My cheap fuel system for a body swap
02-06-2009, 02:23 AM
#1
My cheap fuel system for a body swap I've had a couple people pm for pics and details so I'm gonna try to get it here. I wish I had taken more pictures but this should give some idea what I'm talking about.
For a pump I used a walbro external, into a vette filter/regulator. I put a 05 up mustang filter in front of the pump just in case.
Basically, I bought a 3" license plate recession box from suicidedoors.com made for putting the plates in a lowrider tailgate. I then drilled some 1/4" holes all in 3 sides of it to let fuel in quick, but not escape under hard acceleration. I welded this to the bottom of the tank around a stock style pickup/ sending unit.
For the return line I ran it into the tanks far passenger side vent tube. I cut the tube and bent it slightly towards the center of the tank. I clamped a rubber hose from that to a hole in the box and put a clamp around the hose on the inside of the box to hold it in place. This makes return fuel refill the "sump" for extra fuel replenishment. I realize this increases the fuel temp some but so far it's not been an issue at all.
From the pressure side of the vette filter I just ran new cheap steel line from Summit to the front of the car. It was like $30 for 25 feet IIRC for this type line and I bent it by hand in about an hour.
Everything is connected with compression fittings.
So aside from the pump I have less than $100 invested in this setup.
http://www.suicidedoors.com/sheetmet...ense-plate-box
Sorry the pics are so bad.
I've had it as low as 5 gallons with no issues even at WOT. Only real downside is the fuel gauge reads kinda odd which may be in part to the calibration resistor on my gauge and the way I had to bend the float arm (for some reason the repro arm went to the wrong side and hit the tank filler neck so I had to bend it the other way).
As a result my tank reads full for a while, 1/2 tank on gauge is really 3/4 tank and once it gets the 1/4 on the gauge you're really at 1/2 and it doesn't go down much more (fuel is continually higher in the sump than the tank as a whole).
If this isn't clear I'll try to explain it better.
For a pump I used a walbro external, into a vette filter/regulator. I put a 05 up mustang filter in front of the pump just in case.
Basically, I bought a 3" license plate recession box from suicidedoors.com made for putting the plates in a lowrider tailgate. I then drilled some 1/4" holes all in 3 sides of it to let fuel in quick, but not escape under hard acceleration. I welded this to the bottom of the tank around a stock style pickup/ sending unit.
For the return line I ran it into the tanks far passenger side vent tube. I cut the tube and bent it slightly towards the center of the tank. I clamped a rubber hose from that to a hole in the box and put a clamp around the hose on the inside of the box to hold it in place. This makes return fuel refill the "sump" for extra fuel replenishment. I realize this increases the fuel temp some but so far it's not been an issue at all.
From the pressure side of the vette filter I just ran new cheap steel line from Summit to the front of the car. It was like $30 for 25 feet IIRC for this type line and I bent it by hand in about an hour.
Everything is connected with compression fittings.
So aside from the pump I have less than $100 invested in this setup.
http://www.suicidedoors.com/sheetmet...ense-plate-box
Sorry the pics are so bad.
I've had it as low as 5 gallons with no issues even at WOT. Only real downside is the fuel gauge reads kinda odd which may be in part to the calibration resistor on my gauge and the way I had to bend the float arm (for some reason the repro arm went to the wrong side and hit the tank filler neck so I had to bend it the other way).
As a result my tank reads full for a while, 1/2 tank on gauge is really 3/4 tank and once it gets the 1/4 on the gauge you're really at 1/2 and it doesn't go down much more (fuel is continually higher in the sump than the tank as a whole).
If this isn't clear I'll try to explain it better.
02-06-2009, 06:02 AM
#2
You have a rubber hose inside your tank going through a drilled sheet metal hole with no grommet? Aren't you worried about pieces of that hose rubbing off and getting sucked up by the pump?
02-06-2009, 02:05 PM
#4
Yes I have a pre-pump filter, also the stock pickup tube has a filter around it (sock type filter). I also smoothed the hole around the hose best I could when I was cleaning up the inside of my stock tank.
I can hear the pump turn on when I turn the key if I listen, it's pretty quiet IMO.
I am by no means implying this is the best setup, but for the amount of money I have invested and how well it works, I'm pretty proud of it. If I had to spend $600 up on a tank setup my car would still be sitting. I was looking into a plastic tank but didn't care for the way they hang so low. Same thing for an external sump on the tank...looks too "racecar" for me.
I just wanted to show people how a little bit of hot rod ingenuity can help you save some money to put towards other areas of the car in a budget swap. I even could have reused my stock pickup if it had been in better condition (sock filter was gone, fuel gauge sometimes didn't work) and saved another $40-50 on top of that.
Biggest thing is to be careful cutting the tank open. I ran mine full of water and super clean about 10 times then filled it with water during the cutting. Used a cutoff wheel.
If anyone has any other questions or critiques let me know.
I can hear the pump turn on when I turn the key if I listen, it's pretty quiet IMO.
I am by no means implying this is the best setup, but for the amount of money I have invested and how well it works, I'm pretty proud of it. If I had to spend $600 up on a tank setup my car would still be sitting. I was looking into a plastic tank but didn't care for the way they hang so low. Same thing for an external sump on the tank...looks too "racecar" for me.
I just wanted to show people how a little bit of hot rod ingenuity can help you save some money to put towards other areas of the car in a budget swap. I even could have reused my stock pickup if it had been in better condition (sock filter was gone, fuel gauge sometimes didn't work) and saved another $40-50 on top of that.
Biggest thing is to be careful cutting the tank open. I ran mine full of water and super clean about 10 times then filled it with water during the cutting. Used a cutoff wheel.
If anyone has any other questions or critiques let me know.
02-06-2009, 09:54 PM
#5
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Originally Posted by thunderstruck507
I just wanted to show people how a little bit of hot rod ingenuity can help you save some money to put towards other areas of the car in a budget swap.
Nice. Like you said, it may not be a perfect solution, but it should be really good against fuel starvation issues, even under hard cornering. And things like the fuel gauge reading incorrectly can be addressed in future revisions to the concept.
Now, I just hope that your car doesn't decide to either puke or kill you for bolting a F*rd part onto it...
02-08-2009, 08:08 PM
#7
I cut a male quick disconnect off the fuel line on something in the scrap yard with a tubing cutter then used the compression fitting to join it to my line
and yes, I've done some hard cornering and never ran into any issues, but my tank is usually at least half full on that area of my road trip...but there is a series of corners rated from 20mph-35 mph and I've thrown through them at no less than 50mph holding in 2nd gear
and yes, I've done some hard cornering and never ran into any issues, but my tank is usually at least half full on that area of my road trip...but there is a series of corners rated from 20mph-35 mph and I've thrown through them at no less than 50mph holding in 2nd gear
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02-08-2009, 09:19 PM
#9
return line is low pressure but I still used fuel injection grade hose and hose clamps (double clamps on each side)
feed line I sanded down that ridge a bit so the fuel injection hose would slide over it, then double clamped it
even on first prime of the system I had no leaks (knocks on wood) and everything appears solid as has done well for about 5k miles now
feed line I sanded down that ridge a bit so the fuel injection hose would slide over it, then double clamped it
even on first prime of the system I had no leaks (knocks on wood) and everything appears solid as has done well for about 5k miles now
02-09-2009, 09:11 AM
#10
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Nice work. You just saved some people alot of money. I will copy your handy work if you dont mind. I was going to do the same type of thing but yours turned out great. Thanks for posting.
Last edited by supershift67; 02-09-2009 at 09:19 AM.
02-09-2009, 12:22 PM
#12
That is correct, I used the more expensive fuel injection rubber line.
If I had a pickup/sending unit exactly like my stock one so that the float arm was correctly on the passenger side I could have notched the top of the sump and moved it over a bit so that the float arm was on the outside of the sump. I was pressed for time since I had limited access to the welder.
My friend who welded it for me used a heli-arc (sp?) since he said he had trouble with mig welds leaking when he used to patch heavy machinery fuel tanks and he had to grind and reweld them to get a perfect seal. He said they would hold water, but fuel would sometimes seap through.
If I had a pickup/sending unit exactly like my stock one so that the float arm was correctly on the passenger side I could have notched the top of the sump and moved it over a bit so that the float arm was on the outside of the sump. I was pressed for time since I had limited access to the welder.
My friend who welded it for me used a heli-arc (sp?) since he said he had trouble with mig welds leaking when he used to patch heavy machinery fuel tanks and he had to grind and reweld them to get a perfect seal. He said they would hold water, but fuel would sometimes seap through.
