1959 Lincoln Premiere Fuel Pump Questions & Follow Up

Bill,
I just bought a 1959 Lincoln Premiere that has an electric fuel pump incorrectly mounted in the engine bay. It does not work properly. I have the original, mechanical fuel pump in good condition with good gaskets. My plan was to restore the car to original and put the mechanical pump back in. However, I keep reading that the fuel pump push rod and eccentric are prone to premature failure.
With your experience on these cars, is it generally unreliable to run the mechanical pump? Should I just mount a quality electric pump back by the tank and call it good?
Thanks!
-Jake
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Hello Jake –
At Lincoln Land we believe in restoring the original mechanical fuel pump system completely as designed and then installing the electric fuel pump as a back up device. When you do it this way the electric pump can also be used to prime the carburetor on those occasions when your vehicle has sat unused for a period of time. Priming the carburetor of course saves excess cranking of the engine before starting. We really like this idea because also there is always the risk of an electric pump failure and leaving you stranded.
Sincerely,
Bill
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Bill,
Sounds excellent. Thank you for the advice. Should I replace the fuel pump pushrod and eccentric as a precaution, or is that usually unnecessary? (Id like to avoid pulling the timing cover off if possible.) Also, should I expect about 6-7 psi from the stock pump at idle?
Thanks!
-Jake
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Jake –
The decision to replace certain ” hard to get to” parts only as a precaution is a personal choice that only you should make as we have no idea of the condition of your present fuel pump drive parts or the history of the engine maintenance. If you do decide to proceed you should also consider replacing other parts that you will be removing and uncovering such as the water pump, fan clutch and timing chain and gears etc. Personally I would only replace the fuel pump push rod at this time as it can be done with the front cover intact.
Our shop manual indicates a fuel pump pressure testing specification of 4-6 lbs. Are you working on this Lincoln without a Shop Manual? We hope that the above advice helps you make the correct decisions for your repair.
Sincerely,
Bill