Fuel Pressure Regulator Recommendations?

Greg Jones

Greg Jones

Well-known member
OK, I have a 54 Victoria with a 56 292 engine transplanted into it. Have the Holley 4000 Teapotcarb.
The fuel pump has gone bad so I bought a replacement Airtexpump. Looks just like the original.HOWEVER this pump puts out far too muchpressure.So I got one of those cheapo pressure regulators, and it worked well until it started leaking (!)-spraying gas all over the engine compartment.My question:Can anyone recommend a HIGH QUALITY adjustable pressure regulator for my application? I probably also need a pressure guage as well.I have searched various sites and am dizzy at the wide variety available.Ore ven what outfit to call and discuss?
I just want to get approx. 3.5-4 psi delivered to the carb….safely.
 
The fuel pressure regulator with the dial on it, (first picture below) is a
fire hazard, as it sprays gas all over the place when the diaphragm goes to pot,
and there is NO replaceable diaphragm for this piece of crap.

The Holley 12-804 is a pretty good regulator (1-4 lbs) and has
a replaceable diaphragm, in case you should ever need one. (second picture)

Click on pic to Enlarge. ;)
 

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Yep that is the crappy little regulator I was advised to use. I about freaked out when I saw it spraying fuel while it was running. A bit of a fire hazard, to say the least!


I will check out the other regulator. I assume it can be mounted someplace firm in the engine compartment and then I need to figure out fittings, etc.
 
I see the instructions say to mount the pressure regulator “as close to the carb as possible.” Any suggestions where in the engine compartment to mount the regulator? Close to the carb would be on the firewall, I suppose and am going to have to figure out piping arrangements, too.
 
Greg, the 12-804 has the 1 to 4 lb. diaphragm, and the Holley 12-803
looks identical, but has the 4.5 to 9 lb. diaphragm in it.
Yes, I got a mounting plate with mine.

I was also lucky when my dial regulator decided to start spraying gas
all over the place. I had my hood open and was looking things over
when it happened, so I was able to shut the switch off quickly.
Had I been driving down the road, when the regulator took a dump,
my '40 would have been roasted to death. :eek::eek::eek:

Pic with Holley regulator.
 

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The Holley pressure regulator pictured comes with a mounting bracket and hardware. At least they did the last time I bought one a long time ago.


Sal
 
Lanny, sorry for posting the same as you had posted already. I think we posted at the same time.


Sal
 
I also recommend the Holley regulator. if you have a Y-block ( I assume you do with that carb ) look and see if there are 2 holes drilled and tapped on the top of your timming chain cover. some do and some do not. if you do , you may be able to use those holes to mount your bracket. that is what I did on my 30' coupe with the y-block. I will look and see If I have a picture of it that I can post a little later.
 
There should be a picture attached. The regulator is hard to see from this side, but you can see the back side of the fuel pressure gauge, so you should be able to get a good idea of how it is mounted. click on the picture to see enlarged view. hope this helps.---Jim
 

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Lanny, sorry for posting the same as you had posted already. I think we posted at the same time.

Sal
===========================================


Heck Sal, you did absolutely Nothing wrong at all. No problem here.








Alaska Jim, nice lookin' engine you got there,,,Real EYE CANDY
------------------------------------------------------------------------










.
 
Alaska Jim said:
There should be a picture attached. The regulator is hard to see from this side, but you can see the back side of the fuel pressure gauge, so you should be able to get a good idea of how it is mounted. click on the picture to see enlarged view. hope this helps.---Jim
Click to expand...


:confused:



I always had trouble with those engine mounted fuel pressure gauges.



I could never get out of the driver's seat quickly enough after pulling over to read the pressure... :(


CORNFUSED IN W (BY GOD) V...
 
Here's what I did on my 54 with a 312 and an Edelbrock carb. I welded a bolt on top the the bolt for the intake and made the brackets shown. I put a rubber piece between the two brackets to try to keep the heat from the engine away from the regulator
 

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Hey Guy's , Thanks for the compliment on the Eng. I always set the fuel press. at idle , in park. then run it up to about 1500 and hold for a minute to verify it is steady, then back to idle. check for leaks, then drive a mile or 2, then recheck the press at idle and at "cruise " speed. Yes, it is tough to get out of this car ( 3" chop, 3" channel ), but it makes me smile. Paul, that is a pretty good solution if you do not have the room, or the optional bolt holes on the timming cover.
 
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Tinker, I run a mechanical pump on my y-block powered coupe. the problem is that it puts out to much press for the old Holley "94" carbs. the mechanical pump I have is one for a FE 390. the reason I have that, is because it is easier to get here in Alaska , than one listed for a y-block. nothing wrong with the Holley 4000 series carb if it is maintained and serviced properly. problem is most people do not understand how they work, and the fact that over zealous mechanics over tighten the screws and warp the float bowl, because it is seeping a bit thinking that will fix the seep. all it does is warp the bowl some more. that is where the inferno comes from.
 
Greg
I use an electric 12 volt pump purchased at NAPA. I don't know the name.
It puts out 5# pressure at the carbs and no problem with 2 Holley 4000 series
4 bbl carbs.
No regulator needed
 
The pump I have is for a 360 FE truck. It has the filter on the bottom. Don't like electrical pumps - they have gone bad on me in the worst places. A mechanical pump has never let me down


Nothing wrong with the 4000's. They just have to be rebuilt by some one who knows these carbs. The average rebuilder always seem to screw them up.


I have one of those "crappy little regulators" on my 302 powered 48 Ford for 20 years wih no problems.
 
"Second thought is dump the teapot "tower of inferno" and run a 2 barrel 350 or 500 cfm holley. "


Here we go slamming the Holley 4000 (teapot) again. Tsk tsk tsk. Still waiting to see my first fire (towering inferno) on one of these after a life time of working on them.


I agree with Paul2748 in saying the only problem with them is when an unexperienced person works on them.


Sal
 
I made a lot of money rebuilding Quadrajet 4 bbl carbs when I was working in a private sector repair shop. seems every body thought they had to many parts and were difficult to work on. I actually like them and ran one on my daily driver 74 Chev, 3/4 ton 4x4 that I had and drove everyday for 29 years with the original ( rebuilt and rebushed a couple of times ) Rochester Quadrajet carb. . I did modify it a little from stock. most people did not know that there were different metering rods and stuff available from the GM dealers, if you wanted to pump them up for some better performance
 
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