Anyone know where it needs to be cut? If you got a picture of the general location, that'll do the trick. Just gonna use some sheet metal sheers and be done with it. Go flame somewhere else about a hack job, don't want to hear it.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...p+access+panel

http://www.taekwondoplus.org/z28/fuelpump.html

one good thread with pics, one with 4th gen mod (same floor pan so should work)

 

I performed this mod on my '85 Z28 and was very happy with the results. However, be prepared to get flamed on this topic.

 

its not a mod ...end of story ....LOL

 

mod·i·fi·ca·tion Audio pronunciation of "modification" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (md-f-kshn)
n.

1. The act of modifying or the condition of being modified.
2. A result of modifying.
3. A small alteration, adjustment, or limitation.
4. Biology. Any of the changes in an organism caused by environment or activity and not genetically transmissable to offspring.
5. Linguistics.
1. A change undergone by a word that is borrowed from another language.
2. A phonological change undergone by a word or morpheme when it is used in a construction, as the change of will to 'll in they'll.


Yes it is . Thanks for the pics. I think i'll go ahead and use it as a walkthrough. :hail: :hail:

I just hope its in the exact same area....

 

hmm lets see im too lazy to do my fuel pump the correct way so im gonna cut a hole in the back of my car to get to it...LOL

whats next you need to change your ujoints so you cut a hole in the floor board the get to the bolts where it is bolted to the rearend...??..LOL

you will spend a whole day doing what you are doing in order to make it look somewhat correct when in the same time you could have changed the pump the correct way and not had a hole in your car that doesnt belong there...LOL

its not that difficult to do just undo bolts and remove tank if thats too difficult for you to do then you should sell your car ....

 

Cmon, pasky, dont do this to your car. You spent all the time swapping an LT1 into a V6 car, did all the work the right way, dont halfass it now.

la·zy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lz)
adj. la·zi·er, la·zi·est
1. Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.
2. Slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy river.
3. Conducive to idleness or indolence: a lazy summer day.
4. Depicted as reclining or lying on its side. Used of a brand on livestock.
5. Spending an afternoon cutting a hole in your car when you could have done the job right in the same amount of time.

 

He did get you there Pasky

Its your car, go for it. Just make it look good. I almost did it to mine when we first did the swap. After dropping the tank 4 times so far, I'm wishing I would have cut the access door in the beginning and been done with it.

 

yeah, thats all thats involved in the job

obivously its not too difficult since we both did the LT1 swap. move along now

 

Indeed he did, but I am no lazy man. I may procrastinate, but im far a stranger of hard work.

I agree with you guys but as TexasLT1 said, I don't want to screw around dropping the tank if I made a mistake. I don't have that kind of time, im doing it this way for 3 reasons:

1. Car is a daily driver, I work 12-5:30 and go back to work at 7:00 and get off at 8:30-9:00. Keep in mind I have a family and a son I like to spend time with. I can't afford down time.

2. My exhaust is welded on, i'd have to take it to the exhaust shop and have them weld on the hangers.

3. I do not want to repeat steps if I do something incorrectly out of haste, which is something I can't avoid.

I realize a lot of you consider it a hack job and as stated, really don't want to hear it. I don't like to skimp on anything but I don't find cutting a 8"x4" hole in the very thin floor board and patching it back so it accessible as skimping. I can think of much worse as far as hack jobs go.

 

Is there anyone who has actually done it who can verify if that is the correct location on the third gens?

 

One would think if you could do that, you could handle this the right way. I shudder to think of how your swap was done.

 

Now this is my ***** is bigger than yours...meh

Just gonna put it on the ignore...

 

Well it's a link from the 3rdgen board...And the pictures don't work but you can PM the guy who did it to see if he still has those pictures of it in progress and where it is.

http://www.3rdgen.org/bb/showthread....ight=fuel+pump

I'm going to guess your response would be 180 the opposite way if for some reason the factory would have made a small trapdoor...

 

Why are people knockin him? Its his damn car, let him do what he wants. He even stated he didnt want to hear about how people think its a hack job.

 

PM me with your email, I can send pics now, and clean out your PM box, it's full!

LB9GTA

 

sent the PM and cleared mine out.

 

WTF is this? You criticise me on my LT1 swap and think its a "hack job" because I agree with putting a trap door in? Why, because some cars actually come with one from the factory to facilitate replacing fuel pumps? You act like 3rd gens are built of gold and touched by the hand of *** himself. "Half-assing" it would have never gotten me or Pasky this far to begin with as neither of us would have attempted the swap. Don't even try and tell me I "half-assed" my swap since you haven't even seen the car or good photos of it. I'll say again, move along now.

 

I guess you are the voice of *** I better listen!

Its a hack job plain and simple. Whats next, cutting a hole in the firewall to change your heater core?

 

wow jeez guys take it easy. my gtp has a fuel access door. and when i pick up the camaro im adding one when i do the cage. why do the work 5 times over? if the new pump fails then what? it does happen. i would pull the tank and cut and weld in a door but everybody has thier own way of doing things. im putting an engine im sure no one has put in a thirdgen yet. i have 4 pumps to chose from and im going to use all of them till i get the right results with one. you really think im pulling the tanks each time to test?

 

Would it be a hack job if there was a door from the factory? What's the difference in adding one? Improving upon the factory's design.

 

Lets see... if its a hack job to install something thats not original from the factory, I guess that means all the guys that have anything except a 100% stock engines are all hacks then... how dare some of these hacks swap engines!

 

If thats how you think, you must be a John Kerry Supporter!

 

LOL actually no, I'm Canadian, so I could care less about John Kerry! ha ha

All I meant man, is there are some things we do to our cars that just because it wasn't done from the factory, there isn't necessarily anything wrong with it.

 

Sorry, I couldnt resist a little jab, no offense meant. The point I am trying to make is comparing an engine swap, header install, or something like that, to cutting a hole in the floorboard of the car to avoid doing the job right, is kind of silly. There are right ways and wrong ways to do things. When it was said about engine swaps being hack jobs, i forget something. Yes, there are some engine swaps that are hack jobs. My brother, THEGENERAL, and I have had to fix quite a few of these "shadetree" mechanics jobs. Sometimes its scary what they come up with! Anything can be a hackjob, when done improperly, or in a lazy manner. Why not just drop the tank, mod the pickup, and install an inline pump? Then you dont have to cut the car, and it will be easy to install fuel pumps later on? Thats how I would handle the situation.

 

I just don't understand why this is such a contentious issue for some reason.

It does not hurt the structure of the car
It is completely invisible with the carpet in place
It saves a lot of time and hassle, especially if your pump goes out when your tank is almost full!
None of the people complaining about it would ever know it was done if he didn't tell you.
most importantly, HE'S NOT DOING IT TO YOUR CAR

To borrow and excellent quote
"move along now..."

Troy
So Cal

 

Gee sure is a good thing you came along to tell us all what to do! I can be happy leaving it at this: One more thirdgen being crapped out. YAY! The value of mine rises.

 

you've said your peice (many times) why do you feel the need to harp on the issue?you don't like the ideal of cutting into YOUR car?then why are you so worried about some one elses car across the country?give your and leave it be.

 

Considering mine is a v6 to begin with, it doesn't really have much value . Just has value in my eyes. Anyways, still waiting on those pics man, I pmed you my e-mail addy.

 

I completely agree with what TA said...

<b> It does not hurt the structure of the car
It is completely invisible with the carpet in place
It saves a lot of time and hassle, especially if your pump goes out when your tank is almost full!
None of the people complaining about it would ever know it was done if he didn't tell you. </b>

The only time I wouldn't consider this mod is if I had a rare, rust free, completely stock, bada$$ car like the turbo6 or a firehawk.

I say go for it, what do you really have to lose? Is it going to drop the value of the car? I doubt it, unless your the all-original-trailer-queen-type which buys a 70's muscle car with 400hp and- bias ply tires!? Better yet, 60's muscle car with 350hp and hubcaps! By the way, anyone who disagrees doesn't belong in the fabrication forum. I think <b> ljnowell </b> is just trying to have a laugh, seriously though WHY would cutting an access hole be such a bad thing to do? I picture a ******* using a torch or a grinder to cut the hole other than that reason, why? It's a good idea to drop the tank just to check out its condition- maybe give it a fresh coat of paint and make sure the tank straps are still in good shape, other than that why why why?/

 

Im not worried about it, its getting done this way. So don't let them get to you, they will always think the way they like to think, don't bother reasoning. Im just seeking information for the thirdgen floor board.

No one is gonna come up to me and say "Hey, nice car man, love the LT1."

"Oh, wait a minute, pull that carpet back.........AHA!!! Your car sucks **** dude, you hacked it, stfu."

*shrug*

 

okay why? why? why? why?.....well let me tellya ...LOL

if your going to do this supposed *mod* how long is it going to take to do it and make it look good and have it sealed up correctly and have the fuel lines not leak afterwards???

well in the time that takes you to do all that bs then you could have dropped the rearend pulled the tank and removed your old pump and modded your pickup to use an in line aftermarket pump ....so i dont understand why you would want to cut a hole in your car to work on it thats all plain and simple its a screwed up way to do things and yeah if you dont tell anyone they may not know...but everyone of these cars i look at nowadays to purchase i check out that area of the car just to make sure someone didnt hack it up because if they did i dont want it ...LOL



this isnt meant to be a flame to anyone here i am just simply stating that if you figure out the time you are going to spend on it when you go cutting up a car to do this and have it half assed then you look at the time of dropping the tank and modding the pick up and installing an inline fuel pump well then you are never going to have to get into that tank again and the problem with the gaping hole youll have in the hatch area are taken care of not to mention haveing to cut all your fuel lines at the top of the tank to get out the pump thats not going to be there either...

so why put all this money into your car to put in an v8 and everything else you have done just to cut up your car ...yes it may not damage the structural integrity..,,i myself would not want to purchase a car with this done to it

 

Ive done it, told the mecanic where to cut, showed his pics I got
from this site.. I have to admit, it looked like a hack job (under the carpet obviously), but my car has a lot of underbody rust, didnt feel like creating new problems ..

 

I think the common reason has been established as to why. If something goes wrong, you don't have to drop it to fix it again. Once again, some cars come like this. Why isn't turning a T-top vehicle into a targa top a hack? Or me cutting my shifter hole to fit the T-56 a hack? or scissor doors aren't a hack? How about notchbacks?

Its a mod plain and simple and if its done clean and stays sealed, it makes things easier. No different then people welding in bars inside the vehicle.

 

yes you dont have to but you also wouldnt have to if you do it the other way ..( the correct way ) and just install a carbed or modded pickup in the tank and an inline pump ...then you dont have to worry about dropping the tank again anyway correct???



as for the other changes you described above those arent being done because someone is lazy and not wanting to do the job the correct way in the first place ....simply put the targa top, shifter hole for t-56 , scissor doors, none of these are hacks because you arent putting these on your car because your too lazy to drop the tank and do the job the correct way in the first place...LMAO

next time youll be saying that putting a cowl hood on your car is just the same thing as cutting a hole in it to change a fuel pump..LMAO

 

Lazy? Work smarter...not harder.

 

I hadn't thought of this mod (at least recently) until just now... I think its a very worthwhile mod. Sure, its a hole, but so is cutting a hole in the floor for a 6 speed.

Call it lazy, smart, whatever. Fact of the matter is why not? Its a hole that will be covered and sealed and underneath a carpet so its not like it all THAT big of a deal. I don't see why people make it such a big one.

If I do attempt this, I will have something like this covering it though:



So again I ask, whats the big deal? It gets hidden, all its doing is making a not-so-hard, just time consuming job, EASIER. Win-Win baby!

The only thing I'd really like to see would be some dimensions on some of these cuts that have already been made.

 

Whatever.

 

My trapdoor is just dandy these days.....

Too many morons that think they have engineering degrees are just waiting for the sheetmetal that was cut to show signs of weakness so they spout off and say they told us so.

Here is all I have to say.....there is a very good chance that the way that my car has been modified would put those of you who disagree with this idea to shame. My car has ben modded with the long run in mind.

Those of you who think its a hack job...think as you may, but if my pump ever goes out, I'll be the one laughing at you. You'll be riding in a tow truck hours later, I'll go grab a new pump and be back on the road in no time.










You are not automotive engineers so don't try to act like it.









You are not a rocket scientist either so get over it and let those of use who actually have some ingenuity get back to work on our cars.







Go ahead and move along now, so we can make this thread productive.























BTW: Pasky has already decided to do it, so I think the probability of you guys convincing him otherwise is pretty slim.

Shoot in the time you guys have been trying to convince him, you could have been planning on how to save another 15mins the next time you have to drop your gas tank....so that way it'll take 3 1/2 hrs instaed of 3 3/4...LOL.

 

okay first off do you enjoy jumping into a thread without reading the whole thing and making a stupid remark like the one you did here??

if you would bother to read any of the above thread you would see where we have also said he should just drop the tank one time just once ...and modify the pickup by removing the pump and then install an inline pump outside of the tank so that way he doesnt have to drop the tank again....

.hmmm sounds like a good idea and i wasnt an *** when i said it kinda like you now was i

as for your trap door i could care less about it if you want to go and cut your car up good for you

but if you would take the 3 hours it takes to drop the tank and mod the pickup and put it back in then you wouldnt have a hole in the back of your car and still have easy access to your pump with an inline...

as for the engineering moron remarks im sorry if you think that .....i have never claimed to be an engineer nor want to be one...

so i still say its a hack job by cutting your car up ....end of story ....

but if you drop the tank and do it right and install a modded pickup and inline pump outside of the tank then its not going to look like crap nor will you have a hole in your car .........which one sounds like a better idea???????

 

Well i'll be a mother****er.

Occording to the pics george sent (thanks man), its in the same general location, just a couple inches closer to the back seat.

 

Pasky,

If you can, could you show a pic once it is done, with and without the carpet over top and SEE if anyone can see the diff.

Less than 40min to change a pump or 5 hours, hmmmm, which one will I choose???????

LB9GTA

 

I have changed the fuel pump both ways. On my GTA I dropped the tank. On my buddies car I cut a hole and swapped it out that way. His was far quicker and to be honest it came out very nice. I have come to find out that other vehicles actually have these doors built from factory to swap out the pump. Go figure It took me about 5 hours to do it on my car and it took about 2 hours on my buddies vehicle with the hole. You could do it quicker than 2 hours I am sure but we did a very nice job. About the only thing that made me twitch is the closeness of the tank to the sheetmetal. I was using nibblers so it wasn't an issue but with the wrong tool choice you could cause some chaos. I was such a big fan of the hole after that I changed my other friends LT1 pump the same way on his 97 T/A.

 

Actually I am and I advise not cutting into the sheet metal for various reasons. Most of them have nothing to do with "if it needs replacing in the future...."
I'd do it to my car but I can't advice others to do the same if they aren't comfortable with the idea of cutting less than an inch from fuel lines with power tools. I also don't like about half of the "access" ports made by average joe's. They rarely take the time to do the riviting/bolting and sealing correctly.
So I know the original poster didn't want me to say this but it's true most of the time... cutting into a car can be a hack job, it depends on how you do it.
Seriously though, I've seen more people just cut a hole and then slap a piece of aluminum or steel on with RTV.... that's a hack job by definition.
If you use some form of fasteners I wouldn't call it a hack job.... get my drift?
When you do it takes more than just a couple hours unless you have access to a metal shop which in that case... no, nevermind, takes the same time if starting from scratch.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the idea of fuel pump access. I'll be doing it to my car when this pump needs replacing. I just feel that the majority of stock cars do not need to be cut into. I replaced my pump by myself in 5 hours which includes the time it took for my sick pump to empty a 3/4 tank of gas.
If you can't have car down time and don't have access to a jack then either take it to a shop or join an f-body club and make friends. Access doors are for race cars, experienced fabricators, and engineers. Oh, and if you go through fuel pumps often then DEFINATLY don't cut an access port, spend the money and fix the REAL problem.... wiring, rust in the tank, rusty supply line, etc.
There, that's my opinion, but it's just one engineers opinion and if you don't like my opinion I can respect that too. I've only been an SAE member for 2 years so I don't claim to know everything.

 

well said

 

I used a die grinder and cutoff wheel with no problem. I was just very careful not to cut too deep. Take your time and do it carefully and you won't have a problem.

 

<--- dremel .

Already drained most of the gas.

 

Access door done like in the posted picture -- non-hack, and very good looking

Access door done like stated with a piece of sheet metal and RTV -- hackjob.

Dropping the tank only once and putting in a fuel pickup so you can have an inline pump, and then just replace the fuel pump in the same amount of time as a trap door -- superb idea

What it boils down to... access door is great if you've got the tools with you when your pump gets shot, then you dont have to jack up the car

inline fuel pump is great if you dont mind working under the car with the jack in the trunk... personally, I wouldnt trust that with my life

As you can see they are both good ways of changing a fuel pump. Which one you choose is a matter of personal opinion.

Personally I would probably go w/ the inline fuel pump route only because i dont want to have to pull up that part of the carpet, and mock up a door because I know I couldnt make the trap door look as good as I wish I could, or seal as well as I'd like.

I'm sure that Pasky is going to do a top-notch job on his access door because he's spent too much time on his car already to do a hackjob.

Though it is too bad that this all had to come up even though he bluntly stated that he didnt want to hear about the "hackjob sayers".

 

No ones asking for opinions guys, just information.

 

Yes that is the correct location.
BUT!!! Do not use rubber line and clamps to splice them back together. Firstly there are no ISO beads on the lines to hold the hose in place.
Secondly, I wouldn't trust rubber hose, even the supposedly "fuel injection" rated hose.
Do it this way instead:

Cut the lines staggared from each other so no 2 cuts are in the same place. Get a 37* flaring tool from summit along with: 2 AN "B" nuts for each line, 2 reenforcement sleeves for each line and one AN union for each line. Install the B nuts and unions where the lines were cut.
When you cut the hole for the pump/sender assembly, make it a round hole. A square hole will tend to crack at the corners. When you make your cover door for the hole make it overlap the hole by 1" all the way around and drill 1/8" holes around the edge (1/4" from the panel edge) for pop rivets. Install the panel with auto body panel adhesive and 1/8" steel pop rivets. Also when selecting the metal for the cover panel use steel that is twice the thickness of the piece you cut out.