Fuel filter

[Summershandy]

Does anyone know what original fuel filter came with straight 8's, if any? Mine came with the tin can inline and I thought that looked too dated. I replaced it with a more retro glass bowl type. I also remember when I changed the gas tank sending unit, it has a sock on the end of it. I'm curious if an inline filter causes any restriction. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Summershandy
spelling (see edit history)

[PhilAndrews]

Yeah, my pump didn't much like drawing through a filter (large metal can style) at high RPM.

[PONTIAC1953]

there is a filtering sock attached to the sending unit/pickup tube inside the tank, and the fuel pump should have a screen above the glass sediment bowl, and lastly a screen inside the Carburetor before the fuel gets to the needle and seat.

 

[PONTIAC1953]

I plan on installing a 12 volt electric fuel pump near the tank, and a changeable AC frame mounted fuel filter  next to the electric pump.

[Summershandy]

Thanks for making me look Charles. I'm assuming this is the carb screen and I see the pump's filter in the manual. Next time I'm tinkering, I'm going to tear these apart and check for any possible debris and remove the inline filter before spring rolls around. 

 

[OrtonvilleBob]

Summershandy, the internal carb filter Charles is referring to is under the large nut at the inlet of the carburetor. Here's a pic of the nut and strainer unscrewed from the top of the carburetor. It catches debris in the fuel just before it gets to the float needle and seat. The pump strainer shown in your photo is often missing and is not a problem as long as the inlet strainer, or better yet, a filter ahead of the carburetor is in place. The mesh "strainers" in the fuel pump and in the carburetor are so coarse that calling them "filters" is really a misuse of the term. Personally I wouldn't run without a good quality filter installed in the fuel system. The only potential problem with an inline fuel filter is installing a filter with a micron rating so low that it restricts fuel flow. In my experience anything smaller than 20 microns runs the risk of being a restriction.

[Summershandy]

Thanks for the picture and agree with "strainer" vs "filter".  Wonder how fine the fuel pump "filter" is? 

[OrtonvilleBob]

Last year I had problems with flooding and in the process of troubleshooting I poured what was in the float bowl thru a coffee filter. This was shortly after a carburetor rebuild so it's not like it represents year's worth of driving, more like a day's worth. I was amazed what passed thru the fuel pump and thru the carb inlet strainer. I subsequently flushed my fuel tank and fuel lines. But having seen what the coffee filter caught I was sold on the merits of having an honest-to-goodness fuel filter.

[Summershandy]

When I first got my car I did the basics to just getting it running. I cleaned the carb among other things. Took it out for a drive and the next day it wouldn't start. Tore the carb apart and like you, found a mess in the fuel bowl that I had just cleaned. I would clean it out again, start it up and take it out only to have the same problem the next day. I eventually dropped the gas tank to find that it had been lined at one time but was now peeling apart. The sending unit was seized and the sock at the end had been cut off. I had it relined and replaced the sending unit and fuel lines. Hasn't happened since. 

Being so coarse, I wonder if this was considered acceptable by the engineers that built it?

[Pont 46]

I use a 100 micron fuel near the tank and then a 30 micron filter just befor carb.

seems to work

[PhilAndrews]

Worst culprit back in the day was refinery sand getting into the fuel.

 

The rock catcher filters were considered fine enough to prevent a single particle large enough to block the jets from being passed through.

 

Any smaller particles should be caught in the sediment bowl, and anything finer than that could just burn.

 

In reality a large volume of small particles can easily block things up, but hey ho. If they'll block the jets they'll block a filter. The idea there is it's easier to change a filter than spend an afternoon cleaning the carburetor out...

 

Phil