Fuel Pump Really Close To Header?????

[Vladik41]

Running A mechanical fuel pump on a very mild 302,(250-300 HP) I have only about 1/4 in clearance to the headers I'm worried about heat Transfer, Its just a Holly style pump I got off of eBay Pump works really good but Seems a bit big in diameter. Any thoughts or recommendations ? I want to stay mechanical. Keep it as simple as possible.

[Bob Cowan]

I agree. You need to install some kind of heat shield. Or a smaller fuel pump. Don't be afraid to dimple the header to gain another 1/4" of clearance

[Blue MK3]

I'm confused. I have a SBF engine with mechanical pump and screw-on oil filter just behind it. My DS front header clears the filter by a good four inches and the fuel pump by at least six inches. You must have custom headers that are very different from my standard ones.

[2FAST4U]

Can you post a pic?

[Vladik41]

I'll get a pict in the am.

[j.miller]

Sounds like Vladik has the stock headers not the 4 in to 4's so with the J-pipe it gets real close which is why they include the filter relocate. When we build with stock headers I use an Elec fuel pump.

[ram_g]

I have a 302 with stock (reversed) headers and J-pipes, and yes the fuel pump is very close to the header on the driver side. Also the oil filter (I have a 90 deg. adapter, not the remote setup) and the oil pressure sensor are also real close.

To make it work I conceived and fabb'd up a heat shield from aluminum - see pictures below. I played with a piece of cardboard to get the 3D shape before cutting it out of aluminum. The shield is double reinforced at the top, insulated front and back with aluminum-backed fiberglas insulation, screwed on to the front of the DS heads using a couple of aluminum standoffs, and kept from flopping around with a brace at the bottom screwed in to the 4" tube.

All in all it works very well and in 2 years of driving my car in the Houston heat I have had zero problems from this issue.

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