PV Facet fuel pump.

[swedemash]

My PV544 fitted with Amazon Cars fast road engine has a Facet Gold-Flo fuel pump fitted. On my trip to Spa the noise that i thought was a bad valve adjustment turned out to be the fuel pump rattling away, audible over the engine noise at times. There is plenty to read on the web about these pumps being noisy for various reasons and I'm thinking do i really need it?

I read that the pump should be located within 12" of the tank whereas this one has been mounted in the engine bay.

Is the mechanical lift pump up to the job of feeding the twin SU's of a modified motor? Or do i relocate to Facet and plumb it in correctly?

Stuart

[Austinvolvo]

Not sure exactly what you mean by modified motor but the mechanical pump seems more than adequate for a B20 with twin SU's....

dean

[davidw6092]

The facet solid state fuel pump is a quieter option,and normally they are mounted on rubber bobbins to keep the noise down.I would have thought that a stock mechanical pump would be well up to the job though.Would love to see your pv,I am down in Banbury,cheers Dave.

[swedemash]

Just as i had hoped. I'll strip out the Facet and reinstall a mechanical pump at the weekend. Less to go wrong and it will declutter the engine bay a little.

David, I will post up some photo's later. I will probably need your guidance when I tackle the clunks and knocks from the front end! That's the next big job.

Stuart

[davidw6092]

We can do clunks and knocks!

[arcturus]

If you can hear clunks and knocks you know you're alive!

[tdz840]

I have a mechanical pump (glass top Volvo) feeding a pair of Solex 45ADDHe. If the pump can feed these I'm sure two SUs will be well within its capability.
However I'm changing to an electric Carter rotary pump, resiliently mounted and located near where the EFI pump was located on the later cars.
I'm fitting the Carter because it delivers a solid 4psi irrespective of load and more importantly wont need to churn the engine over in the mornings filling the fuel lines.
It also becomes, with subtle switch(s), an effective theft control
Russ

[Ron Kwas]

Russ;

"If the (OE mechanical pump) can feed these I'm sure two SUs will be well within its capability."...why wouldn't it be? ...this is a function of Fuel Demand, so unless your running at maximum Demand (Full Throttle/Racing), there's no reason an OE FuPu wouldn't be able to meet the normal demand...

I also have to point out that after a mere overnight rest, there is plenty of fuel remaining in an SU Bowl to allow immediate starting (if Choke is functioning and well adjusted, as well as Ignition) without prolonged Cranking "to churn the engine over in the mornings filling the fuel lines" being necessary!

Cheers

[tdz840]

Originally Posted by Ron Kwas

Russ;

"If the (OE mechanical pump) can feed these I'm sure two SUs will be well within its capability."...why wouldn't it be? ...this is a function of Fuel Demand, so unless your running at maximum Demand (Full Throttle/Racing), there's no reason an OE FuPu wouldn't be able to meet the normal demand...

I also have to point out that after a mere overnight rest, there is plenty of fuel remaining in an SU Bowl to allow immediate starting (if Choke is functioning and well adjusted, as well as Ignition) without prolonged Cranking "to churn the engine over in the mornings filling the fuel lines" being necessary!

Cheers

Ron
The concern of the original poster was that his modified engine may have a higher demand than OE. Based on my modified engine with side drafts which arguably is the worst case, i dont get normal rev range issues on the OEM pp which therefore would suggest he wont on SUs.
On the solex i have to turn the engine for up to ten times in the morning when it hasnt run for over 12 hrs. Leave 2-3 hrs and it starts fine cold as well as hot.
Clearly fuel cannot run out of horizontal float chambers as on the Solex so my belief is that the fuel is running back from the delivery line.
Its embarrassing in the morning as i leave at 0545 and my neighbours are all retired.
Hence why im exploring options.
Plus at the top end of the rev range you get a slight hickup every now and then. I fitted a fuel pressure gauge and its falling below 3psi but more importantly pulsing. All no good for side drafts.
If you look in the volvo competition section where the solexes are shown volvo supplied a high flow pump which i suspect was for that reason.
That pump is unavailable but anyhow there are better pumps on the market and the Carter doesnt need a fuel regulator
Russ

[swedemash]

I had a root around in my cars history file and found the invoice from when the pump was fitted. The reason for fitting the Facet was apparently to overcome a flat spot in the upper rev range. Looking at the poor quality of the connections to the coil that would have been my first port of call, not the fuel pump.

The quality of the additional wiring in the car leaves a lot to be desired. I've stripped most of it out and will rewire correctly in due coarse.

All good fun though.

Stuart