Sam Buchanan

I've used Rustoleum and Tractor Supply's implement paint for rust "proofing" on many projects over the years. No paint will kill rust that isn't addressed but it can inhibit surface corrosion on clean surfaces. Two VW Beetle floor pans (inside and out) and running gear received the Rustoleum satin and gloss finishes and both have held up well for over twenty years. I usually use a brush because the paint can be applied thicker and the cost and mess is much less than spray cans. I've also bought quarts, thinned with mineral spirits and shot it with a spray gun when that was the best option.

My P15 had developed a habit of occasionally going dark between high-beam and low-beam switching which made me wonder if the switch was going to totally die soon. A really dark  road and the proximity of deer meant the car was more likely to pull this little trick. I replaced the dimmer switch and now the lights are reliable. I was pleased to see Rock Auto carries the switch in the Standard brand which is usually a good bet for aftermarket. I had to replace the old bullet connectors on the harness with ring terminals but that was a minor blip to get a new switch.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=445771&cc=1486874&pt=4340&jsn=390

That's the tank in my P15, it fits and functions just fine. It doesn't have a pickup filter, I installed a filter in the fuel line just forward of the tank. My tank doesn't use the little brass ferrule from the old tank, it has NPT pipe threads. 

Carefully check the junction between the intake and exhaust manifold at the heat riser. That gasket can go bad and the sealing surfaces can erode making sealing difficult. Be sure you use the procedure outlined in the service manual when you reassemble the manifolds.

On 4/19/2024 at 8:11 AM, Kilgore47 said:

I had a plastic filter melt and deform when mounted in a similar location.   I replaced it with a metal filter and moved it to a better location. 

There is no rational reason for having a plastic filter in proximity to the exhaust manifold. I don't even like having a metal filter in that location because it can absorb heat which is transferred to the fuel (vapor lock). There are locations that are much better suited for a filter.

On 4/19/2024 at 5:42 AM, moose said:

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day working the trim into place. The soapy water makes it easier, but not easy.  No pictures yet.  Maybe I'll get some help over the weekend.  Today I go to work at the brewery.

I recently replaced the windshield in the '69 Beetle. A bottle of KY Lube from the local drug store turned out to be a superb windshield molding lube. It also triggered several off-topic comments from bystanders......

34 minutes ago, Bob Riding said:

Not to hijack this thread, but I've had a lot of experience with Amazon and it's policies and I don't trust 4 and 5 star reviews at all. I go to the 1 and 2 star reviews because you know those folks don't get paid to write them.

Amazon Reviews: How We Spot the Fakes

 

Back to electric pumps- any suggestions for American made? Are there any? If buying NOS would there be a possible problem with order non-ethanol-loving rubber diaphragms, etc?

Ok. Here is the Summit Racing listing of electric fuel pumps (2000+ hits related to fuel pumps):

https://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=electric fuel pump

Most of the pumps have fewer than ten reviews except the......wait for it.......Carter pumps, the most common which have hundreds of reviews averaging at least 4.5 stars.

Here is the search return for just Carter pumps and related stuff:

https://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=carter electric fuel pump

If you want to look elsewhere you might check into Bosch, AC Delco, Airtex and Walbro but I have no personal experience with them. I've run Carter rotary pumps on two vehicles over the past 15 years with no failures. But the one on the Plymouth might die tomorrow.....

4 minutes ago, Bob Riding said:

Unfortunately, the Amazon 1 star reviews slam the new Carters as "Chinese junk" (not the boats). Not sure I want to take a chance on them. Any better options out there? 

83% four and five star reviews. Who you gonna believe? 

Our small town has Lowes, Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply, Fastenal, and a family-run auto parts store. I like Tractor Supply, especially for their hardware-by-the-pound and their work pants (wear them nearly every day). Life is good.  

4 minutes ago, Bob Riding said:

I am interested in following @keithb7's lead but with a 12 volt Carter pump. This came up on an Amazon search:

Carter Electrical Fuel Pump Automotive Replacement 12V (P4594)

but in the specs it says fuel type - diesel. Would it work with gas?

 

Best source of info is the manufacturer:

https://carterengineered.com/electric-fuel-pump-p4594

According to their specs......diesel or gas.

8 hours ago, clarkede said:

Great ideas.  I'll try and knock out the carriage bolts as long as I can do it without messing up the trim pieces.  Also, I think I will start researching where I can get bulk Stainless Steel nuts and bolts and try and replace all I can. 

 

Try McMaster-Carr:

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/screws/

You are going to have a beautiful car!

1 hour ago, DJK said:

I have no issues with the Carter P5249 and no mechanical pump.(no regulator either).

Same here.

If you decide to delete the mechanical pump you might consider modifying the fuel line inside the engine compartment to get it away from the exhaust manifold. Here is how I ran the line across the upper firewall and over to the carb.

On 4/13/2024 at 4:06 PM, Los_Control said:

My first thought, a pinhole in the line can cause issues ..... the electric fuel pump should point it out quickly. .... I'm not positive a electric pump will overcome a leaky line to make it run ..... it should show the leak though.

 

I'm going to throw a different idea out of left field. ..... When was the last time you got fuel and when did the issue happen?

If you have water in your fuel, it is heavier then gas and goes to the bottom .... then you drive and you mix it all together and it gets passed into your carb ..... It might look like a air bubble coming through the glass filter? .... Just a idea .... It will cause issues that are hard to describe. .... It has been known to happen that a gas station gets fuel delivered with water in it ... by accident, and then there is condensation and other things that could cause it.

 

We used to be able to buy a bottle of HEET at the local gas station for $1, pour it in the gas tank and it enables the heavy water to mix with the gas and it just runs through the system as a lower grade fuel .... then the next time you fill up you have no water and quality fuel ..... In theory.

 

I fought a strange issue for a long time and spent many hours and $$ trying to fix it ..... a $1 bottle of HEET was the cure in the end 6 months later.

If you drain gasoline into a white coffee cup and let it sit. If it has water in it, it will look like a air bubble sitting in the bottom of the cup.

It is possible that is what you are seeing passing through the fuel filter .....

 

Just saying it may not be your issue ..... I see now they switched up the bottle and now is $3 ..... it just wont hurt to try it.

 

 

HEET is 99% iso-propyl alcohol and would most likely be useful only if using non-ethanol gasoline. If the tank has ethanol-laced gasoline in it, the ethanol is already absorbing moisture that is in the gas (that is why ethanol-contaminated gasoline is nasty stuff....corrosion city). The amount of ethanol in a few gallons of E10 is far more per volume than what is in the red plastic bottle.

It does work well with gas-fired camp stoves, however. 

Update: Since last fall my TR6 has been stored in a temporary enclosed garage (Harbor Fright) and this spring it has presented a couple of yips which I have wondered might be due to water condensing in the tank because of the outdoor storage. Los Control got me thinking about this, so why not. I added the appropriate ratio of HEET to the tank just in case there was still some moisture in the tank. Yep, a sniff test confirmed HEET is good ol' alcohol (no taste test...). I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to add it since the tank already has E10 in it.

4 minutes ago, soth122003 said:

That's the plan. Trouble with water is it don't stay in one place while driving and tends to mix with the fuel and run right along with it to the carb. Hence the small bubbles visible in the fuel filter. Only thing that will really stop it is a water fuel separator. Got the filters in today but will wait since I'm going to order the square pipe plug socket set and try to impact the fuel tank drain plug out (very carefully).

 

Joe Lee

Just use a torch to get the plug red hot....that oughta bust the rust loose.................   😲 🤣

9 minutes ago, kouseneric39 said:

Just dropped of the clutch adjustment rod at the machine shop to just be straightened and the linkage to be filled and redrilled also ordering tourque bushings

It will be interesting to see when you reassemble everything if that slight bend is there for a reason...................perhaps the release lever and pedal arm are slightly offset.......

Been a few years since I replaced the glass in my '48 P15 front door but I'm pretty sure I recall that piece slips off the stud. Most likely yours is rusted to the stud, may need some solvent and persuasion....maybe some heat?

12 minutes ago, Ivan_B said:

Even better, you can hide the link behind the text, so you link becomes what ever you want it to be

True, or perhaps even better I could have not even participated in this thread.........................which I thought was about an electric fuel pump............

Yes, have used tinyURL many times through the years, just didn't take the time to use the third party app this instance. I knew the long link would work in my reply even though it was messy. But the info about tinyURL might be helpful for those who are not aware of the app.

2 minutes ago, Cooper40 said:

@Dave72dt I have a torque wrench but I will be torqueing with the engine still in the car. Is it possible to do the mains and fit a torque wrench in there?

With a socket extension, yes.

38 minutes ago, Tired iron said:

Do you happen to know the psi output of this pump? Lots of pumps that say they are low pressure also post numbers of 5-9 psi which, in my experience, can sometimes overpower the float and needle valve.

I don't know the specific number but the carb on my '48 P15 is perfectly happy with the pump with no need for a regulator or return line.

The Carter pump is the full-time pump on my car, here is the mechanical pump:  😁

7 minutes ago, Doug&Deb said:

I seem to recall that some of you are using a Carter 6 volt electric fuel pump. Can someone please tell me which one? I’m currently using an Airtex E-8901 pump as an auxiliary pump and I think it may be causing some restriction issues. 

I've run the Carter P4259 6v rotary pump for the past four years and it has been flawless.

Here are the specs from the Carter website:

https://carterengineered.com/electric-fuel-pump-p4259

One source I found is Amazon (please excuse the long link), looks like Speedway and Summit Racing also have it.

https://www.amazon.com/Carter-P4259-Line-Electric-Fuel/dp/B000CIS4IU/ref=asc_df_B000CIS4IU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312454010291&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9870229423753049456&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012692&hvtargid=pla-568638290350&psc=1&mcid=dc26961fd30a3fc2b585a1d550c924e2&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61179236814&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312454010291&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9870229423753049456&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012692&hvtargid=pla-568638290350&gclid=CjwKCAjw8diwBhAbEiwA7i_sJfAVg2MLX5clS4soqkFp44g4RQrvU99v7liFt0QOokgUYEUqfKTxnRoC1MUQAvD_BwE

I mounted the pump just forward of the fuel tank and used rubber isolation to reduce noise, I no longer notice it running except when first turning on the key to prime the carb.

I didn't realize I had inserted a space.......my apologies, hope I didn't mess up too many folk's searches.............

I’ve always used:

site: p15-24.com engine flush

The “and”, “or”, or quotes probably refines the search but I’ve never had to use them.

Those Texas daubers are aggressive! I now have the '69 VW Beetle that used to belong to my uncle who lived in Waxahatchie, and even though the car was garaged the daubers built nest all through the undercarriage of the car. I have knocked at least twenty of them out and still find one occasionally. Fortunately he kept the car covered with the windows rolled up so no intruders inside the car.

Ok......glad this is settled......can we let this old thread return to its deep slumber??  Like Keith I was minding my own business and got drug back into this zombie thread.......  🤣

Here is a current thread in case someone wants to continue beating this horse:

https://p15-d24.com/topic/61303-converting-from-6v-to-12v/