Lucky escape

[sublimemike]

A few things have gone my way this week, in fact I think I need to buy a lottery ticket.

Like many of you I use my car in the summer and she's laid up for the winter. I take the plugs out in April and spin the motor to get oil pressure up before I fire her up first start of spring , move her about on the tyres , check for leaks, disconnect the battery etc so I think I do what many of us do in terms of looking after these dinosaurs. She's been out a couple of times already with no dramas this year until today.

So..

Like many of you I do street strip so the Cuda has an elecy fuel pump to feed the 950 carb. Fired her as normal in the garage to warm up and saw some vapour more than smoke rising from under the hood. Shut her down and pulled the hood and looked like could be some residue of trans fluid most likely on the rocker covers as Id topped her up last week. Pulled her out the garage with motor running and got my head under the hood.....still some vapour. My eagle eyed son spotted fuel p*ssing out the the fuel pump regulator going all over the headers... NOT GOOD. shut her down and pulled the battery cable off. The diaphragm in the Holley regulator had failed. I was lucky as the headers were not yet hot!! Imagine that in traffic going along. TOAST I guess.

So I need a 12-807 diaphragm. In fact I am going to buy 2 and change them bi-annualy . Anyone know who may have them over here before I go stateside? They are like $6. I think I would advise anyone else to put this in their maintenance program if they have a regulator and similar set up. The cost is zilch the consequences to ignore are grave.

[rossk]

Hi, I don’t have one but ordered some parts for my Holley earlier this week from http://www.realsteel.co.uk and they turned up next day, cheap as well.

Might save you having to order from the states?

[sublimemike]

Cheers .. not on their website but will be first call tomorrow.

[Birdman]

I have an inline filter under the hood, which, tends to leak fuel after a winter lay up due to rubber seal drying out. Always get Rose to check it on first start up, as, cannot see it from inside car.

[Blue]

Interesting, I've used holley regs for many years and never had one leak. I wonder if this is a problem with todays fuels attacking rubber conponents?

[Dave81]

Interesting, I've used holley regs for many years and never had one leak. I wonder if this is a problem with todays fuels attacking rubber conponents?

My thoughts exactly. Eats the rubber then the first sign of pressure starts spraying. Seen a few cars do this with the rubber fuel lines after a few winters layup.

Surely Holley must do an E85 version of components these days?

[sublimemike]

Could be Jon. If you remember last summer I had an accelerator pump diaphragm leak. I put it down to lack of use as from October to April she Is parked up. Most of the time I put Tesco momentum 99 in for a fill up