Stewart Vacuum Fuel Feed System

[Mike Hulsey]

I have a 1926 Star (Durant) with the Vacuum Fuel Feed System and need another result System or to have mine rebuilt.  Any ideas, this is the last thing I need to finish the cars motor.  Approximately 9" X 41/2".  8 screw top with a fuel and vacuum inlet.  Bottom has fuel in and a drain. 

Thanks

Mike

541.280.0588

Edited July 29, 2023 by Mike Hulsey
spelling (see edit history)

[hddennis]

[old car fan]

No way would I put a electric pump on.Never seen a car burn up with a vacuum tank,have with electric. 

[DFeeney]

There are vendors in the hobby that deal with Stewart Warner vacuum tanks.  They offer repair kits or can restore yours.  If properly repaired they work well and are dependable.  They also can advise you which tank to start with.  I would guess E-bay is full of them.  This is the only system on your car that you can say "It Sucks" and be Happy.

[yachtflame]

I had my 1930 LaSalle sedan sorted by a great mechanic near by. He is a fan of electric fuel pumps. It gave me problems with the plumbing through the gauge and also with the alcohol effecting the pump itself. I took the electric pump off and removed the tube from the vacuum tank and rebuilt it. It works great. I drive the LaSalle every day it isn’t raining and have absolutely no problems with the original fuel system. 
 I did have Ed go through the carburetor and distributer so now it just purrs like it’s supposed to. And as stated above, I’ve never heard of a car burning up from a Stewart Warner vacuum pump.

[wayne sheldon]

An interesting detail in the booklet posted by hddennis, on its last page shown, the parts pictures shows a top casting with the riveted in place metal (brass if I recall correctly?) name plate on that cover/top piece. Such top pieces are actually quite rare. I have one (a damaged one), but have only seen a handful of them out of the hundreds of vacuum tanks I have seen at swap meets or private stashes I have seen in over fifty years.

I do not know what the significance of that style name plate is. Is it especially early? Or only a few specific models? Nearly all the rest of them have the Stewart name and other information simply die cast onto that top piece.

 

Cars using the Stewart vacuum fuel delivery system are another fun element in the antique automobile world! A Rube Goldberg sort of device that did a fine job on millions of automobiles over more than fifteen years before improvements in materials technology developed to the point of making the mechanical fuel pump practical and reliable. Mechanical fuel pumps had been experimented with before 1920, however, no material then known was reliable enough for the diaphragm to be practical. Gear, piston, or impeller, pumps for gasoline had lubrication and leakage issues making them unreliable and often a serious fire danger.

More than a hundred years later, many Stewart vacuum pumps still work amazingly well! I really like driving cars with one.

[old car fan]

30 minutes ago, wayne sheldon said:

An interesting detail in the booklet posted by hddennis, on its last page shown, the parts pictures shows a top casting with the riveted in place metal (brass if I recall correctly?) name plate on that cover/top piece. Such top pieces are actually quite rare. I have one (a damaged one), but have only seen a handful of them out of the hundreds of vacuum tanks I have seen at swap meets or private stashes I have seen in over fifty years.

I do not know what the significance of that style name plate is. Is it especially early? Or only a few specific models? Nearly all the rest of them have the Stewart name and other information simply die cast onto that top piece.

 

Cars using the Stewart vacuum fuel delivery system are another fun element in the antique automobile world! A Rube Goldberg sort of device that did a fine job on millions of automobiles over more than fifteen years before improvements in materials technology developed to the point of making the mechanical fuel pump practical and reliable. Mechanical fuel pumps had been experimented with before 1920, however, no material then known was reliable enough for the diaphragm to be practical. Gear, piston, or impeller, pumps for gasoline had lubrication and leakage issues making them unreliable and often a serious fire danger.

More than a hundred years later, many Stewart vacuum pumps still work amazingly well! I really like driving cars with one.

Wayne, we have several  tops  with the brass nameplate  and tags ,earlier, but most all have a indentation  for the fill plug.I will try  to post pics  tomorrow. 

[hidden_hunter]

They’re pretty simple when push comes to shove, take your time and they can work just fine (at least on real gas here in Australia)

 

Make sure all the lines are clear, no pinholes in the float or the internal tank 

 

we have a lid that looks like someone attempted to run wipers off so also worth checking for “modifications”

[old car fan]

1 minute ago, hidden_hunter said:

They’re pretty simple when push comes to shove, take your time and they can work just fine (at least on real gas here in Australia)

 

Make sure all the lines are clear, no pinholes in the float or the internal tank 

 

we have a lid that looks like someone attempted to run wipers off so also worth checking for “modifications”

They  have fittings that accommodate wipers. 

[hidden_hunter]

58 minutes ago, old car fan said:

They  have fittings that accommodate wipers. 

Unfortunately on one of our spares someone didn’t bother to find the fitting…

[Rusty_OToole]

You need to be cautious about installing a fuel pump. The original system worked by gravity and the carburetor's needle valve and float are made to work on low pressure. A carburetor made for a fuel pump will have different needle valve and float setting.

If possible it is best to keep the vacuum tank.

[dodge28]

Rusty, you did it again. The carbs are designed to work by gravity feed . The vacuum pump is what gently feeds the carb by gravity. New cover  castings are made in Australia and new components  replacements are available. Very simple to repair. The fitting at top also has a port for the vacuum wiper motor. In my 28 Dodge I capped that port and I am using an American Bosch 6 volt wiper motor instead. 

[Mark Gregush]

5 hours ago, old car fan said:

They  have fittings that accommodate wipers. 

Maybe some do, but none that I have not been around had them. Most of the ones I have seen, have or been around look just like the ones in the above post. How about a photo? 

[wayne sheldon]

Several of the ones I have seen that also operated a vacuum windshield wiper motor used a special "T" fitting where the vacuum from the engine's intake manifold entered the top of the vacuum tank. The majority of the flow elbowed down into the vacuum tank, with a smaller inlet going straight through back toward the firewall and over and up to pull the windshield wiper motor.

Several others, including my 1927 Paige 6-45 (a largely un-messed with original car) had that special "T" fitting mounted on the intake manifold itself. If I recall correctly, the 1929 Reo I had oh so many years ago also had the "T" fitting on the intake manifold.

[PFitz]

16 hours ago, Mark Gregush said:

Maybe some do, but none that I have not been around had them. Most of the ones I have seen, have or been around look just like the ones in the above post. How about a photo? 

All Franklins used a vacuum wiper and had the special tee fitting on top. The vacuum line from the intake manifold and the wiper motor vac line both connect to it.  In the picture you can see that tee fitting provided by Stewart Warner. The smaller threaded connection is the wiper motor line and the larger is the vac line to the intake. Behind the fitting you can just make out the vent tube. My index finger is on the gas tank line inlet fitting of the "Gascolator" fuel filter. Many other makes that had vacuum wipers used basically the same setup. 

 

Paul

[Hans1]

Hudson and Essex in 1929 had a SW fitting, that had a fitting with double internal venturis, with a small tube outlet for wiper hose to slide on to. 

[Mark Gregush]

PFitz, thanks that a new one for me. I have a "Gascolator" fuel filter on my 1920 Dodge Brothers. Works great. If I ever sell the car, I am keeping it.  

[alsancle]

You can put an electric pump on a car with vacuum tanks if you just want to prime the tank prior to starting.  But you better know what you are doing.    A better solution might be to turn the tank off when the car is turned off.  This will preserve the fuel in the tank.   Of course this assumes a shut-off.    RR has the vacuum tank shut off under the dash in the driver's compartment which is a very nice feature.