Hey Guys,

I'm stuck on what to do with a fuel pump and thought I'd pick your brains.
Engine going into the car is a 5.3 LM7 cammed and carb'd. Will eventually see Nitrous. Hoping for 300-350 WHP off-spray. Car is an 86 Trans Am that originally had an LG4, so I'll need to wire either new choice in.
I'm stuck between two options for the fuel pump:

1. Do an inline setup with something like an Aeromotive 11203, regulate it down at the carb.
   1. This makes it easier to swap in the future if I need to
2. Junkyard crawl for a TBI/TPI tank pickup/pump. Cut a trap door and drop in a Walbro 255. Same regulator at the carb.
   1. I don't like the idea of cutting the trap door, but it's cheaper and gives me better future options if I ever want to switch over to FI.

Those that have done it - what would you go with?

 

I do option 3 and get a new tank, pump, and new sending unit which should be all together under $300. The trap door is handy but not needed really. Detroit Speed sells a $100 kit to weld in a proper hatch.

 

New tank and everything from a 4th gen?

 

3rd gen. Spetra tank, sending unit and you pick a pump. I don't trust any used 3rd gen tank. 4th gen tank is an option but has its trade offs and isn't a total direct swap (flame suit on).

However, if you have goals of going to fuel injection I would skip all options and go with the Aeromotive tanks for these cars.

 

I've eyeballed that Aeromotive tank quite a bit. Not %100 sure I want to get to FI, just thinking I should keep it in mind with the Fuel System.

Thanks for the Advice!

 

Id prefer having a intank pump and then regulate it down under the hood. Inline pumps are easy to do and go but I always get worried about the pumps getting too hot and not having fuel surround the body to keep it cool especially on hot summer days depending where you live. If you have a good pump like a wally 250 or 450 then you shouldnt need to do the trap door.Now that the rearend of my car has been pretty much rebuilt all new,taking the tank out isnt all that hard now because things come out easy and bolts are fresh. The initial time i had swapped from carb to efi tank..i cursed my car,when the intank pump right after..the trap door was the quick solution.
Do whats best for your budget vs skills to service parts if they failed and you do your own service/repairs.

 

I used a mallory 110 which has an internal (adjustable) bypass so no regulator was needed. Pretty simple setup.