1 The heart of the fuel system...
1 The heart of the fuel system is Aeromotive's new 340 Stealth fuel pump. The 340 Stealth is the company's newest pump and is designed for in-tank applications. At 40 psi, the pump outputs more than 340 lph (liters per hour), 30 percent more than the typical in-tank replacement pumps. The 340 Stealth is available in three inlet designs to fit a multitude of applications.
Fuel systems are fairly basic. Whether it is carbureted or fuel injected, the delivery system is comprised of a fuel pump (mechanical or electrical), filtering media of some sort, delivery lines, and a fuel pressure regulator to keep the system's pressure in check. Today's fuel injection fuel delivery systems can get a bit more complicated as the OEs try to find the best fuel economy, driveability, and performance while also keeping costs in line. One way this is accomplished is with a "returnless" fuel system. The typical returnless system uses a fuel rail pressure sensor, along with other typical engine sensors, to work with the ECM and a fuel pump controlled by a fuel pump driver module. What all this techno-speak means is that a computer varies the voltage to the fuel pump to control the fuel pressure and volume. As the computer sees an increased throttle input, the fuel pump voltage is increased to deliver the increased fuel needed to the engine.
When swapping in one of these modern EFI engines, like Ford's line of modular V-8s, either in crate engine form or from a donor vehicle, the returnless fuel system can be quite complicated to integrate into a classic Ford project. The good news is that early in the modular engine family's life, the engine was indeed fed by a more traditional return-style fuel system (separate feed and return lines). There's nothing to physically change on the engine itself to run a return-style fuel system. You run a standard pressure and return line, with a bypass-style regulator, and reprogram the engine's ECM to utilize the return-style fuel system. Better yet are Ford Racing's new line of modular crate engines that are wired using Ford Racing's separate Control Pack wiring kits. Our 4.6L Three-Valve modular engine uses just such a kit and Ford Racing's current 5.0L "Coyote" crate engine has a similar wiring harness Control Pack available as well. So the last real question is: How do you plumb the system and fit your classic Ford with an electric fuel pump, filter, and lines?
2 Just so we could show you...
2 Just so we could show you how the 340 Stealth is incorporated into the Tanks Inc. tank, we pulled the fuel pump hanger/bracket assembly from the tank. As you can see the 340 Stealth fits nicely in the assembly and includes a high-flow filter screen and the hanger uses 3/8-inch feed and return lines.
We recently showed a typical EFI fuel system in our "X Marks the Spot" (Nov. '11 issue) X-302 crate engine install. In that three-part series, we used a traditional EFI-pressure-rated fuel pump externally mounted on the car's framerail. While this setup can work well when the tank is high enough to gravity feed the inline fuel pump, like in the Ranchero we dropped the X-302 into, the typical classic Mustang tank isn't quite as high and fuel starvation can be an issue, especially with spirited driving. An in-tank mounted fuel pump, similar to what is in your modern daily driver, is the preferred way to mount an EFI-style fuel pump. We've seen people modify their fuel tanks by welding in late-model Ford pump mounting areas, or purchase expensive fuel cells just to run an in-tank pump, but now you can keep costs down and still have an effective performance EFI fuel system thanks to the efforts of two companies—Aeromotive Inc. and Tanks Inc.
Using Tanks Inc's line of stamped steel replacement tanks with integral fuel pump mounting flanges and internal sumps, Aeromotive has been prototyping drop-in EFI fuel systems for a variety of muscle cars. Thankfully, the popularity of the classic Mustang means that we're near the top of that list. Aeromotive's classic Mustang fuel system features its new 340 Stealth fuel pump (which as its name states, outputs 340 liters per hour), an inline 10-micron fuel filter, and an EFI bypass regulator. Aeromotive also manufactures its own braided fuel hose and a full line of black anodized fittings that will go with any color scheme you can think of. We begged Aeromotive to hook us up for Project Generation Gap and we were so impatient that it actually sent us its one and only prototype system it had; right from the testing lab. Don't worry, by the time you read this Aeromotive and Tanks Inc. should be ready for your project build too.
3 A quick look inside the...
3 A quick look inside the tank through the filler neck opening and you can easily see the fuel tank's anti-slosh tray welded into the bottom of the tank. This baffle, found on late-model OE EFI fuel tanks, prevents fuel from sloshing away from the pump's pickup screen during hard cornering and acceleration. Having a tank with a sump or baffle is the best way to ensure your EFI engine always has plenty of fuel when it's needed.
4 The Tanks Inc. EFI Mustang...
4 The Tanks Inc. EFI Mustang fuel tank features a bolt on filler neck system. In stock form, it ships the filler neck with a billet screw-on cap, as seen in our lead photo. We wanted to maintain the stock filler opening in the taillight panel, so we opted to upgrade to the Tanks Inc. filler neck that uses the stock filler hose flange.
5 The Tanks Inc. stamped...
5 The Tanks Inc. stamped steel Mustang tank for EFI use utilizes an industry standard five-bolt fuel level sender mounting ring. Tanks Inc. has senders to match all popular gauge brands and even the stock Ford gauge resistance (which we opted for). The detailed instructions call for measuring the overall tank height so that the sender can be modified to fit.
6 Following the directions,...
6 Following the directions, the fuel sender needs to be trimmed to 4-1/2 inches for the height of our tank. The fuel level sender requires disassembly and trimming to the right length.
7 The modified fuel sender...
7 The modified fuel sender is ready for installation here. You'll note that the adjustment slide has been trimmed below the sender electronics; otherwise the sender assembly will not pass through the mounting hole. The included gasket and mounting hardware makes installation a breeze.
8 With the fuel tank prepped...
8 With the fuel tank prepped and ready for installation into our Generation Gap '68 Mustang, we picked up a box of 3M strip caulk and a fastener kit for our tank from National Parts Depot. The strip caulk is applied to the perimeter of the fuel tank opening in double width strips to seal the tank to the trunk floor.
9 The NPD fastener kit includes...
9 The NPD fastener kit includes the proper self-tapping tank hardware and allowed us to secure the tank into our '68 in minutes thanks to the fact that the Tanks Inc. EFI tank follows all of the stock Mustang tank measurements and bolt hole locations.
10 Now that our custom EFI...
10 Now that our custom EFI fuel tank is in place, we needed a way to fill it with fuel. We were planning to simply bolt in the stock Mustang filler neck and maybe a billet fuel cap. All that changed when we stumbled upon Mustalgia's Le Mans fuel filler kit. The kit's installation starts with the fuel filler base plate, which screws to the taillight panel in place of the stock filler neck.
11 The Mustalgia fuel filler...
11 The Mustalgia fuel filler kit includes its own filler neck hose to attach between the tank and fuel filler base plate. It's a universal application hose that takes some minor trimming to fit, but with a few careful measurements it fits perfectly and is secured by the included hose clamps.
12 The Le Mans fuel filler...
12 The Le Mans fuel filler cap threads to the base plate (they're both aluminum so do yourself a favor and add a little antiseize to the threads) and can be positioned in your preferred opening direction. On the '67-'68 body style, it isn't recommended to have the roller catch at the top, as it gets in the way of the trunk lock access. Once you've determined the position, it is locked in place by the hidden set screw.
13 The included locking fuel...
13 The included locking fuel cap locks into the base plate to secure your fuel from those that would rather not pay for their own.
14 Closed up, the Le Mans...
14 Closed up, the Le Mans fuel filler cap gives any Mustang a period race car look.