Search for the Holy Grail... I mean, fuel pump

[truckster]

When I put my 72 Blazer back together, I built an L31 Vortec with an HEI and Quadrajet, fuel supplied by a mechanical pump. I would occasionally get a little bit of a stumble that I attributed to vapor lock. It didn't become serious until I charged the AC and started using it and the associated underhood temps went up. After sitting on the side of the road twice in the last three days waiting for my truck to cool down I decided yesterday to replace the pump with one that has a bypass.

I checked online and saw that Autozone had a Delphi pump in stock. I thought that should do the trick, so I drove down there and bought it. My wife and I were planning to take the grandchildren on a drive, so I was working on it without letting it cool down. It was uncomfortably warm, and the grease on the pushrod trick doesn't work on a hot engine, so that made it even more fun.

I finally got it put together and started it up, and it leaked like crazy at the threaded fitting. I tightened it as tight as I could, and it wouldn't stop leaking. I figured that in my haste and exasperation I had crossthreaded it, so I parked it and drove the Yukon today.

I got home and pulled off the serpentine brackets so I could replace the fuel line and discovered that the threads on the fuel line were fine. So then I took a closer look at the fuel pump, and the threads on the pump weren't even cut all the way. So I took it off and took it back. Autozone didn't have another one, so they sent me to their store on the other end of town. I had them pull the pump and the threads were also bad, with a lot of metal spurs, so I got a refund.

Off to O'Reilly's I go, since their website said they had one in stock. No such luck, but their computer said that their store two towns away had one. I asked them to call and confirm it was actually on the shelf. The counter guy called the other store and asked them to put hands on the part. He waited on hold for about 10 minutes while the line behind me grew. Apparently the employee at the other store came back on the line to say he wasn't sure what he was looking for, because the guy on my end said, "It's right next to the other fuel pumps." I waited for another ten minutes, then asked the guy to just give me the part number and took off for the other store.

There was a NAPA on my way, so I stopped there and asked for a fuel pump. They could have one for me in two days, so no sale... I stopped at Advance and it was the same story. It was about this time that I was starting to feel like Monty Python's King Arthur in search of the Holy Grail.

I finally made it to the O'Reilly's in the other town and gave the counter guy the part number. Apparently it was the same guy, because he had it sitting on the counter. I checked the threads carefully, and it looked good, so I finally had my Holy Grail.

Once home, it was a fairly quick job to install the new pump, hook up a bypass using the vent hose, and reinstall my serpentine drive brackets. I started it up, and no leaks. So I'm back on the road, and hopefully I won't be sitting by the side of the road anymore.

Anyway, it's a long story, but I wanted to vent/share.

Have a nice evening.

[FleetsidePaul]

You got me at sitting on the side of the road twice in 3 days.

In this heat. Yuck. That could not have been pleasant.

[dave6672]

I admire your perseverance!

[72c20customcamper]

Hope it fixes the problem . I did something similar and still had to add a little 4psi inline pump ,since then no more vapor lock. But we also got non ethonal gas around the same time so it may just be coincidental.

[Stocker]

Glad you finally found a good pump and all is right with the world again! Hard to believe it could be that much of a struggle for such a basic part.

[geezer#99]

Likely easier to install a return style fuel regulator.
That way you don’t need to search for a specific pump when you break down in ‘resume speed’ Utah!

[Boog]

I imagine a part search for our trucks these days is much the same as it was for owners of early car's parts like a Model A or T 50 years after they went out of production. It's rare to find some every day parts for 50 year old cars on the store shelves like they once were. But then again, if they were, how old would they be and how long would they last when purchased and put into service?

[truckster]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Likely easier to install a return style fuel regulator.
That way you don’t need to search for a specific pump when you break down in ‘resume speed’ Utah!

Your suggestion is well taken, but it would have been the same for the '72 pump (non-return) or the '78 pump, so I figured it wouldn't matter which one I had to search for. But who would think that a mechanical fuel pump for a SBC would be so hard to find.

[LT7A]

That's quite a fiasco. I'm sorry to hear that delphi's QC is not even approaching a reasonable level. I have thought of them as a manufacturer you could have confidence in and have chosen their parts over others and even paid a little more, if an ac delco part wasn't available. They have a good website and may have a section for comments and concerns. Maybe you would want to drop by there and send them a link to this thread.

[truckster]

Originally Posted by LT7A

That's quite a fiasco. I'm sorry to hear that delphi's QC is not even approaching a reasonable level. I have thought of them as a manufacturer you could have confidence in and have chosen their parts over others and even paid a little more, if an ac delco part wasn't available. They have a good website and may have a section for comments and concerns. Maybe you would want to drop by there and send them a link to this thread.

Thanks for the suggestion. I always thought of them as quality parts as well, but the Precision pump I ended up with was very obviously of higher quality.

[Redneck Rydes]

Never have seen a chevy fuel pump/fuel line with fine thread?

[truckster]

Originally Posted by Redneck Rydes

Never have seen a chevy fuel pump/fuel line with fine thread?

Nope, just a regular double flare thread.