The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
Moved on from the rear-seat delete project to start on the installation and wiring of the Holley in-tank pump. The module is Holley #19-350 which is rated at 340lph. Couple things had to happen before setting the pump in place though.
I've had this fuel tank for a while now, like 8-9 years. I got it from a place called Hot Rod City Garage which unfortunately went out of business. Too bad, they made nice stuff. The tank was made narrower a few inches because of the offset springs.
Back when I bought it, for some strange reason I was against electric fuel pumps. I really don't know why. Just one of those dumb things I guess, like trying to make power from a 318. I remember the guy on the phone asking me if I was going to use an electric pump and if so, he would make a recess for it. I said no thanks so they made it with a flat top. Not a good decision because now I'm all about electric in-tank fuel pumps. In tank pumps are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never use a mechanical pump again.
However, to use an in-tank pump with this thing, it naturally required a recess in the top. Doh! Since I don't have a TIG welder, I brought it to a shop to have it done. At the same time I had them remove the sump from the bottom since the electric pump pickup sock needs to be constantly submerged. Having a sump would keep some amount of fuel away from the pickup which defeats the purpose of it. Thankfully the tank never had fuel in it so it was safe to weld on it.
The shop did an OK job for a reasonable price. To my chagrin though, they failed to remove all the chips and debris before they welded the panels in. WTF? It's a fuel tank! I was pretty clear about it when I dropped it off, not sure what happened. There was all sorts of little bits in the tank I could hear, like sand in a can. Took me about 30 minutes to get rid of all I could hear using compressed air. I'd blow it out and then tilt it back and forth to listen for more bits sliding around. Pretty sure I got it all out. I may wash it out with solvent or something before I fill it up just to make sure. Annoying!
In any event, the pump module went in without issue. The recess and hole for it turned out exactly right and it fits well. There is one really unfortunate attribute of this tank though which is how the wiring for the sender is routed. H.R.C.G. made a recess for the unit itself but did not make a relief for the wires so they kind of get smushed. I put heat shrink and rubber sleeves over the sections of wire that rest on the edges. Hopefully they don't chafe through.
This was a big step toward finishing the wiring, at least for the rear part of the car. I'm going to use individual connectors for the pump and sender here so if I need to drop the tank I can disconnect them easily. The connectors will hang under the access hole in the trunk. I can route the fuel pump power wire and sender connections now.
I'm also starting to mock the exhaust into place to see how everything will fit. I'm still on the fence about the tail pipes - they are big and heavy. Sure, they'd be easy enough to remove when I race it but who needs that? I've previously mentioned going with turn downs realizing they are not the best solution but things are going to be really tight with these monsters.
Parking brake stuff is in too. This is where the tailpipes have to snake through.
The old 3" exhaust system on this car was done a little differently than how TTi handles it - as you can see, the tail pipes were run over the leaf springs out to the rear corners. I like this method because it makes the tailpipes less obvious. I'd hate to cut up my brand new exhaust but if I want to run tail pipes I may end up doing it like below. Probably could cut the TTi tailpipes and swap the cut ends side-to-side and it would be similar to how they were before. The rear hanger brackets would have to be relocated though. The previous system had simple J hangers welded on o the pipes that attached to parts-store exhaust straps.
Old exhaust tail pipe routing. Worked good.
This is how TTi does it, this pic is from them. Seems kind of awkward to me but my guess is that they're trying to both clear the gas tank (if it's stock width) while still utilizing the factory mounting points. Again, I think swapping the ends side-to-side could work.
More to come.
Moved on from the rear-seat delete project to start on the installation and wiring of the Holley in-tank pump. The module is Holley #19-350 which is rated at 340lph. Couple things had to happen before setting the pump in place though.
I've had this fuel tank for a while now, like 8-9 years. I got it from a place called Hot Rod City Garage which unfortunately went out of business. Too bad, they made nice stuff. The tank was made narrower a few inches because of the offset springs.
Back when I bought it, for some strange reason I was against electric fuel pumps. I really don't know why. Just one of those dumb things I guess, like trying to make power from a 318. I remember the guy on the phone asking me if I was going to use an electric pump and if so, he would make a recess for it. I said no thanks so they made it with a flat top. Not a good decision because now I'm all about electric in-tank fuel pumps. In tank pumps are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never use a mechanical pump again.
However, to use an in-tank pump with this thing, it naturally required a recess in the top. Doh! Since I don't have a TIG welder, I brought it to a shop to have it done. At the same time I had them remove the sump from the bottom since the electric pump pickup sock needs to be constantly submerged. Having a sump would keep some amount of fuel away from the pickup which defeats the purpose of it. Thankfully the tank never had fuel in it so it was safe to weld on it.
The shop did an OK job for a reasonable price. To my chagrin though, they failed to remove all the chips and debris before they welded the panels in. WTF? It's a fuel tank! I was pretty clear about it when I dropped it off, not sure what happened. There was all sorts of little bits in the tank I could hear, like sand in a can. Took me about 30 minutes to get rid of all I could hear using compressed air. I'd blow it out and then tilt it back and forth to listen for more bits sliding around. Pretty sure I got it all out. I may wash it out with solvent or something before I fill it up just to make sure. Annoying!
In any event, the pump module went in without issue. The recess and hole for it turned out exactly right and it fits well. There is one really unfortunate attribute of this tank though which is how the wiring for the sender is routed. H.R.C.G. made a recess for the unit itself but did not make a relief for the wires so they kind of get smushed. I put heat shrink and rubber sleeves over the sections of wire that rest on the edges. Hopefully they don't chafe through.
This was a big step toward finishing the wiring, at least for the rear part of the car. I'm going to use individual connectors for the pump and sender here so if I need to drop the tank I can disconnect them easily. The connectors will hang under the access hole in the trunk. I can route the fuel pump power wire and sender connections now.
I'm also starting to mock the exhaust into place to see how everything will fit. I'm still on the fence about the tail pipes - they are big and heavy. Sure, they'd be easy enough to remove when I race it but who needs that? I've previously mentioned going with turn downs realizing they are not the best solution but things are going to be really tight with these monsters.
Parking brake stuff is in too. This is where the tailpipes have to snake through.
The old 3" exhaust system on this car was done a little differently than how TTi handles it - as you can see, the tail pipes were run over the leaf springs out to the rear corners. I like this method because it makes the tailpipes less obvious. I'd hate to cut up my brand new exhaust but if I want to run tail pipes I may end up doing it like below. Probably could cut the TTi tailpipes and swap the cut ends side-to-side and it would be similar to how they were before. The rear hanger brackets would have to be relocated though. The previous system had simple J hangers welded on o the pipes that attached to parts-store exhaust straps.
Old exhaust tail pipe routing. Worked good.
This is how TTi does it, this pic is from them. Seems kind of awkward to me but my guess is that they're trying to both clear the gas tank (if it's stock width) while still utilizing the factory mounting points. Again, I think swapping the ends side-to-side could work.
More to come.