Alrighty, I spent some time this weekend pulling the fuel tanks and gutting the fuel pump assemblies. But before that, I got the exhaust plumbed up.
I bought a generic parts kit from Amazon that consisted of a bunch of 3" steel pipes. This kit was about $110.
0619211124_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
I got a 3" down pipe that I needed to weld a v-band flange on. This was $70 on eBay.
0613211108 by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
0613211108_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
0613211108a_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
0613211157_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
0613211157a_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
Imagine that, its a straight pipe!
0619211931 by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
For the part that goes up to the down pipe to the straight section, you just cut and weld and make it work. I didn't take any pics, but its pretty straight forward. I am not 100% on the straight pipe, but I figured it would be easy to add a muffler later if I wanted.
Back to the fuel system: After trying the intank fuel pumps, I was struggling with getting enough fuel to keep it running. I decided to just do it the old school way. So I cut up the fuel pumps and installed straight rubber hose where the pickups and returns are.
0626211318_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
0626211318a_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
This turned out to not work out so good so I had to pull them back out, cut up the fuel pump assembly a bit more and then secure the hoses with hose clamps. I was getting some air in the fuel system because I initially just jammed the hoses up in there. No pics. I just wanted to get it done.
While there, the fuel sending unit in the rear broke so I took a picture of how the wire goes on the front one. Well, it broke too. So I busted out the soldering iron and fixed it up.
0627211427_HDR by
Paul Abbott, on Flickr
I also was struggling with the idea of the switching system so I decided to just bypass the rear tank and just run clear vinyl lines from the front tank to the pump and return line. I wanted to verify that I am not getting air in the lines. I also bypassed the Ford inline fuel filter in case that was a restriction.
After a quick trip to the gas station to fill up the tank, I can confirm that my fuel system is functioning perfectly with just the lift pump doing it's thing. Finally!
Next step is an intercooler system. I am debating on just a generic eBay or Amazon intercooler setup. I am not going to be towing much of anything. Right now, cost is the most important thing. Plus I do have a pyro and boost gauge ready to be installed to keep things monitored.
Thanks for all your guys' help.