New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

[Guest]

Hey everyone, my name's Chris and I just got my wife a 65 hardtop thunderbird. This is actually the first Ford I've ever owned lol. Anyways, we git the car and we're told it needed a gas tank to be running. The car will fire with starting fluid so I ran new line to the carb with a filter from the fuel pump and a line from the pump to a gas can to see if the car would run. I get no fuel through the line even though it's a new fuel pump. I don't know if the pump is brand new but when I took it off it has no dirt or grease on it so I believe it is new. I'm wondering if there's like a lobe that pushes the arm and it's so warn that it won't push the arm on the pump enough to get fuel. If any of you can give me some advice on what to try I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance

[jopizz]

There is a large round eccentric that is on the front of the camshaft and drives the fuel pump. I doubt that is the problem though. I would suspect the fuel pump. Make sure you prime the pump first by pouring gas down the line into it. If that doesn't work then the pump diaphragm is probably bad.

John

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

Hi Chris, I see that John ~ jopizz is already addressing this problem with you. If you need a new fuel tank, the only one that makes them these days for our old Tbirds is in Canada. You can get one from their website for $201 plus shipping. Or if you can find it cheaper, most of our major Tbird Parts Houses carry them. Look in the Advertisements Forum, and you will find all the Tbird parts houses listed. Email or call them and ask them for their free catalogs. You will need them for parts availability and price checking. The close place to you is probably the Bird House in Delaware.

I will send you a Private Message with the ebay link for the Canadian company. All the Tbird parts houses get their tanks from them, the only (that I know of) company who makes gas tanks these days for our '55-'66 Tbirds.

[Guest]

Thank you guys for the quick responses. I will try priming the pump with some gas and see if that helps. I wasn't doing that, I thought it would just pull it out of the can. I guess if that doesn't work I'll buy another fuel pump and see if that's the problem. I'll probably end up buying a gas tank, so I would appreciate the link for a reputable place to buy parts from. The car has been sitting a while

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

Chris, I just checked the Bird House and they have your gas tank for $2 less than the Canadian company, $199 vice $201. And, it will not have to be shipped from Canada, just from Delaware. The guys at the Bird House really know their stuff and they also have parts cars that they can pull used parts off of. If that gas tank has been on that car from the beginning, or for many years, the best thing you can do is to put a new one on, IMHO. I and others have been down the road of having them cleaned out, only to have more problems crop up. I did that to mine, only to have it leak again. So off came that tank and one went a new one. There are some other parts you might need, like a new neck, seal, but the guys at Bird House can tell you that. The link to the Bird House can be found in the upper right corner of this Forum.

https://store.bobsbirdhouse.com/tank...d-new-p74.aspx

[jopizz]

Rockauto.com usually has the lowest price on gas tanks. Plus there is a 5% discount available. Use this code on checkout. A49FE9710A4758

John

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

John is right! Rock Auto has them for $155.89 plus the 5% discount. Rock Auto is a member of our Forum, and nearly the only one who gives us a discount. Sooo there is a savings for ya!

Related PartsFuel Inlet GasketFuel System Repair ManualFuel Tank Selector ValveFuel Tank Sending UnitFuel Tank Strap
FORD 1965 THUNDERBIRD 7.0L 427cid V8 Fuel/Air Fuel Tank
SPECTRA PREMIUM / COOLING DEPOT F37B {#C4SZ9002B} Lock Ring Kit Included
37-3/8 In. x 15-1/4 In. x 14-1/2 In. $155.89

[Guest]

That's awesome. Have you guys ordered from them before, because I heard people say that rock auto sold parts that didn't fit well and had a bad return policy, but I've never ordered from them myself before

[jopizz]

I've ordered many things from them and never had a problem returning anything. The gas tanks are only made by one company as Ray mentioned. I've replaced a number of them and they all fit like the factory ones.

John

[Guest]

Well that's good to hear,I will definitely be ordering from them then

[Guest]

Also I see the airtex fuel pump, is this a decent fuel pump to get. I'm just wondering because it seems like a cheap price

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

Chris, I gather your oil dipstick must be missing, from your PM. I tried to send you a picture of the 390ci engine for a '65 Flairbird. Here it is and you can see where the black oil dip stick and tube should be on it. If you don't see the dip stick, you should certainly see the tube that it slides into right there by the left corner of the gold valve cover.. IF you are missing the dip stick, you can get it from one of the Tbird parts house, probably Rock Auto also...

[jopizz]

That's a pretty common fuel pump so they're not that expensive. Airtex is probably as good as any other brand. I've used the Carter pump also and it seems ok.

John

[Guest]

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's missing the dipstick, so no more trying to start it until I get that put in. Does anyone have a pic of where the dipstick tube goes in to the engine

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

Chris, can't you see the picture that I posted of the engine? The dipstick is black and sticking out of the tube by the left corner of the gold valve cover.. You certainly should be seeing the picture that I posted in my 9:26pm post.

Bob's Bird House has them new for $21.

https://store.bobsbirdhouse.com/dips...-new-p295.aspx