Another Question - electric to Manual pump change back

[Mountain Man]

I have lots of Q's tonight.

On the 72 I am looking at, the owners buddy had an electric fuel pump installed , because he had a dual carb intake on the 350.

It is now back to standard manifold, with QJet. I think that the fuel delivery is too much for the current setup, and if I buy the truck, I immediately want to put the mechanical fuel pump back on.

I have lots of questions on how to hook up a mechanical fuel pump, as I have never done this repair before.

Is an Edelbrock pump a good one, to go to a performer 1406 carb, or is it a waste of money, and a standard generic pump for a 350 good enough?

My other question is can I just unbolt the pump cover plate, and simply bolt a mechanical pump back on with little effort? Does the lever that sticks inside the block have to connect to something, or does it just go right in with no problems? any tricks or issues that I should be aware of?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but I have never changed a fuel pump before. I just think that I dont want an electric one, and want to put it back to mechanical.

[Wootdog]

as far as I have been told. If I remember right, and I have had a few a beers at this stage of this evening. If you go back to the manual setup, the manual runs off of the cam you have installed. I have tried both and have both at this time, I like the electric setup better. You mechanics, tell him what is up. I am a novice anyway. Kerry

[sneakysnake]

Chances are the push rod was removed, make sure when you remove the block off plate that there is a rod about the size of your pinky finger that rides on the cam and fuel pump lever.
another option is to put a regulator on your electric pump

[Mountain Man]

What do I do if the push rod was removed? Can I insert a new one thru the opening, what do I do if it is gone?

[cableguy0]

just use the electric pump with a regulator and things will be fine

[jimfulco]

New fuel pump push rods should be available at the Chevy place for a few bucks. Or at a wrecking yard. It's a bit of a pain to keep it out of the way while installing the pump, but nothing a blob of grease or a bent wire can't fix. A regular old AC or Borg-Warner pump will do just fine if you're not running huge horsepower numbers. GM makes a high-performance pump that costs under $30 if you need an upgrade, or if you need a choice of outlet locations.

[Mountain Man]

Hey jimfulco, can you walk me thru the install. Assuming the push rod for pump is missing. I buy the new rod with new pump, then when I go to install, how do I stick the rod in. Does it hook onto something or do I just poke it up the hole and put grease on bottom of rod where it sits on the pump lever?

[jhow66]

1. remove block off plate
2. put some grease on both ends of rod
3. insert rod in hole (no ad-libs here)
4. holding finger on push rod have someone bump motor over until rod goes up as far as it will go ( pump will be 100% easier to install)
5. Look on front of block inline with pump--there will be a bolt head showing above a empty bolt hole
6. remove this bolt
7. note length of bolt and get another that is longer
8. holding pump rod all the way up install long bolt until you can fill it touch the rod (finger tight only-this will hold rod at it's highest position)
9. install pump (use a gasket)
10. remove long bolt and reinstall short one (keeps oil from leaking out bolt hole-top one only)
11. install fuel lines(use a inline fuel filter)

P.S. There are 2 kinds of block off plates -one where there is only 1 large plate- one where there is the regular pump plate plus a small plate that covers the pump hole. If you have 2 just remove small plate and install pump--if you have only one you will have to purchase a pump mounting plate.
Hope this helps (didn't help my typing "finger" as it is now shorter then the rest)

[smitty62]

Unless that electric pump is running over 7# pressure, you want it with a Quadrajet. Why? because Quadrajets are notorious for leaking off fuel from the float bowl over a period of a couple of days setting. (Yes guys, I know about epoxying the jet plugs--that won't stop it) This results in unnecessary grinding of the starter to fill the float bowl again before it will start.The fix around here is to add an electric pump in tandem with the mechanical just to refill the Quadrajet, then turn it off and run on the mechanical. Or run full time electric only. Mount the electric as near the tank as possible. The starter lasts longer and your frustration level drops along with the embarrassment. If the mechanical should ever quit, you've still got a way home! Works like a champ!

[Mountain Man]

If I was to keep the electric pump, how should it be wired. The guy that has this 72, has the hot wire running directly from the back of the ignition switch. This does not look safe, shouldn't it be coming off of the fuse panel some where?

[smitty62]

I would suggest you run an inline fused (20 Amp) wire (10 ga.)from the starter terminal to a relay and the pump which will be controlled by the other wire on the ignition switch (16ga.).

[jimfulco]

If you use the longer-bolt-in-the-hole method of holding the rod, be sure you don't tighten the bolt any tighter than necessary, because the rods bend easily. If you use grease, put grease on the body of the rod too, so the grease will hold it up. Sometimes they slide down when you're not looking, though. A friend of mine said his neighbor used a bent piece of wire to hold the rod up while he parked the pump arm under it. Never tried it that way myself, but it sounds like it would work. Be sure you pack some grease in the part of the pump that has the arm. Also, be sure the pump arm goes between the rod & the mounting plate. If you put the engine in #1 firing position, it allows the rod to go farther into the block, & farther out of the way of the pump arm. Makes it a little easier.