66 B18.
Old fuel pump wouldn't pump. I replaced with new PPS fuel pump April 2017. Eric helped me out.

122 sits a lot, covered in garage, less than 200 mile since new pump.
Been sitting for at least 8 months since last driven.

New fuel pump doesn't pump (no output to filter). Has fresh gas in tank.

Any ideas other than obvious drive car more?

Any better mechanical fuel pump available?

Any pumps with hand primer available?

Where and how, do you guys mount and wire electric pump, and what pump?

Thanks,
Amazon 66

Walter;

Your SU Fuelbowls are vented to atmosphere, so they dry out when car is parked for a long time...prolonged cranking is often necessary to get fuel up to the bowls again if pump prime is OK...but sometimes, prime of the Fuelpump is lost also, so no amount of cranking will help...this is not necessarily a failed fuelpump!...I'd recommend blowing some exhale pressure into Tank filler as a helper monitors for fuel coming from Fuelpump outlet. When is does, reconnect to carbs, but prime Fuelbowls manually (and spray some carb cleaner into Bowl-valves to flush them, see below) so you can start immediately.

After start, monitor fuel bowls for overflowing...they like to overflow at first start after prolonged parking, caused by the gum fuel left behind in bowl-valves. See also: http://www.sw-em.com/SU%20Carb%20Service.htm#Inspection_of_Fuelbowl_Lids,Floats,and_Bowlvalves

Cheers

Thanks again!
Priming the SU bowls did it. Fired right up, runs fine. Fuel in filter & carbs.

Perhaps I should put a "NORTON" sticker on it....they used to do similar thing...run great, then break in garage if left to sit too long....but Amals had ticklers.

I'll remember this tech tip for storage starting.

I'll bet my old pump was good also.

Walter

How long on the starter before you decide it isn't pumping? After my wagon has sat for over a month it takes 20-25 seconds before it kicks in. Full choke essential for me but you can push it in a bit more or less straight away. Just started mine a couple of weeks ago with temps close to zero after sitting since last October. Battery has been running the clock since then but was happy to do its duty. Did take a fully charged one up as a backup but not needed.
The fuel pump lever has a very small stroke so doesn't pump very hard. If you leave the pipes attached and just remove the 2 pump bolts you'll usually find that the pump works fine when you work the lever by hand but it may not work enough on the car especially if you park nose uphill. Even driving up a steep hill can leave it gasping. Modern fuel is also good at killing off rubber and diaphragms so even a known normally good replacement can fail. I'm sure that Eric picks a good supplier but even those probably don't like being left to dry out regularly.
The old B16 glass top pumps had a priming lever. Hard to find but perhaps worth looking for. They have screw on hose fittings so you would need to use adaptors or different hoses.
Electric pump? Can be done but not really needed.

I've always had a hard time getting the fuel pump to work when starting my '68 after sitting all winter.

For that first start in the spring, I would just pull the fuel bowl covers and pour in a few ounces of gas in each. The car would start right up and problem was solved until the next spring.

I just figured that the pump needed the extra revolutions of a running car to prime.

Priming the carb float bowls is the way to go. That will be enough fuel to get the fuel pump working again.

The very early B18 glass bowl fuel pumps might have a priming lever, I know some of the B16 glass bowl fuel pumps had them.

The only Volvo B18/B20/B30 fuel pumps I know for sure had a priming lever are the Penta(Marine) fuel pumps which was also sold in the Volvo competition catalog as a performance fuel pump.

You can install an electric fuel pump and it should be mounted as close to the fuel tank as possible and it should be wired so that the fuel pump shuts off if the engine stops running, even if the key is still on. And you have to make sure the electric fuel pump isn't putting out too much pressure regardless of the advertised pressure.


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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

Anything tricky about getting the cover of the float bowl? And is installation of a new fuel pump as simple as it appears?

Snarky answer is NO and Yes. The covers may be a little stuck if the gaskets are glued on. An alternative to removing the covers would be to disconnect the fuel lines and use a funnel or other tool (turkey baster?) to squirt bit of fuel into each float chamber. The new pump should be compared to the old to be sure the levers are the same length. Some pumps may have been mounted without the spacer. Be sure on installation that the lever isn't "hooked" under the camshaft. - Dave

AFAIK, you should always use a thermal spacer and 2 gaskets on the Volvo pushrod motors.

And speaking of gaskets and spacer, I can't tell you how many times we've found the fuel pump gaskets and the spacer installed upside down which automatically causes an oil leak.

FYI, it's always a good idea to replace the spacer as they have a tendency to get brittle and develop cracks which causes oil leaks.

I like to flex an old spacer just a little before I attempt to clean it. 9 times out 10 it easily snaps in half.

--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

"And you have to make sure the electric fuel pump isn't putting out too much pressure regardless of the advertised pressure."

I'd add that you should check aftermarket mechanical pumps for too much pressure also.
I purchased 2 Beck Arnley(?) mechanical pumps years ago and they put out close to 8 psi. Way too much for my SUs so I had to install a regulator to reduce the fuel pressure to 2 psi+/-.

Thanks all,
That all makes sense. I only tried cranking starter for 20-30 seconds, twice.

I'll try priming SUs, run motor and report back.

Too much snow on ground this week to drive out of garage even if it did run.

Thank you for the help.