I sort of went down a rabbit hole regarding fuel pumps for our C3s and spent like an hour researching all of this stuff and from what I understand the only good quality made in U.S.A pumps left come from ROBMC (like 300+ CAD tho), NOS Delco pumps from the 70s and 80s (Impossible to find), or "MASTER" nos pumps from the early 80s (also really hard to find but I got lucky)... Master is the original AIRTEX company from the 1930s...but they got bought out in the late 80s and were renamed to "AIRTEX" and moved their production to Mexico and China...NOW AIRTEX has been bought out by Carter so even the fuel pumps from China and Mexico aren't being made anymore. But before MASTER was bought out and turned into "AIRTEX" there plant was in Illinois and they made all their pumps and water pumps in house...in the USA. I happened to find one of these NOS MASTER pumps on eBay from the early 1980s for $50 CAD and it is 100% made in the U.S.A. I ended up buying it and I guess I will just store it until my Carter korean junk fails. If you guys can find these "MASTER" pumps made in the USA from the early 80s I would seriously recommend picking them up.

Anyway I found multiple users reporting that their Carter made in Korea fuel pumps failed after a XXX amount of mileage...This got me quite concerned (Why I went ahead and bought a NOS made in USA one). So my question is how many people have Carter pumps in their vettes right now and if so how long have they worked and how many people had them in their car before they failed.
I just want to see if its even worth it keeping it in the car (just installed it) or if I should go straight to putting in the NOS pump.

I knew Carter pumps were absolute garbage from the beginning being made in KOREA but its what NAPA sold me and btw they sold it to me under "AIRTEX" more proof that AIRTEX/MASTER is a gone company. Another thing is Carter pumps bolt in but they aren't even the right size or part for 77-81 Vettes yet they are advertised as being so but I'm still hoping they work for at least 1000 miles as redoing the job total PITA .

Here some pics of my NOS master made in USA pump as you can see it is GM part number 41240 (the correct part for 1977-81 Vettes size-wise and functionality)

 

Just went thru this
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...mp-79-l82.html
my new carter korea clattered after few hundred miles..also newer ones longer than oem..
found this on ebay older airtex and is smaller like oem so no tweaking needed..it will be next up..

 

Yes, I bought something similar to your new pump but mine is when AIRTEX was still called "MASTER". So has your carter completely failed or is it still limping through?

 

Any pump built this way will fail. It is the same axle pin crimp style that Carter uses and every one of mine failed in the same point

 

My carter pump ruptured the diaphragm in 600 miles and started puking fuel out the weep hole. Piece of junk.

 

I purchased a RobbMC pump last year at this time for the 406 SBC in my 77. It worked flawlessly last summer, with close to 8000 miles put on it. The upper housing appears to be same as Carter / Airtex....and I mean the same.....cast markings are identical. They must buy them from Airtex / Carter. SO.....the pin retention system is no different, regarding Rescue Rogers problem. Otherwise the lower housing is billet, aluminum. And...of course the volume of the RobbMC far exceeds the requirements of a street car,....but guarentees the flow you need. I think Holley and Edelbrock pumps use a better pin retentions system. The other BIG bonus of the Robb MC pump is that is has provisions for the return fuel.....Holleys and Edelbrocks do not.

 

Yeah I believe the NOS AIRTEX one @interpon purchased may not be made in america rather mexico or china because as I mentioned after the name change to AIRTEX occurred shortly after they ceased operations in USA so even though its NOS I don’t know if its old enough.... However as @CorvettePassion mentioned it’ll probably be fine if robMC is built in a similar fashion. Ill take pictures of the inside of my made in U.S.A NOS pump when it arrives to help anyone out if there curious.

 

ahhh that sucks man I guess Ill just put the NOS pump on when it arrives instead of waiting around for the korean junk to fail.

 

Down the line if my new NOS made in usa pump fails or if I decide to turn my vette into a hot rod I will definitely fish out the cash for a robmc pump... to tell you the truth if I couldn’t find anything else made in america for cheaper then the robMC I think I wouldve just went for it because end of the day its made in america and its a quality part you dont hear stories about it failing after XXX amount miles....Robmc and NOS pumps are really the only options left for people that want a hassle free american made mechanical fuel pump

 

I certainly agree we may have a problem with pumps.....but, I am trying to keep a perspective about it. While those here have had failures.....I expect many pumps being sold ARE working. They cannot all be failing.....could they? I don't want to be naive about that, because certainly lots of junk in the world today. I chose to go with RobbMC, mostly because through a long thread here on the forum, I came to the conclusion that another issue with modern pumps is they are not delivering the fuel volume that they used to.....and did not want that problem. ON that thread, there were lots of different opinions and experiences, and for most applications and most Corvette owners....stock pumps are good enough. But failure are failures....!

 

I'm going to be purchasing one from Robb Mc soon, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. Interesting about the casting though.

 

How did you end up doing your fittings and routing of hoses? I have mine hooked up now via some rubber hose. I cannot seem to make up my mind if I want to make a stainless braided line or use rubber from the tank to the pump. I don't have a good picture of when I was hooking things up. but this one shows my fitting and rubber line.

 

Soon enough I'll be up to $200 in failed junk pumps, could have bought a Robb mc pump to start with.

 

If decent mechanical fuel pumps are no longer available (excepting the RobbMC), is there a solution converting to Holley electric pumps?

 

Im using a Holley Red Pump with a holley regulator. before that I was using an Edelbrock. You can take it apart, redrill the holes in the case that werent used and that arent drilled, tap them and clock it

 

I know there are lots of threads on electric pump conversions......so understand if you don't want to go into details....and its a bit of a thread hijack, however......if you would like to share how you incorporated a Holley electric red pump into your car, it could help me and the OP. I am rebuilding a 69,.....so now would be the time to make the conversion. Thanks in advance.

 

Short quick description
its easy on a 73 and earlier vette since the fuel float goes in from the bottom. There is a section of rubber hose from the tank to the frame rail where the hard line starts. I had replaced it with new high pressure fuel line when I had the sniper system but with this pump I wanted to swap to AN-6 line to make sure there wasnt any future issues. Braided steel isnt necessary but I have it so I used it. A new rubber line would be fine, You want to use something new that will withstand the ethanol fuels. And use a pre filter to protect your pump. THere was an area that I could use a bracket and some steel to mountit to the rear most crossmemeber of the frame. I have side pipes so its easy to access that area although removing the spare tire tub may give you more room as well.

Electrically you will want to run a relay for the pump as well. I ran a wire from the battery as a feed to the relay and came off a switch that was powered of the ignition stud on the fuse block. You can run it either behind the seat or through the battery and tool box area then up and out the passenger rear corner of the luggage area. keep the relay in an area you can get to it if it fails. I am going to keep a few spares in the tool box. I have the switch on the console next to the wiper switch so I can shut it off manually if i need to work on the carbs but still need the motor to crank. I keep the relay behind the passenger dash pad

I have the front fuel line attached the the end of the hardline. I run it to a filter, then to a fuel cooler in front of the radiator, then back to a regulator wear I have the spreader bar mounted.



Pre filter to protect the pump

pump as I was mounting it. Excess hose was mounted to frame . THe other wires were from a backup camera that I was starting to pull while I was under there





regulator mounted on this end of the spreader bar mount. Sensor is for an elctric fuel pressure gauge




you can see the after filter on the far fender wall.

 

Not sure what you mean by is there a solution? Of course there are ways to plumb in a electric fuel pump into a carbed engine. There are 1000s of ways to go about it but here is the basics of what your thinking.
1. Pump: You can replace your tank and use an EFI style pump or use an external pump. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
2. Fuel lines: Depending on your application you may or may not be able to use the OE hard lines. If your feeding a 550 HP motor, you’ll likely want to think about upsizing to 1/2 line. Less than that the factory 3/8 will probably be ok. Reason why I bring this up is your gonna likely need to run a return line. Evaluate your goals and move from there.
3. Fuel pressure regulator: Gonna need a regulator (most likely a return style, refer to item 2 above). If you need to use a return style due to your pump selection you’ll need to run an additional line.
4. Fuel pressure safety switch. In summary you’ll have to plumb in some sorta safety system that shuts the pump off if you have a wreck. Not gonna get into the particulars because there are a few ways to go about that but regardless you have to have a safety in place because burning to death via a wreck and gasoline would suck.

 

I have a carter pump in my 72 that is definitely not OEM, but different from those shown above. The only markings are “3000 Carter” on the upper housing, but no part number. It is a two-piece unit that screws together to capture the diaphragm and is now leaking around that perimeter. Otherwise it seems to be working fine. The question is whether to install a rebuild kit (available, cheap, and easier than replacement) or bite the bullet and replace the whole pump now. What do you guys think?

 

rebuild it. you wont find a new carter that works