Fuel Pump - Mechanical vs. Electric?

[Malo48]

Hello all,

Got a fuel pump question for you - the previous owner installed an electric pump at the tank, completely bypassing the mechanical pump and running new fuel line from the tank to the carb. It works fine most of the time, but upward inclines tend to cause fuel starvation, and I'm not a fan of stalling in traffic.

I'm considering making the mech. pump operational again and removing the electric one. How advisable is this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Mike

[Guest Koala]

First I would change the fuel filter as the symtoms that you describe are usually caused by a partially blocked filter.

There is some advantage to running an electric pump or you can run both if you want. The electric pump is good to help pump fuel to the carb for quicker starting after the car has been sitting for a while, also the electric pump can help in hot weather if you have a vaporization problem. Either way both pumps will work.

Koala

[Malo48]

Run both! Great news, thanks a million. Once I rebuild the mechanical one I'll get 'em both going and report back. The fuel line that the previous owner ran has a generic inline fuel filter which I'll probably change to a visible bowl type.

[Malo48]

Update - I rebuilt the fuel/vac pump with help from the folks at Then & Now Automotive (found them while perusing the forum), replaced a decent section of fuel line which was kinked in some hidden places, possibly causing part of my earlier stalling issues, and obtained a gently-used Carter fuel filter with ceramic element.

I did keep the electric pump, so now am running both on the car. Put it all together, and now the car starts first time, every time!

[JohnD1956]

I just love happy Buick stories. Congratulations on rebuilding the pump. Not many people would even try to do that.