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Fuel injection has been in my plans for a long time.  This week I will be doing the change over from carb to TBI, so thought I should start a thread to document my progress.  Hopefully it will go smoothly, but even if it doesn't I'll report that too.

Laying the ground work, so to speak, started with building a fuel delivery system that would work with a carb or FI.  While I was cleaning and refurbishing my fuel tank, I built a fuel pick up / pump / return assembly that would fit in the stock tank.  The result is shown in this picture, and I will describe some of the design features in my next post.IMG_0684

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  • IMG_0684: Tank & fuel pump / pick up assembly
Last edited by ufo-low
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I see where the confusion comes from.  The fuel pump assembly is propped up next to the tank to be posed for the photo.  It appears to be near the level sender opening, and at the same angle, but that is just a coincidence.  It actually mounts in place of the original pick up assembly in the middle opening.

FI_pickup_annotatedIMG_0686

Here is the business end of the unit, along with a photo of the entire assembly.  The flange is 1/4" thick aluminum.  The carb pick up / FI return line is 3/8" aluminum tube.  It also serves as the main mechanical support for the pump itself.  The FI pump output line is 5/16 aluminum tube, the same as the output nipple on the pump itself.  

These two tubes are brazed / soldered to the flange with that zinc brazing technique.  It is genuinely useful for some applications, but harder to do than the advertisements make it seem.

You can see that both tubes are bent slightly about 4" below the flange; this compensates for the angle of the mounting surface, and makes them vertical inside the tank.

The 3/8" tube is also flattened slightly where the pump is attached to it.  This gives a better support surface for the pump body so it doesn't move around.  It also reduces the overall diameter of the assembly there, as it just barely fits in the stock opening of the tank.  The pump is held in place with safety wire for the same reason, as there is not enough room for hose clamps.  The very end of the 3/8" tube is bent out slightly, so it doesn't interfere with the pick up filter of the pump.

The two aluminum tubes had to be brazed to the flange first due to the heat involved.  I had to shorten the nipple of the vent piece about 1/4" so it could be screwed in.

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  • FI_pickup_annotated
  • IMG_0686
Last edited by ufo-low

As I said in my earlier posting, I do not believe the hole you’re using for this assembly is stock. The only large hole should be the one used by the sending unit (and fuel pickup on most Pantera’s). There is another hole at the high point of the tank, for the vent and there’s a fitting that’s connected to a pickup tube, that was used on early cars but blocked off on later cars. There’s also the hole for the filler neck. I believe the 3 bolt flange hole you’re using to mount your pick-up assy. has been added at some point in the car’s life.

Last edited by davidnunn

I cannot say for sure what may have been changed before I bought the car in 1996.   My car is an early (January 72) pre-L model.  I have heard that the tank may have been replaced, as fuel leaks may have been what prompted the original owner to sell it.  I am the 4th owner.

Here is a pic of what it looked like when I took it out for refurbishment.  The sender unit to the left has no provision for fuel pick up.  The filler neck / cap to the right is original as far as I can tell.  The center piece is the fuel pick up & vent assembly.  It was held in place by 3 rivets.  After removal, I found locating notches under the flange, and a reinforcement ring spot welded to the inside of the tank.  This is somewhat visible in my first photo, and is almost certainly factory.  The only thing I changed was to install Riv-nuts in the rivet holes, so the new assembly is held in by screws.IMG_2552

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  • IMG_2552

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