I am in the process of ordering parts for my car and one of the issues I am evaluating is electric vs. mechanical fuel pumps. What's your opinion on the issue. I don't see this discussed much.
I have a old school 71 Ford 302 which is a mild performance build. I am using an Edelbrock intake and 600 CFM performer carb and mild Comp cam. The motor will rarely see 5,000 rpms. Edelbrock says fuel presure should be 5.5 PSI. The inlet on the carb is on the right rear of the carb, (passenger rear).
Electric Pump
I like the idea of an electric pump, but I think it has to be done right. I beleive it should be set up with a relay and should be wired with an auto shut off, in case of an accident. I have seen pictures of the special
oil presure swith that shuts off the pump if
oil presure is lost. But I don't know how this works before you start the engine, when you don't have presure yet and need it to start the motor. Another option might be to get one of those impact switches from a wrecked car, that shuts off the pump on impact.
An electric pump would most likely require a presure regulator to get the presure down to 5.5 lbs. Even the Holley red pump runs at 7 psi.
An advantange to the electric pump would be the fuel line could be run on the right side frame and come up the right rear of the motor where the carb fuel line comes in. You also have instant presure when the key is turned.
Mechanical Pump
Mechanical pumps have been around forever and are pretty reliable. You don't need all the wiring. They shut off when the engine dies.
The cons are: low tech, and they are right in the heat stream which contributes to vapor lock. Also, if the car hasn't been started for awhile you have to crank it over several times to get the fuel up to the carb.
While most don't consider resale value of the car when they are building it, would one option over the other effect the value of the car?
Opinions please! Are you happy with what you have or would you do it different? Am I missing something?