after a year and a half drove the grabber down the streets. of course the headers arent welded up yet, had to just idle past the cops. did find one problem though, stupid aftermarket racing mechanical fuel pump didnt work too well with the stock fittings. i bought some fuel line nipples and a hose, screwed it all together. ended up having to use a couple of o-rings at the pump but one of the nipples leaked anyway from the threads after a bit. replaced the o ring again and used a nut as a washer to hold o ring in. anyway, my questions are these, 1. is there a trick to getting a good seal? (the dummies at the parts store didnt even believe there was no pressure fitting on the outlet side of the pump, had to show it to him for him to believe me) 2. i dont really want to use braided lines with special fittings, what are some of you using in this setup? thanks for your help in advance.
Braided lines and AN fittings from the pump to the carb. And non-braided hose from the fuel cell to the pump, with push-lock fittings.
dont really want to use those. im thinking about buying some larger metal tube and bending it like the stock. problem is i cant use the stock style pressure ends on that. i have bad experiences with AN fittings and braided lines. really not impressed with them.thanks though. push locks sound like a good idea, how does the fitting that screws into the pumps intake on these seal?
Most mechanical pumps should have NPT fittings and shouldnt use a o-ring. Usually a little teflon tape or pipe sealant should do the trick.
what type of pipe sealent. most arent gas resistant. the fittings i bought are NPT and fit correctly thread wise.I tried them with the teflon tape but it blew out of the space where i now have the o rings. the o ring space was similar to what is on the bowl supply for the stock style holley vac secondary carbs. i ended up using the o rings for one of those and putting a nut on it to hold the oring in place(similar to the way the stock cooler lines for a c-4 trans are set up) the carb is a generic summit racing one, yet when i called them about it they didnt carry any NPT fittings for it. i guess they assume youll use AN fittings(which i just happen to despise)
it mainly started in the late 80's when helping a friend build his 66 GTO and having my fingers torn up for hours by braided lines and struggling at putting AN lines together in hard to reach places, only to have every single fitting leak when put under the pressure of his electric fuel pump. I wrote that off mostly to U.E.(user error) but i obviously wasnt good with them. since then i've had experiences with both braided and AN styled hydraulic lines that made me very distrustful towards them. Like i said, i prefer a steel tube similar to the stock setup only bigger, but if there is something other than AN fittings that may be better im somewhat open to suggestion
Like funkranger said, the pump itself is an NPT type opening, I used teflon tape, and have had no problem. The AN fittings on the lines to the AN-to-NPT fittings works good as well.
well im fixing this the easy way. my friend/mechanic is welding my headers to the pipes since i dont have a welder. He was VERY insistant that i let him run a steel tube from the pump to the carb for me. the intake side may still be changed later. Ill take pics of his handy work.
First I would look down inside of the pump and see how it looks inside (pics would help us) , inside the port the threads should taper off or stop . If it has what looks to be a AN type of surface inside the port it will take a different type of fitting other than a NPT.But when it comes to the carb I have yet to see a carb that uses a NPT directly into the carb ,what is the part # ? Most carbs with a banjo style inlet will use a crush washer and I have found on some carbs it is necessary to remove the adapter going into the carb along with the inlet screen to allow the use of banjo style fittings. As far as what kind of pipe sealant to use?? I have some Caterpillar brand I use and it has never leaked , but always let it cure for 24 hrs before exposing to fuels etc. Alternatives? use push lock fittings and the hose for push locks.These have a AN fitting but without the hassle of a braided hose. Although these are accepted by circle track sanctions they are not by IHRA or NHRA.
the carb end is fine. all of my problems were on the fuel pump side. think ill try that caterpillar sealent though. thanks.
