I have a 1976 corvette with a 350 engine. I have to replace the fuel pump which seems to be a little difficult getting at. Can I put a electric fuel pump on, has anyone ever did this before?

 

Electric fuel pump conversions are easy. Best place to mount one is in the rear close to the fuel tank. You will have to give it a switched power supply and preferably remove the old pump. Many older cars have been converted.

 

I'm finding electric fuel pumps online but not sure which one to buy, they all have different pressures the pump will produce. Would you know what fuel pressure the electric pump would need to run my 350 engine? My car is inside my garage in a very confined space, I'm just looking for a pump that will start the car so I can back it out of the garage and have more room to work on it, hopefully then I can replace the mechanical one.

 

Welcome to the forum. Mechanical fuel pumps typically provide around 8 psi.
Is there something wrong with the mechanical fuel pump? If you just need to get the car out of the garage then you can put some gas in the carburetor float bowl through the vent and that will get you started and out of the garage.
If you do decide to go ahead and put an electric fuel pump in, then you should put a relay controlled by oil pressure in the circuit. That way if you lose oil pressure the engine will shut down after it exhausts the fuel in the carburetor. This is standard on fuel injected cars.

 

There is a way to move your car quickly by (what i have done before) is if you have one of those small bottles that the differential additive comes in three or four oz. or maybe the squeeze ketchup or mayonnaise that can hold 4-5 oz. Squrt 3 to 4 oz. down the big vent hole on top of the carburator, if the fuel comes back out of the vent hole thats over plenty. Depending on how much fuel you put in it should run for about 40 to 60 seconds. Keep a fire extinguisher handy just in case..

 

My mechanical fuel pump is no good, disconnected it from the carb and getting no fuel flow. The car is parked close against my garage wall so I'll need to move it back and forth a couple time so it clears my garage door going out. I did put gas down the carb but the engine doesn't run long enough to get it at the right angle to back it out, I need it to run at least 5 minutes or more. I was thinking of just putting a cheap universal electric pump near the carb just to keep it running so I can back it out and park it along the side of the garage to work on it. That was the only temporary idea I could think of unless someone has another little trick I can use just to get the car moved, once outside I'll have enough space to work on it and replace the mechanical pump. Right now I'm open to any suggestions, I'll try putting gas in the carb float bowl and see how that works, now all I have to do is find the carbs vent line, lol.

 

I just discovered that my 73 Qjet doesn't have the vent anymore. I guess they stopped using that when they went to the closed emission system on the fuel system. That just leaves the fuel line inlet as a method to get fuel into the bowl.

Is there any way you could just push it out of the garage?

 

They make those wheel dolleys that have the 4 caster wheels on each one, might work well for this. I have thought of installing an electric on my 77 so when it sets for weeks at a time you dont have to crank it over so many times to fill the fuel bowl.just activating it with a push botton to start then run it on the mechenal pump. I have seen electric fuel pumps on amazon, not very expensive, that pump between 7 to 12 psi for carburators,

 

If I wouldn't have parked it so close to the garage wall pushing it out may have been an option, I never expected it not to start this summer. Using wheel dolly's may have worked too, I have a concrete garage floor but a gravel driveway once it's comes out, no concrete in front of my garage yet seeing I just moved in last year. I think my best choice is just using a electric pump to get it started and moved, gonna connect it close to the carb, run the wires straight to my battery with a on and off switch inside the car. It's just a temporary fix to get it running and moved to where it needs to go.I wanna thank everyone for all the help and ideas, I'll let you know how I make out, going to order that electric pump on Amazon today, I'll keep you posted, thanks again...

 

Recommend having someone standing by with a fire extinguisher.