Techtip11

SAVVA Technical Tip 11

Fuel Pumps

One often hears discussions about the pro’s and con’s of fitting electric fuel pumps to cars
which were originally fitted with mechanical ones.

Without question - an electric pump is beneficial to a collector vehicle, especially one that
tends to stand for some time between usage. As we are aware, if a vehicle fitted with a
mechanical pump hasn’t been used for some time it will require quite a bit of cranking to
fill the carburettor before the engine will fire up, whereas the electric pump primes the
carb and “walla” – instant start up.

The question is what are the pitfalls when fitting an electric pump? Well, none that we
know of - but one has to take cognisance of some basic rules.

1)    There are two types of pumps - a push through which can be fitted near the fuel
tank and a pull type for fitting under the bonnet. Decide which will be the easiest or
best to fit and make sure you fit the right one. Don’t rely on the spares shops for advice because
most don’t know the difference.

2)    Do you want the pump to work full time or just to prime the carb? If you just want
to prime the carb, it can be fitted in the fuel line with a switch on the dash for this purpose.
If however you would like it to operate full time, it would be wise to by-pass or even remove
the mechanical pump, as there is the possibility that at sometime in the future the diaphragm
of the mechanical pump could rupture and petrol could end up in the sump.

Now comes the question of what make or type of pump to fit. There are numerous makes of
electrically operated pumps available – amongst the more popular are Huco and Facet pumps.
I recently needed to know the capacity of a particular Facet pump and I found them on the internet.
They are based in the U.S. and came straight back to me with all the information I needed.
I also found that Huco South Africa, who are based in Benoni are extremely helpful.
Huco pumps are more or less the same shape and size of the old SU pumps. The points however,
have been replaced with an electronic circuit which is trouble free.

If you are in doubt about which pump to fit, i.e. volume and/or pressure required for your vehicle,
we suggest you contact Huco or the other agents directly for advice. Say pretty please and
you may even get a special discount.

WARNING- There are electronic pumps on the market that look like SU’s or Huco’s but are made
in the very Far East and you’ll be lucky if they work for six months. Make sure you buy a
branded make.

(Eric McQuillian)