.

...or, via spraying carb cleaner onto a similar vintage engine while 
running which easily ignites from that same flaky plug wire... did 
you know you can put out such flaming 'Vair engine by revving 
it?    Sucks the flames down the cooling fan intake and extinguishes 
the fire by exhausting its carb cleaner fuel before licking flames 
can do any harm to anything else.


I don't think this trick would work if the car were upside-down so 
don't try it while inverted.


tony..