BMW 502 Race Preperation

Home
Map
Service
Sales
People
Performance
News
Conversions
Articles

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 >>

Fuel System

No part of the original fuel system remains in an unchanged state. The original fuel tank on early 502s is an aluminum work of art. We removed, cleaned, and polished the tank, then sent it to Fuel Safe for conversion to a fuel cell. A fuel cell is a fuel tank with a check valve at its top and a rubber bladder and foam inside to protect against leakage in the event of an accident. We could have used a standard cell as found in almost any racecar, but chose instead to preserve the original tank's elegance by having it converted. 

Next we installed a large fuel filter with a screw-on bowl and two Holley hi-flow, hi-pressure fuel pumps to the trunk wall below the tank. The large size of the filter allows for the possibility of less than perfect gasoline in Mexico and its screw-on bowl is perfect for catching any water that we might accidently ingest. The two fuel pumps are not installed and wired to run at the same time, but rather are intended to act as primary pump and back-up pump. The back-up pump is already right there ready to go with the flip of a switch if the main pump fails.

Plumbing, we have plumbing, we have lots and lots of plumbing. Here's a short summary: AN fittings at the bottom of the tank connect to a steel braided line going over to another AN bulkhead fitting taking the fuel into the trunk where another braided line leads over to the fuel filter. AN fittings at the filter connect to more braided line going to a T-connector with lines leading out from it to both fuel pumps. More AN fittings at the pumps take more braided hoses to another T-connector. Another braided hose goes from there to another bulkhead connector taking the fuel flow through the trunk wall to the inside of the car's passenger compartment. Continuing forward, more braided hose was routed along the passenger side frame rail up to yet another AN bulkhead fitting to take the flow through the firewall into the engine compartment where more braided hose connected to more AN fittings at the fuel pressure regulator, thence to the carburetors. As if that weren't enough, a small branch fitting takes another braided hose over to a special diaphragm designed to allow the use of a fuel pressure gauge inside the passenger compartment without any gasoline inside the passenger compartment. Why, you ask, did I go through all that gory detail? I wanted to emphasize the magnitude of the plumbing task. Every fitting and every hose represents several decisions, significant planning, parts procurement difficulties, installation challenges, many measurements, and very exacting assembly standards. It's a piece of work.

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 >>