[punkin]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Yeah the floatless sender is the way to go. I've never had any luck with their aftermarket swing arm sender and was never really a fan of the universal cut to fit nature of it anyway.

Yep you can expect about a grand to do an entire fuel system with tank, pump, lines, fittings, etc... Most of these old cars I find really could use new tanks anyway.

The other alternative that I like is the Aeromotive Stealth drop in fuel pump that can be used with most existing tanks.

I don't disagree that the Aeromotive drop-in solution does work. I would take a long look at the installation on this before jumping in. I went this route and while the product works just as advertised, the clearance between the tank and trunk floor was something I hadn't counted on. Every tank and trunk floor will be different of course but I had to put a couple of 1" shims/blocks between the tank and the floor as now the highest point of contact on the tank is the Aeromotive fuel bulkhead.

It works but I'm kicking myself right now as I modded a brand new stainless tank and I really wish I had purchased a tank designed for this. Don't get me wrong, it works fine. Its the knowing that it wasn't as slick and clean as I had hoped. If you're on a budget and don't mind the extra work and some possible in-field engineering modifications along the way..do it. If you have it in the budget, get the pre-manufactured tank. I've got a bunch of other stuff that I'm working on right now but this is something I'm likely to go back and change.

Good luck!

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by punkin

I don't disagree that the Aeromotive drop-in solution does work. I would take a long look at the installation on this before jumping in. I went this route and while the product works just as advertised, the clearance between the tank and trunk floor was something I hadn't counted on. Every tank and trunk floor will be different of course but I had to put a couple of 1" shims/blocks between the tank and the floor as now the highest point of contact on the tank is the Aeromotive fuel bulkhead.

It works but I'm kicking myself right now as I modded a brand new stainless tank and I really wish I had purchased a tank designed for this. Don't get me wrong, it works fine. Its the knowing that it wasn't as slick and clean as I had hoped. If you're on a budget and don't mind the extra work and some possible in-field engineering modifications along the way..do it. If you have it in the budget, get the pre-manufactured tank. I've got a bunch of other stuff that I'm working on right now but this is something I'm likely to go back and change.

Good luck!

That's sort of the draw back with that deal. Some cars have more clearance for that set up than others so while it's cheaper it doesn't always make things simple.

It's why I always recommend just going for the EFI tank from Tanks Inc. and have been preaching that for several years. It is made with a recess in the tank for the pump so fittings aren't a problem. It just makes life so much easier buying a tank that is designed for this sort of thing, rather than trying to modify something to work. As more and more people go the EFI route they are slowly finding out that just biting the bullet with an EFI ready tank is one of the better decisions with these swaps.

We even started using EFI tanks with in tank pumps on serious carb setups for the street and strip many years ago. I found it was much easier and more reliable to try and feed a hungry engine and still looks completely stock. So they work fantastic for that deal too.

[Scarebird]

Another alternative I had been mulling was to frame mount the pump.
You would modify the existing pickup/sender by adding a can just small enough to fit in the OEM tank opening. This would hold fuel from the return, negating any need for baffles. Pump access of course would be far easier.

[Tom Vaught]

My main issue with the Tanks,inc tank is the fuel pump mount (to fuel tank) shown in picture #2

I would much rather have the Aeromotive dual pump cover even with only one fuel pump.
That would allow you to add the second pump if you wanted a back-up pump in the tank
(vs cutting a hole in your trunk floor to replace the pump if the pump failed on the road.

Tanks,inc bare tank shown in picture #1.

Aeromotive dual fuel pump assy and larger fuel pump tank cover.

Tom V.

[Formulajones]

The biggest issue with frame mounted pumps is longevity, 2nd is the noise.

They get pretty hot and really don't have a very long life. I've went down that path early on with an EFI swap years ago and then daily drove it. It was the way everyone was doing it at the time as in tank pumps for classics were in their infancy. It lasted about 8,000 miles, roughly 6 months and left me stuck on the side of the road in the middle of the desert when it was 110 degrees outside. There is a reason why the OEM's stick the pumps in the tank.

On that vehicle I ended up building a custom fuel tank baffled for an in tank pump. Then daily drove it for the next 3 years without a problem.

Access really isn't a problem with in tank pumps. Even though I have a lift and trans jack making removal pretty easy, when do you ever need to access it when a lift is handy? LOL
So what I do anymore is have a trap door to access the pump. It now becomes a simple 5 minute process to remove the pump and/or the sending unit without the need to even jack up the car. And yes I do this on high dollar rust free cars. It's not a big deal. You're talking about a 6" x 8" hole with a trap door that's covered with a trunk mat. Very easy to weld that back up at a later date and make it appear it was never there so it's really just not a concern these days.

[Tom Vaught]

To each his own.

Tom V.

[PontiacMatt72]

Curious why the aeromotive “Stealth” efi tank and pump combo doesn’t get more love for this scenario. Plenty recommend the Tanks Inc setup, nobody mentions the Aeromotive Stealth tank. Why?

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

Curious why the aeromotive “Stealth” efi tank and pump combo doesn’t get more love for this scenario. Plenty recommend the Tanks Inc setup, nobody mentions the Aeromotive Stealth tank. Why?

I didnt even know about it, so Im guessing off the top of my head that the Tanks Inc is just name recognition for the application. I know who Aeromotive is, but I didnt know they made retrofit fuel tanks.

[Formulajones]

I've mentioned the Aeromotive stuff several times in the past when the EFI subject comes up. Before I even remember having Tanks Inc we had the Aeromotive Stealth universal drop in pump units that were used in your own modified tank, and they still sell those today. They worked really well as long as you had a good clean tank, and you were able to modify it in a way that it fit properly. Some tanks are shaped or installed differently so this option doesn't always work out that well.


The Tanks Inc EFI tanks ready to go, and not being all that expensive to begin with was a real game changer. Aeromotive now offers their tanks as well. I still use some Aeromotive fuel components in my systems since they are excellent quality, but they usually cost a bit more.

[JLMounce]

Nothing inherently wrong with the Aeromotive Stealth setup. It's about the same price, but one thing it doesn't have is baffling in the tank itself. They have a their stealth foam baffle in a standard tank, while the tanks inc setup utilizes an internal sump along with baffling built into the tank as well. Nice thing about the aeromotive setup is it comes to you pre-assembled. You don't have to worry about putting it together.

Both would be perfectly acceptable for street driving and limited track driving.

[RocktimusPryme]

The internal baffling on the Tanks Inc unit is a big deal. I struggled a lot with my old mechanical fuel system even though the system itself should have been overkill for what I have. I honestly think it was the stock style tank having fuel run away from the pickup. If I had the tank full the problems went away. No such issues with the Tanks Inc tank.