<VV> The Eternal Mechanical vs Electrical Fuel Pump Question

Ron ronh at owt.com
Mon May 25 23:09:23 EDT 2009


I've been running my '63 Rampside for almost 15 years now with it's stock 
fuel pump and it has never given any trouble.  It went to the Tahoe National 
and has been in parades every year.  I say "stick with stock".
RonH

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Marlow" <Vairtec at optonline.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 7:41 PM
Subject: <VV> The Eternal Mechanical vs Electrical Fuel Pump Question


> Hello, friends, and welcome to this season's fresh installment of
>
> Which Is Better:  Stock Mechanical Fuel Pump or Aftermarket Electric Fuel 
> Pump?
>
> For this go-round, we have some particulars to add.  The subject
> vehicle is a 1963 Rampside, being put into regular service after
> years of being a hangar queen.  So day-to-day dependability is a
> prime concern.  The original stock pump did its failure thing,
> filling the crankcase with fuel and diluting the engine oil.  Despite
> that experience, the vehicle's owner (me) has no particular objection
> to stock pumps nor any inherent resistance to the use of an electric
> pump.  The true issue is, I can't make up my mind!
>
> We do not have time nor bandwidth for re-hashing the well-documented
> high failure rate of stock pumps back several years ago.  Our concern
> is with pumps that are available TODAY.  Since the chatter about pump
> failures has died down, I am making the assumption that if you order
> a stock pump today from one of our fine Corvair-specific vendors, you
> will receive a pump with reliability greatly improved over what we
> were seeing a few years ago.
>
> Is this true?
>
> Of the other Corvairs I own, two of them are operating today on their
> factory-original pumps, while the third, a car prepared for track
> events, has an electric pump.  I have heard it from good authority
> that if you take an original pump off an engine and put it in a box
> on a shelf in the garage for a few years, it is far more likely to
> fail when returned to service than if it had been left in
> service.  So while my Corvairs with their original pumps continue to
> run just fine, I am reluctant to put an older take-off pump in the
> Rampside.  Which means I need to buy a new pump.
>
> So...
>
> Who has purchased a new stock fuel pump RECENTLY, and put it into
> use, and been pleased (or displeased)?  Similarly, who has recently
> made the change to an electric pump, and is pleased or displeased?
>
> A side question for the electric users:  What, if any, means have you
> used to cut off electric power in the event that the engine stops or
> the vehicle crashes?  (In my track car, I have an oil pressure
> switch, a Ford inertia switch, and a toggle override switch for cold 
> starts.)
>
> --Bob
>
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