Pushing petrol

Fuel pumps are fitted and engine oil pressure confirmed

Isigned off last issue having successfully installed the Dynalite high torque starter motor. Although I was able to crank the engine over, the battery was sluggish from lying dormant for so long, so that was put on charge for 48 hours using a low output smart charger to gently re-awaken it. More worrying was the lack of an oil pressure reading at the gauge. I knew oil had reached it because the clear plastic oil pipe and union nut gave me a visual check and an oily check where it leaked slightly due to the lack of a small fibre washer at the gauge end.

A new tube and washer came from Moss and was fitted in minutes. With the engine cranking over happily, oil was definitely reaching the gauge… but still no reading. I disconnected the gauge and held a piece of tissue over the union while cranking the engine simultaneously. The pulsing oil could be felt so I suspected the gauge. In my spares stash I had another Jaeger gauge from a Sunbeam. I was able to connect the feed pipe to that and to my relief the oil pressure rose rapidly to just above 50psi when the engine was cranked. The curse of the ‘bitsa’ strikes again, as the original oil pressure gauge needs replacing. I’ll likely just swap the domed glass and bezel over to the Sunbeam gauge.

Pumping up the volume

With healthy oil pressure showing I was able to relax and focus on fitting the twin fuel pumps. These sit at the back on the left-hand side of the car directly underneath the rear passenger seat tub. Originally, vertically mounted SU pumps were used fed by hard plastic fuel pipe with brass unions. My ethanol-friendly approach would be somewhat different.

I decided to go with a pair of Fuel Flow 020 pumps supplied by Powerspark, which meant the original mounting points couldn’t be used in the same way as for the SU pumps due to the different inlet/outlet positions.

The pumps are protected from below by a plate welded between two chassis tubes. My plan was to use the original pumps’ mounting holes for fitting a shelf on which the new pumps and inline filters would be mounted. The idea being that for future maintenance/repair I can simply remove the shelf complete with the pumps and filters and

work on them away from the confines of beneath the rear seats.

I retrieved the rear tub section from storage. Mine is a tight fit and needs a firm hand to push it into position. Some owners tell stories of the rear tub section rising up at high speed due to the air pressure beneath, so mine will eventually be bolted and sealed into position.

Having taken measurements with the tub fitted, I cut a piece of alloy and folded 20mm of it over so that when fitted there is a run-off angle, just like a shed roof. This will help water and dirt drain off.

I then drilled two holes to align with two of the original pumps’ mounting holes. A trial fit was made using 8mm rubber washers to act as spacers that allow water to escape and not sit between the shelf and the chassis.

Pump action

Happy with the shelf, I could mount the pumps. I marked their positions on the fitted shelf and then drilled the holes using a bench drill. The Fuel Flow pumps come with insulating washers to isolate their feet and reduce vibration in use. A quick check of the shelf and pumps gave me some idea of how much room was available for the inline filters. Not much above, so a different approach was required.

I first experimented with cable ties but they looked awful and didn’t seem very secure, so instead I made two push-fit brackets from small strips of aluminium sheet. Looking around for a suitable mule to shape the strips over, I realised my vacuum cleaner’s chrome pipe was the same diameter as the filter bodies, so the shape was formed around that. Being sprung slightly by making the diameters smaller, the brackets hold the filters in position, and once the fuel lines are connected, they’re not going anywhere. The whole assembly is still protected by the chassis plate and accessible enough.

Back on the bench, I fitted one half of the waterproof connector to the pumps’ power feeds. The other half will be fitted to the loom feeds when their time comes shortly. Gates Barricade ethanolresistant fuel hose from Moss was cut to length with enough curvature to connect the filters to the pumps. The feeds from the tanks go through the filters first. They and the fuel tanks’ dip sender units are next on my to-do list.