New project "JAWS"

[diceman50]

I recently sold my 1950 Merc custom that I have had for almost 20 years.

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It is a great car, but it is time for something new and I don't desire to have a huge fleet of vehicles to look after so I let it go.

Introducing "JAWS".




My good friend Greg tagged the vehicle "JAWS. It was advertised as a 1940 Ford custom delivery, but it is not a true delivery because it does not have a rear door. It is actually a 1940 pickup with a Model "A" sedan body grafted onto it. It is too nice to be a "RAT" rod but it is certainly not a show car and features a faux patina paint job reasonably well done. I can tell there is a ton of bondo on it, but as long as it doesn't fall off I'm fine with it.

Other features are an S10 chassis with your typical 350/350 combo. The truck has a very short wheelbase and drives like a gokart. So far, I have completely rebuilt the brake system including a rear disc brake conversion, complete stainless steel exhaust system with a Corsa muffler, and built some period correct "NERF" bumpers.







I am currently working on a custom 3 deuce electronic fuel injection system for it. I will try to post some progress pictures later today.

[diceman50]

Here are some pictures of the 3 deuce EFI system so far. If you have any questions please let me know.

[mongocanfly]

from a distance someone did a decent job of making the 2 bodies fit together....

[diceman50]

The throttle bodies were made by a company called Retrotec. They are basically the same units that "Moon Eyes" sold about 20 years ago. Unfortunately the electronics were not available to properly control them when Moon was selling them and they soon discontinued them. Retrotec is also no longer around, but I was able to source these on Ebay. They are the same units I am running on my 58 Apache with a Mcculloch supercharger.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=653268

[diceman50]

While I am waiting for the computer and wiring harness for my fuel injection I decided to mock up the AC and alternator brackets. They are Alan Grove units and fit well with a bit of adjusting. When I got the AC bracket installed I realized that the heater hose was going to have to be routed over the valve cover. (Sorry no before picture.) I decided to cut a hole in the bracket to route the hose in front of the valve cover.







To clean up the hole I used a tool that I bought many years ago at the Pate Swap Meet in Ft Worth. I have never seen another one like it. I believe it is aviation related but I am not sure. It made very short work of the slag and irregular cut the plasma torch left. It took less than three minutes.











The handle makes it easy to control and offers a lot of leverage. Better have your safety gear on because it throws hot steel everywhere.

[67ChevyRedneck]

A 40 ford pickup is near the top of my list as "must own" someday.

Does your friend travel a lot? I feel like I saw this truck in Charlotte last year, or at least, one very similar to it.

[diceman50]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

A 40 ford pickup is near the top of my list as "must own" someday.

Does your friend travel a lot? I feel like I saw this truck in Charlotte last year, or at least, one very similar to it.

Could be. I bought it off the internet out of Ohio. I was told that it was built by a shop in Alabama, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

[mongocanfly]

I tried doing some digging to see if a builder popped up.....all I could find was a ton of pics when it was for sale before....
One of the for sale sites said it was located in Inman SC at one time
Then on Ebay for a spell
Then some more in Ohio later on...

[67ChevyRedneck]

I KNEW I had seen it before, I live +/-15 miles from Inman. I'm going to have to dig through my phone, I might have even taken a couple pics of it.

[diceman50]

Thanks guys! If you can find any other info I would really appreciate it.

[Russell Ashley]

This is an interesting thread due to the coolness of the vehicle and also that FI system that you are building. I'm definitely looking for the next post.

[Lokin4AReason]

cool idea with the hose passage ....

[diceman50]

Thanks guys, I finally got my computer, wiring harness, and fuel pump in yesterday.



Decided to finish the A/C and alternator mounts before I start on the FI wiring and fuel system. I cut a hole in the A/C mount for the heater hose as I showed in a previous post and built a new belt tensioning device because the old one was ugly and awkward to use. The new one is a piece of aluminum 5/8" hex rod with 3/8" rod ends. The alternator mount is a new one from Alan Grove and required quite a bit of shimming and tweaking to make the belts line up. I am going to drill a hole in the front plate on the A/C mount to make it look a little more "SPORTY" and cut an arc in the alternator mount to make it easier to check/fill the power steering reservoir.

[diceman50]

Decided to tackle the fuel system first. This is the 12th fuel injection conversion project that I have done going back to the early 90's and the hardest part (at least for me) is the fuel system. The simplest way to do one is put a high pressure pump in the original fuel line, assuming it is big enough and then run a return line back to the tank. If the original line is not big enough you can run a new larger fuel line and use the original for the return.
The problem with this system is when the fuel level gets low and is sloshing around the pickup tube will suck air and the engine can stumble and/or stall.
When I did my first conversions there weren't any aftermarket solutions, like EFI ready fuel tanks with built in pumps and baffles or "Fuel Command Centers".
On those early conversions I built a small tank that fit in the frame rail and used a low pressure electric pump or the original mechanical pump to fill it. Then a high pressure pump was used to supply the FI system. It worked very well but required a lot of plumbing and added more complexity to the system. Another problem is the externally mounted pumps are noisy and run hotter. You can see here that I have triple isolated the fuel pump.



I really want to use an intank fuel pump on this project but, unfortunately the S10 chassis predates EFI so there are no baffles or other provisions for EFI in the tank. There are EFI tanks available for later models, but they are larger than mine and I don't have room for them. I was able to source a sending unit for an injected tank that will fit mine. So, to get around the baffle problem I am going to try a Holley Hydramat. Supposedly if any part of the mat is in contact with fuel it will pick it up.



The outlet on my pump is 5/16" and the sending unit is 3/8". Fortunately a 5/16" tube fits snugly inside the 3/8" one so I cut the hose barb off and inserted a 5/16 tube that I made a new barb on. Some silver solder should hold it from now on.









The Hydramat has a 3/8" pipe thread so an aluminum adapter was built to adapt it to the intank fuel pump.



I am going to test the system on the work bench when I get it done. I'll let you know the results.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by diceman50

Thanks guys! If you can find any other info I would really appreciate it.

I scrounged through my phone but came up blank, but with the previous location of it, I'm certain I've seen it in person and it's pretty sweet.

I also believe the owner saw me admiring it and let me know it was for sale, I didn't have to ask the price, based on other 40's I've seen, I knew it was beyond what I could spend... someday I'll have one...

[diceman50]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I scrounged through my phone but came up blank, but with the previous location of it, I'm certain I've seen it in person and it's pretty sweet.

I also believe the owner saw me admiring it and let me know it was for sale, I didn't have to ask the price, based on other 40's I've seen, I knew it was beyond what I could spend... someday I'll have one...

Thanks for looking!

[diceman50]

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”

Well, what I thought would be an afternoon project turned into two days of frustration.
When I tested my completed fuel pump/hydramat assembly it pumped beautifully until the fuel level reached approx. 2.5" off the bottom of the tank. At which time it would start aerating the fuel and stop pumping. I assumed it was a problem with the aluminum adaptor that I was using to fit the Holley Hydramat to the pump.



But, after replacing the O ring and making sure I had a good seal the problem persisted. It seems the fuel pump I ordered has a weep hole in the suction end.





A call to the tech department of the company was a waste of time although the young lady who answered the phone tried very hard to help me and even offered to replace the pump. What I wanted to know is what the hole is for and what would happen if I plug it. They had no idea that it even had a weep hole or what it was for. So, to answer my own question I plugged it. Evidently it is to let the air out of the inlet of the pump. Because when I plugged it the pump would not prime itself even though it was completely submerged.

A friend of mine had a Walbro pump left over from a recent project and when I compared it to my pump I discovered that they were exactly the same dimensions. With one exception. No "weep hole".



I wondered if it might have the same problem priming as the other pump. But, it works perfectly. With the tank completely dry and sitting level on my work bench (best case scenario) I measured out 1.5 gallons of fuel (actually naptha) into a plastic container and marked the level with a sharpie.



When I poured it into the tank and pumped it out I got back all but 8 ounces. Much better than I hoped. I expected to leave a half gallon or so. When I tilted the tank severely to the side (worst case) 24 ounces remained in the tank. Even that was better than my "best case" expectations. I have no idea what the internal differences are in the 2 pumps, but the Walbro pump has no problem priming and pumping no matter the fuel level. Bench testing is one thing and I am anxious to test it on the road.