Electric fuel pump woes

[Sideways]

I have SPF 1721 and the electric fuel pump took a sh*!
I found out that it is a Carter inline pump that has 5/16 openings in and out.
Has anyone tried the Holley Red 3/8 electric pump and if so, is it a tight fit as a replacement for the Carter?

Glenn

[Ron61]

I can't answer about the fit, but I ran the Holly Red on my Cobra when I was racing and never had a problem. It is still on there and working great since I sold the Cobra and I think I put it on in about 1998.

Ron

[Ken Oikawa]

I have couple of Carter competition series electric fuel pump with 3/8 NPT input-output and 6-8 psi out.
If interested PM me.

Ken

[Sideways]

Thanks Ken , I just ordered the Holley Red fuel pump last night. I'll let everyone know how it fits. Looks doable even with a limited amount of space. I'm definitely going to need a 90' angle drill to mount the bracket.

[Bill Bess]

Whatever you replace it with, make sure you carry a "back-up pump" so you won't be stuck along the road.
You can always be a "wise old owl" and just run a good mechanical, they sell them everywhere.

Bill

[Sideways]

Originally Posted by Bill Bess

Whatever you replace it with, make sure you carry a "back-up pump" so you won't be stuck along the road.
You can always be a "wise old owl" and just run a good mechanical, they sell them everywhere.

Bill

Great advice Bill, I was fortunate enough to make it home from a recent event and went to crank it up the next morning and the pump was silent.
I've been very lucky on two accounts where the Cobra had some issues while at home base. Better to be lucky than good...

[SwiftDB4]

Sorry you already bought the Holley, but I had 3 die on me in short order. On my Lotus a Holley red top died twice within 4 months. On my GT40 two gerotor Holleys only lasted 2 years each due to shaft seal leakage. The Lotus originally had a Holley red top that lasted 25 years. The difference? Holley pumps used to be USA made. Now they're Chinese junk. I know a lot of stuff is Chinese now, but be aware of the risk. Between the crappy fuel pumps and Street Avenger carbs I won't buy Holley anymore.

[lippy]

Aeromotive and Weldon are US made and have a good rep.

[Blas]

The addition of a relay to power the fuel pump is a great idea too. The wire powering the fuel pump goes back and forth to the dashboard switch. A bit long in my opinion for the wire gauge. The holly red requires no fuel pressure regulator either. If you go to a local parts house look for a vibration isolation washer kit. Related somehow to windshield washers or wipers as I recall basically a thin rubber disk with metal washers on the ends, quiets down the pump as does the relay.

[Mark IV]

Keep in mind many of the electric pumps are designed for drag racing...a couple of minutes on and then "off". You are asking the pump to perform for hours and hours. Best to buy better and avoid the "side of the road 'Oh ****e'" that happens when the cheap pumps burn out...............And for most carb'ed applications the trusty ole' mechanical pump is fine!

[Sideways]

Originally Posted by Blas

The addition of a relay to power the fuel pump is a great idea too. The wire powering the fuel pump goes back and forth to the dashboard switch. A bit long in my opinion for the wire gauge. The holly red requires no fuel pressure regulator either. If you go to a local parts house look for a vibration isolation washer kit. Related somehow to windshield washers or wipers as I recall basically a thin rubber disk with metal washers on the ends, quiets down the pump as does the relay.

I have some evaporator fan rubber 1/4 " thick soft washers that should help with the noise but after I fire it up the noise from the pipes will bury any noise coming from the fuel pump.
Good thing I didn't decide to go Holley Blue as that would need a pressure gauge and relay.

Glenn

[Sideways]

Originally Posted by lippy

Aeromotive and Weldon are US made and have a good rep.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the Holley will hold up, if not they will get the heave ho and it will be one and done...

[GT Bill]

I have run Holley Red pumps for years on many cars. Never had a failure. (Knocking on wood as I type).
The Snake has 5K miles of hard use - no issues.

[Sideways]

Originally Posted by GT Bill

I have run Holley Red pumps for years on many cars. Never had a failure. (Knocking on wood as I type).
The Snake has 5K miles of hard use - no issues.

That's good to hear Bill, I've done the installation and have put 200 miles on the new pump with no issues. The soft grommets has held the noise to a minimum and had a whole 1/2" to spare before the frame would become an issue.

Glenn

[Jim Kellogg]

I used Holley Blue pumps on SPF 887. Each one that failed (2) lasted about 30,000 miles or so, then failed. The first one just quit, but fortunately I was at work.

The second one started leaking (internally) at the seam and dumped a lot of fuel before I could pull the fuel line off it.

I have over 80,000 miles on her now and had the 3rd pump replaced with a mechanical pump before it could leave me stranded.

The Holley Blue pumps come with a regulator, and the regulator must be used in a carb setup. To be fair, I never installed a relay. That may have saved my first pump from failing. Blas has a good wire schematic that shows how to wire in a relay - I think he also has - or used to have - a relay kit available.

There is a relay kit available at Cobra Valley.
Cobra Valley's High Power Relay & Wiring Harnersses

I highly recommend adding a relay if you are running an electric fuel pump on your SPF.
Jim Kellogg

[Wbulk]

A few years back when I was building my car I started a thread on mechanical vs. electric fuel pumps. I had also read from other CC members of breaking down when using the Holley pumps. I was convinced at the time just to go with a mechanical pump so I bought what I thought was a tried and true Carter. A couple of weeks ago I took my wife for a ride and headed to Costco to get some gas, and I was sure I had two gallons in the tank. I made it within a hundred yards of the pumps. Luckily they had a gas can. Anyway after the ride I pulled my sender and took accurate measurements to check the accuracy of the float. Sure enough it was about 1/2" off so I fixed it. At empty I now know I have two gallons left. I siphoned the tank and then put exact amounts of gas back in and logged what the gauge read for future reference.

The next day I went for a Sunday drive by myself. It was beautiful day, no traffic, and I had my wide-band O2 sensor hooked up to finish jetting the carb. I pulled up to a light and the car died. I was going down hill so I coasted to the side of the road and called my wife to bring me some tools. Would you believe my tried and true mechanical fuel pump with less that 100 miles on it was bad. I hadn't ran out of gas after all, it was the first signs of the pump going out. Anyway I went down the road to the auto parts store and got a Mr. Gasket Rotary pump. I hooked it up in five minutes and drove home. I put in another bigger mechanical pump and now carry the Mr. Gasket pump in the trunk just in case.

[Sideways]

Wayne, just read your old post and all of the advice that was offered. Lots of good ideas submitted on that thread. I think the lesson learned here is that we should carry a backup in the trunk just in case Murphy shows up in the middle of nowhere...

Glenn