Fuel. Gas. Petrol. It seems to be a hot topic of conversation lately!
Within our little community, it has been a topic of conversation for a long time. What type of gas should I run? What type of fuel additives should I use? Why does my engine bay smell like gas? Where can I get gas without ethanol? Bad news California friends. That will either require a hookup at the racetrack or marina or a trip to Nevada.
Ok, so we aren’t going to tackle every gas issue here, but we do want to give you a tech tip for more efficient fuel delivery. Many years ago, Josh Deitcher produced a primer for SFBA for converting a manual pump to an electric conversion. As time has passed, many of the parts referenced in that primer are no longer available, namely the recommended pump. A few of us who set their cars up this way, Josh included, still run with no problems on the configuration. Mel and Zaki also have time tested electric fuel pump conversions on many customers cars. You may be driving one of theirs!
For those of us still running manual pumps, Clarks has made a fantastic reproduction. The problem is, every time they get a batch of manual pumps in, they sell out immediately. If you want to add your name to the list for the next batch of Clarks manual pumps, you can purchase / backorder HERE.
We cannot empathize this enough. Do NOT buy an aftermarket manual pump anywhere else but Clarks. They’ll set you back $100 and are almost guaranteed to fail.
Gasoline in the combustion chamber = good.
Gasoline in the crankcase = bad.
So purists and Pete Seeger be damned, you’re ready to go electric like Bob Dylan at Newport in ’65. Before you head out to your local FLAPS and buy the wrong parts, watch this helpful video by Larry Claypool and buy the right parts for your Corvair.
Happy Wrenching and be please be safe doing this mod!
Have a fuel pump story? Success? Failure? Electric? Manual? Smash that comment button and let us know about it.
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