Electric Fuel Pump for a '36

[Doug]

I use a carter rotor vain pump mounted under the floor board to prime my vacuum pump if it runs out of fuel. I have no problem running with the pump turned off. It is just there for back up.

[36 Ply]

Four Door-

I do drive my '36 Plymouth; I've been driving old stuff since my first car ('47 Plymouth) in 1962, and I have a fair amount of experience with mechanical fuel pumps ('48 Chevy and several Fords and Plymouths from the same era). I drove my '36 from north central Illinois to Vinita, Oklahoma and back in 1997; that's a long trip, and since the '36 had an electric pump installed when I bought it (and a missing mechanical pump) I knew I wouldn't have to worry about vapor lock hundreds of miles from home (other breakdown possibilities, yes; I did break a leaf on both front springs on the trip, but not vapor lock).

I don't think running with an electric pump (the only modification other than a '42 generator  and voltage regulator, which was also on the car when I bought it) is in the same league with ripping out the flathead and installing a 350 Chevy V-8 and automatic tranny. If my destination is hundreds of miles away, I'll go with the electric pump every time.

Pat O'Connor

[Lew]

4 door: concur wholeheartedly about keeping cars as bone stock as possible and enjoying the mechanical simplicity, design and driving experience of a bygone era. In the urban congested areas of N. Calif. where my cars get driven, its been my experience of almost 50 years in the hobby  that having some minor back up reliability features can also help get one out of a jam when in the middle of traffic, on tours or dealing with drivers who don't always respect the old car hobby. Such features can be applied without changing the basic stock operation or appearance and can be removed for judging, etc.if desired.  Yours and other posts are taken at least by me as informative and not a slight to the hobby, and currently,especially the info. re: the stock AC fuel pump, which I applied in rebuilding mine and continue to use on the car.  I find this site to be very helpful with a creative exchange of ideas and information.
LR

[Lew]

Have been seen a lot of conflicting info. from multiple web sites and parts vendors. I finally was able to determine that many of the electric fuel pumps are made or distributed by Carter, now part of the Federal Mogul Corp conglomerate.The technical rep. in Michigan  described the attributes of the solenoid , gerotor(gear rotor), and rotary vane fuel pumps. The latter is the only Carter type that is designed for 6 or 12 volt operation and that is warrantied. Its part number is P4259 and sold  by NAPA with the same number (as many posters have noted). It is also the only one designed to allow for free flow when shut off as it has a bleed hole system to let fuel  pass; there is no back check valve, etc.
The other small in- line (Carter) pumps purportedly sold by many vendors are not designed for 6 volt operation or positive ground polarity and have caused "multitude of problems" according to the rep.  To add to the confusion, the Carter and Airtex Solenoid pumps look the same, though the Carters are supposedly US made.
So this is a perspective from Carter. The search continues?

[Lew]

Dug out an extra AC pump and rebuild kit I had forgotten about from my parts bin: rebuilt it today; the lever pin had a washer on the end and peened also for added protection. The hardest part was getting the old dried out gaskets off ; trued up the mating surfaces slightly with a little emery cloth on flat surface. The kit came with a cork gasket for sealing the diaphram to housing which the old service books say not to use. Hope that's correct. Also, the kit had all new springs, pins, bakelite washers that were mentioned.Testing the suction on the bench shows marked improvement. Will throw on the car and see how it tests against the existing.
The car has a NOS carb on it and the float is to specs. Gives great performance.
Thanks for the info.

[Lew]

Thanks for the info. about the pump. We'll check the parts you described. The pump works fine over night, etc. , but unfortunately the car does sit for sometimes a couple of weeks or more and doesn't get driven as much as it should!

[Go Fleiter]

I have a 6 V sytem too and put a 12 V electric pump in a  shunt way parallel to the mechanical pump.
My pump does  restrict the passage of fuel when not working.
It does exacltly what You need: fill the carburetor within some 15 seconds after a longer pause.
So it solves my gas bubble / vapor lock problem too.
I didn?t test if the performance is sufficient to keep the engine running when the
mechanical one fails, but 12 V was readily available.
Just check if Your pump restricts when stalled, if not: installation is somewhat easyer without the need of wyes and directional valve.
When buying new fuellines, check their compatibility with modern gas additives.
My younger tubes began leaking, the remaining 1951 ones did not....
Greetings!

[36 Ply]

Lew-

I don't know if an electric pump will restrict fuel flow if installed directly in the fuel line. When I bought my '36 in 1990, it had a 6 volt Stewart-Warner electric pump, mounted on a brace (driver's side), visible and accessible on the left side behind the rumble seat lid when the lid was open. There was a rubber fuel line from the tank to the pump, and another rubber line that ran from the pump outlet all the way to the carburetor; this line followed the path of the original metal fuel line. The original mechanical pump was missing and a metal blockoff plate had been installed in place of the former mechanical pump.

When I installed a Carter 6 volt pump (available from Summit Racing) a couple of years ago, to replace the ailing S-W pump, my main problem was matching the PSI output to that of the original mechanical pump. I solved this with a fuel pressure regulator.

Pat O'Connor

[Lew]

Have been reviewing the informative and helpful posts for installing an electric fuel pump to complement the stock diaphram pump.
My car has a rebuilt stock pump/ new fuel lines that works fine but takes a long time to get gas to the carb when the car sits awhile.
Ebay has some 6v positive ground, low PSI Airtex pumps listed which according to reviews have mixed reliability results.
The idea of wiring the pump with a switch seems to make sense so that the stock pump can operate on its own after start up or as a backup.
Will the electric pump restrict fuel flow when shut off if installed directly in the fuel line?
Any updated  info. on installation and successful brands much appreciated.
LR