I bought a pair from Dan Cook years ago, and Dan has recently been ill, hopefully he is back in business. He would be my first choice for a variety of reasons. Here are some other sources for marine fuel pumps and other Ford 390 or 427 "FE" based parts.
Now the bad news...................it seems as though the Ford FE motors are considered to be "odd" motors by today's generation. By comparison with GM motors being used in marine applications, this is pretty much true these days. There are a few of us "odd" guys out here still running 427 and 390 marine motors, like Chris Craft and Interceptor provided, but we are the minority by a country mile. In addition, those odd motors lasted so long, there is no real market for parts these days. In other words, if you can't find a marine fuel pump on the shelf somewhere, you're going to have to go to a USCG rated electric system, and that's not the end of the world, but it is a reality check for many of the Ford guys and from what I understand the Q series GM marine motors too.
Regards, hope this helps ya! (The 390 FE and 427 FE would be using the same fuel pump)
A quick question on the 427 marine fuel pumps.
My fuel pumps are definitely original (1969).
I notice they do not have the vent tube or line to the flame arrestor. On all recent marine mechanical fuel pumps, there's a vent on the pump which dups the fuel into the carb if the pump diaphram breaks.
Was this not a CG requirement back in 1969?
Gary
Don't think you can find a 427 upgraded mechanical pump
September 26 2008, 10:04 AM
I'm not sure I ever saw a 427 fuel pump with the new USCG bypass on it. The pumps that are out there are on shelves, having been built way back when, and out of production for years.
Re: Don't think you can find a 427 upgraded mechanical pump
September 26 2008, 10:52 AM
Well if they dont have the vent hose, why not just use an automotive pump?
The Carter FE pump ($105 at Summitracing) looks identical to the chris craft pump, minus blue paint.
The automotive pump will probably fit just fine, but there are serious issues. The original non vented marine pump is built to marine standards, even back then they were heavy duty marine units with full knowledge that you can blow up your boat with a faulty fuel pump.
The automotive pump may have different operating pressure, but the big issues is it has virtually NO marine safety factor. If you blow up your boat and your insurance carrier, your harbormaster at your yacht club, or your next door neighbor whose boat also burned finds out you were using automotive parts, you could have even more problems. If someone gets hurt there may be big liabilities, so we can NOT now or ever recommend using automotive parts on a boat.
Sorry for taking the liability route, but it's something we should all recognize now, because once an accident happens it's not possible to turn back time.
I contacted Robert Henckel and Chris-Craft-Parts.com, and He is shipping me two pumps that will fit a 427 (which has the same block as the 390). I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Jim A.
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This message has been edited by FEfinaticP on Sep 29, 2008 10:42 AM
Robert provides a valuable service to the antique (and classic) boating community, and our big Ford motors are now getting more and more rare, and harder to find parts for. There were not all that many big block Ford motors used in the marine application to begin with, and they are long lived, outliving many of their owners, and not the support parts for these motors are becoming scarce. It is easier to find parts for a Hercules flathead than a big block Ford, in some cases.
Not wanting to get between an esteemed provider and a purchaser, I would suggest if you have any questions about the rare parts you found (and elected to purchase) you should clarify whatever issues you may have directly with the seller.
Let us know the markings on the pump. Or better yet take a photo.
Without the vent tube, I'm curios to see if there's any difference between the Cris Craft marine and Carter auto fuel pump.
First off electrics push fuel better than pull it, so the pump will have to be very close to the tank and lower than the bottom of the tank to work well.
USCG regulations also indicate that they should be within 12" of the engine.
That pretty much rules out their use in my 42' CC.
They need to be marine spark arrested. Mallory makes a 110gph with a built in 7psi regulator that has worked well for me in the past. No external regulator and return line is a big help on boats. Price is reasonable too. Be sure to use a filter or water separator before the pump.
You need to wire it so that if the engine quits, the pump will shut off automatically. That usually done with a Hobbs swich thast senses loss of oil pressure. The pump will come with installation instructions on wiring.
But in seeing failed electrics on boats, the main 3 causes, pump too far from the fuel tank, pump to high in the boat, and not enough current supplied to it.
Oh yeah, and the USCG approved pressure fuel line (between pump and carb) is very expensive.
Electric fuel pumps hate dirt, so a filter is required between the tank and the pump. A fuel water separator works well for this.
On our CC, there's another screen pump on the front of the motor before the carb.
Note that most fuel water separators are not rated for 7 psi pressurized fuel, so never use one between the pump and carb.
As a cross link, I'm posting this info here on this thread, but also starting a new thread with scans of the Boat Builder's regulations for fuel pumps, it can be found here. Happy reading!
