Skip to main content

I never did like the location of my fuel pump and filters, so I figured I'd change that. It was time to replace the filters anyway. Currently the pump and one filter is located in front of the front beam and the other filter lays on my access panel with some kinks in the line. Weak sauce.

Fuel pump before

If I'd ever get in an accident, the fuel line and pump being front and center isn't optimal. If I mounted the two filters and the pump to a piece of aluminum and then bolted the whole shebang in between the top and bottom torsion tubes, they would still be accessible for future maintenance and be protected from a frontal impact. 

Fuel pump and filter assembly

Cool. Now to cut out this piece of aluminum, and gather all the other bits that's going to make this work. I used Napa 3032 filters and they came with some spring clips. Very cool.

Fuel pump 1

Test fit the aluminum piece. I got fancy and drilled some holes in it. I had some crappy hole saws and one of the holes walked too close to another hole. Oh well, who's going to see that other than me.

Fuel pump 2

Everything installed. I put a piece of foam between the filters and the aluminum to minimize vibration. I also soldered and shrink wrapped up a pigtail for the power and ground. The original leads weren't long enough to reach the new location.

Fuel pump 3

I left enough fuel line up top so that with just cutting 3 zip ties and removing one bolt, I can drop the filters and pump down for maintenance. I also slid a piece of heater hose over the line and zip tied it to the beam to keep it from contacting anything. I also armored the fuel line leading to the hard line. The hole in the firewall that the hard fuel line and hydraulic lines go through was raw, so I used some plastic to protect them. Duh.

Fuel pump 4Fuel pump 5

Now I need to pour some gas into the tank and check for leaks. Since my tank is empty, or at least not enough fuel in it to drain out, I'll get to find out exactly how much useable fuel I'll have. I might even tweak the arm on the sender some and try and dial in my gauge. Lost cause, I know.

One more thing off my list.

CG

 

 

Attachments

Images (7)
  • Fuel pump before
  • Fuel pump and filter assembly
  • Fuel pump 1
  • Fuel pump 2
  • Fuel pump 3
  • Fuel pump 4
  • Fuel pump 5
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Right on the coochie!

Jim,

On the Spyders, this area, in between the beam, is pretty much wasted space. On a pan based Speedster, space is occupied with the pan being mounted here. I'm not sure how the tubed framed Speedsters mount the front beam, but there could be some space.

But, this idea of mounting many related items together to make one item, then mounting this one item to the car in a more conducive location with less hardware, can be applied everywhere. 

Wow, that hurt.

When I first built Pearl I used a Facet solenoid fuel pump mounted to the bulkhead just ahead of the passenger’s feet.  Turn on the key and you got this racket from the passenger side as the pump clicked and klacked while pumping fuel.  

Drove....Me....Nuts!  

So I moved that pump to the little splash tray in about the same area.  The tray acted like an amplifier and the clicking racket actually got much worse with a new, clanging effect added.  

Pulled that Facet pump and trash-canned it (tossing it into the trash barrell from across the garage actually felt pretty good!) and replaced it with a nice, quiet, rotary pump like you have.  Big SEG after that!

That whole sub-assembly concept for the fuel delivery is terrific.  Always good to put service considerations in the forefront.

Nice work Carlos!

Last edited by Gordon Nichols

My custom anti-sway bar runs right down the center of the beam in front of the beam. My two former Subaru horns mount in front of the beam as well on the lower beam bolt holes(unused on Spyder).

My two fuel pumps and two filters mount behind the beam. One is for the car's engine, the other is for the gas heater. They are both rubber-mounted and quiet. Plus I like the fact that they are safer behind the beam(like Carlos) than in front. They are both tight to the backside of the beam, and do not get anywhere near the tie-rods, steering gear, steering arm, or steering stabilizer.   

I wish I had the patience and foresight to do it like Carlos did. Very clean indeed.

FYI, a rack in a Spyder would require knowledge of bump-steer and Ackerman to do it right. A well-adjusted steering box and good front-end components are completely adequate for a VW trailing-arm suspension. Now, if we changed to modern A-arm suspension I'd say that the rack is a necessity. 

@Carlos G posted:

I never did like the location of my fuel pump and filters, so I figured I'd change that. It was time to replace the filters anyway. Currently the pump and one filter is located in front of the front beam and the other filter lays on my access panel with some kinks in the line. Weak sauce.

Fuel pump before

...One more thing off my list.

CG





Can you give advice please on what triple   horn you are using and how you mounted it? Thank you

@americanworkmule  I posted a brief description on this thread. Scroll down a bit.

https://www.speedsterowners.com/topic/loud-air-horns

I got the horns off of Amazon. They're made by FIAMM, I forget which, but they have that high pitched Ferrari sound. The bracket they are mounted on is bolted to the firewall at the passenger footwell. I was going to mount them in front of the beam, but I want to reserve that space for a sway bar that I have in the works, if I ever get it done.

Last edited by Carlos G
Post Content
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×