The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Electric Fuel Pump / 1948 Chevy 216 Engine

I’ve learned that some electric fuel pumps have been adapted to 1948 - 1954 ½ Ton Chevy trucks to prime fuel systems to improve starting.
I’m interested any information available for such applications for 216 or 235 engines.
Who offers these electric fuel pumps?
Do they come with installation instructions?
Any experience with use and installation?

Looks like I've answered these question after querying Google and the YouTube files that popped up. FOR YOUR INFORMATION here is the YouTube that has an excellent information about this subject: ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP. Larry Claypool does an excellent job on this subject.

Is your fuel pump eccentric lobe on the camshaft worn off?
That is the only scenario which I would consider worthy of going with an electric fuel pump.
A professionally rebuilt original fuel pump from a reputable source should provide you with all of the fuel required to fill the bowl of the carburetor before your battery goes dead. If that doesn't work, then you have another fuel delivery issue to sort out.
So what I am getting at, an electric fuel pump to aid in providing for better fuel delivery is just a bandaid which just covers up the real cause of your problems.

Every vehicle I own has a mechanical fuel pump. No need for electric in any of them. Have your original rebuilt as Carl suggests and it will do the job it was designed for. Don't buy a new one. They're all junk.

Good morning,
You asked for experience with use and installation. I take it you want actual hands-on experience...I'd be disappointed in any Aggie who didn't. I can give you that with specifics back to 1996...roughly 30 years.

The 216/235 will need a pressure of between 2.5 and 3 psi. Anything higher than that isn't necessary and will not do your carburetor any good. I've had excellent luck with this fuel pump:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00496RE82?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I first bought one of these in 1996 when I totally stopped using the mechanical fuel pump because so many of them were bad right out of the box. In 2018 I replaced it...not because it failed but because it had been in use over 20 years and I figured spending $30 for another was a well timed pre-emptive move. Mine produces around 2.7 psi and it is the only fuel pump I use. If you decide to do this, please mount the pump back close to where the gas exits the fuel tank. Some don't understand this but the fact is electric fuel pumps were made to push gas forward and not to pull gas forward. Actually I ran my oil lines out through the old fuel pump location, made a blank-out plate and those lines go over and connect to my spin-on oil filter device. You can see that below. In fact, I just posted about the availability of affordable oil filters a day or so ago.

Even in the worst of summer (when my float bowl might evaporate completely in a couple of days), the truck starts right up with just a couple of spins of the starter motor.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need anything else.

One other thing...some folks like to mount a fuel pump safety switch and run the pump's wiring through it...and I've seen others use a simple mercury switch. The idea here is if your engine stops running and your oil pressure drops below some level (usually 5 psi), your fuel pump will also stop working. Obviously I think the worst scenario would be if you flipped over or were seriously struck by another vehicle, the engine died and your carburetor's needle/float no longer could stop the flow of gasoline and you were unconscious or otherwise injured and couldn't shut off the engine. Just another observation/suggestion.