[406 ss monte]

i'm wondering if i should use a Holley electric blue top fuel pump, or just keep using the manual carter street pump i have on it.
i have a 406 sbc with dart pro-1 heads (215cc) & a solid lift lunati cam (249 in 259 ex @ .050" with .543-.561 lift). Victor Jr intake & a Holley 750 double pumper.
the car pulls like a bat out of hell up to about 4500 rpm & then it seems to slowly quit building power.
some people say that i'm not going to get the fuel i need on upper rpm's with the mechanical fuel pump. they say to use a Holley blue top. other people say thats B.S.,i personally have never used this big of motor. i had a built 327 that ran great with the carter fuel pump thats on it, but thats a lot smaller engine.
have any of you ran into the trouble of a mechanical pump not putting enough fuel to the engine? is there anything else that might limit the power that i've overlooked? i have checked the valve springs & their fine, & my timing is at 34 deg. total.
one more thing, if i do use the Holley blue top, what size fuel line should i use? 3/8's or 1/2?
thanks

[lluciano77]

Those Holley Blue pumps are super noisy. I tried everything from vibration mounts to nylon bolts to try and quiet mine down. Nothing worked. The regulators that come with them can't handle the pressure of the pump, and that is what they were designed for. You will have fuel level problems and intermittent flooding. Do yourself a favor, stay with a mechanical fuel pump.

[willys36@aol.com]

This has been arued I great depth on htis board. Do a topic search. IMHO, I like the good old Carter rotary electric pump. I use it on all of my cars. Cheap, reliable, quiet, several sizes.

[Sandflea427SS]

I had a friend use a Holley blue pump and the stock 5/16 fuel line to go 11.40s and a friend use the Carter mechanical pump to go 11.90s......Just the facts....

[AFBCamaro]

Get yourself the high output mechanical carter pump (racing version). And most importantly is change the push rod for the mech pump. Those things usually float at anything over 4500 rpms (get the aftermarket lighter rod). Most people dont notice or know how bad that big heavy rod floats at high rpm because they dont have the demand you have at high speeds.

[406 ss monte]

Originally posted by AFBCamaro
Get yourself the high output mechanical carter pump (racing version). And most importantly is change the push rod for the mech pump. Those things usually float at anything over 4500 rpms (get the aftermarket lighter rod). Most people dont notice or know how bad that big heavy rod floats at high rpm because they dont have the demand you have at high speeds.

where can i get the lighter push rod? who makes it? i would say that i'm not getting the fuel i need to the carb. i'm using the stock push rod & the pumps around 10 years old now. i bought a new blue top & hooked it up (just to a battery, not the car) & believe it or not, it's not noisy at all. it makes a little sound, but i would never hear it over my 3" mufflers. i've also read where some div. of winson cup uses a mechanical pump. if it's feeding their motor's, surly it would mine. but i already have the blue top. what to do, what to do?

[camaroman7d]

This is one of those topics that people just won't agree on. If you have had a bad experience with an electric pump, you will swear they are all junk. If you have had to change a mechanical pump on the side of the road you will swear never to run one again.

The fact is both will work, the mechanical takes some HP to run. I have used both in the past and my preference is electric. You have to hook them up right or you will have problems (like anything else).

The Holley blue and red pumps are not true performance pumps. This are budget pumps (low budget), the regulators are not very good either (for the same reason). Buy a good quality pump (Holley Pro Series, Barry Grant, etc...). Buy a good regulator as well. I have been running a Holley Black (pro series) pump on my car for over 5 years and have not had a problem. If you want details on the correct way to run one let me know.

I have had mechanical pumps fail so I don't buy the reliability issue and I know for a fact it is a lot easier to change my electric pump over a mechanical.

The problem people have with electric pumps are caused by not hooking them up right. You can't just splice it in and hit the switch. They need to be mounted correctly, wired correctly and filtered correctly, if not you will have problems.

I am not trying to sell anyone on electric pumps, but I get tired of hearing all the negative things that aren't true. If you like mechanical pumps then by all means use one.

Royce

[lluciano77]

Moroso makes lightweight fuel pump pushrods.

[roys63]

Quality electric pumps start at $200 and go up, Good Manuel pumps start at $60 and go to about 100 and no noise and no wiring. I Like the BG Carter Speedway pumps with a isolation plate to stop heat transfer and the light rod.

[lust4speed]

The Holley won't make a lot of noise until it is under pressure. Then you will hear it over your exhaust. I got tired of replacing the blue pumps on the race car, the seals failed and allowed gas to run out on the ground. Not the best thing to happen. I switched to a Mallory 140 years ago, and haven't had to think about the pump since. I prefer mechanical pumps on my street cars, but I am now seeing my old Carter mechanical pump not keeping up at high RPM. It lasted 10 years and still works, just getting lazy. I'll probably buy another Carter as a replacement, and I'm sure that the new one will work just fine for many year.

[406 ss monte]

Originally posted by roys63
Quality electric pumps start at $200 and go up, Good Manuel pumps start at $60 and go to about 100 and no noise and no wiring. I Like the BG Carter Speedway pumps with a isolation plate to stop heat transfer and the light rod.

will the BG Carter Speedway or the carter pumps keep up with a 550 horse 406 solid roller cam motor? also what would be a good choice for a regulator?

[roys63]

With a 1/2 fuel line and the lower press BG pump no reg is needed runs 6 to 8 lbs no problem.

[cool rockin daddy]

Did Chevy put a "lightweight pump pushrod" in 302 Z-28 engines? Those revved awfully high and I believe they used the standard pump pushrod.

[roys63]

YES Thats right!! But i don,t think they made any light push rods back then ! or electronic Ign! What ever you can afford or prefer.

[Slomotion34]

I think the Holley blue pumps are too loud... it get annoying for sure. I was running a 110 gph mechanical (edelbrock or holley I can't remember) on my 406 with a BG 820 Holley and it never was starved for fuel (it hit the rev limiter at 6500. I have a preference for the Mallory electric pumps because they are pretty quiet. Just my .02