[ALmotoman]

Installed an AirtexE8902 electric fuel pump (the gold standard, right?) to prime the Holley 94 2-barrel carb when the ’48 Ford Tudor Super Deluxe Flathead has been sitting for a few hours or a few days. Wired it into a toggle switch and then into the ignition switch. Turned on the ignition, flipped the toggle expecting a SpaceX launch moment and got a fizzle. The pump runs and is quiet, but will not pump a drop of fuel to the carb. Called Airtex technical support and this is what I was told. The “newer” Airtex E8902 is a weaker pump than it used to be before Airtex was purchased by TRICO (Jan 2019), which also makes the Carter pump. It doesn’t have the umph that the old one had. The instructions said to locate the pump “near the fuel tank” and “on the frame or other firm body member no more than 24” above the floor of the fuel tank.” My fuel line exits the tank close to it’s floor right into the semi-enclosed chassis, over the rear axle, continuing inside the chassis under the floorboard. The line runs 5’ to the closest spot I could mount the pump to the chassis and has about a 12” climb at most at a 45 degree angle right out of the tank to clear the axle before it descends to the pump. The pump is actually at about the same level as the fuel tank. Seems to me that my installation met the criteria, but I guess the climb over the axle and distance from the tank to the pump was just too much to overcome. Wish that I had known this before all the hours of reading, researching, ordering and installing. Guess that my next move will be to purchase some metal fuel line and some fittings, and put everything back to stock again. Close, but no cigar. Maybe it’s time for a Chevy 350 crate engine? Only kidding!