High pressure fuel pumps are for fuel injection units. Do not use this with a normally aspirated carburetor, you will have gas blowing out all over. A typical carburetor only needs about four to six pounds of fuel pressure with a 3/8 inch fuel line. Your current mechanical pump will do just fine, no other pumps.
Your new fuel gauge sending unit must match up to your gauge. This is rated in resistance (Ohm) units. Check around, there are listings stating the Ohm rating for your '57 gauge. This must match for a correct fuel gauge reading.
You have two choices. You can run dual tanks as a single tank. Simply connect your fuel lines together through a T fitting. When the tank with a fuel gauge sending unit is empty, so is your other tank; behaves as a single tank.
Other choice is separated dual tanks, dual sending units, a fuel splitter and a single fuel gauge. Your fuel splitter is simply a Y connector with an internal valve; one tank or the other feeds fuel. A mechanical fuel splitter is much more reliable. Should an electric (solenoid) splitter go bad, you are out of luck if an "off" position is also a "fuel off" position. Marine part suppliers sell really nice brass mechanical fuel splitters, fit nice on a floorboard like above your starter button; you can switch positions with your foot.
You need a switch to change fuel sending units. This is simply an "on-off-on" type switch. Typically has three terminals on back. Tank one goes to an "on" terminal, tank two goes to the other "on" terminal, remaining third terminal goes to your fuel gauge. You can buy a kit which has both a fuel splitter and a matching switch for both the fuel splitter and your two sending units. Look around on the web, lot of kits out there with explanations how those work.
Easy to install, a no brainer. Routing your fuel lines and making connections is a tougher job.
Personally, I use a mechanical fuel valve splitter for reliability, nothing can go wrong.
Remember, only your low pressure mechanical pump, no other pumps.
Billyray
Last edited by Billyray; 03/31/2010 12:44 AM.
