stroker fuel requirements

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Ironmike

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My smallblock stroker will be in the 500 HP range with a Holley 950HP carb. I'm definitely running a high perfomance mechanical pump and I thought my factory 3/8 lines would feed enough fuel to the beast.......there's only a 3/8 pickup in the tank now.

Should I just quit penny pinching and buy a 1/2" pick up with new 1/2 lines, or will 3/8 be fine?

Ran a few BBC's with 3/8 and they never seemed starved. Not so sure on this one.
 
All I had ever heard of was 5/16" lines from the factory. 3/8" should be plenty big enough unless you just want to go ahead and change them to 1/2". Even factory big block cars came with 5/16" line.
 
all Demon 340's came from the factory with 3/8 line, but I'm not sure it will support over 500 HP. Thought more guys would chime in.....
 
3/8" will support 500 HP, but you will likely need a good quality electric pump to back things up.
 
Ironmike said:
My smallblock stroker will be in the 500 HP range with a Holley 950HP carb. I'm definitely running a high perfomance mechanical pump and I thought my factory 3/8 lines would feed enough fuel to the beast.......there's only a 3/8 pickup in the tank now.

Should I just quit penny pinching and buy a 1/2" pick up with new 1/2 lines, or will 3/8 be fine?

Ran a few BBC's with 3/8 and they never seemed starved. Not so sure on this one.
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You are not even close to requiring a 1/2" fuel system.

1/2" systems are for serious race pieces. A 500hp stroker is not a serious race piece…….
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
You are not even close to requiring a 1/2" fuel system.

1/2" systems are for serious race pieces. A 500hp stroker :angry7:is not a serious race piece…….
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I feel running my stroker 10 seconds is serious,espeacially after spending the amount I have on it.Too each his own I guess.
 
pettybludart said:
I feel running my stroker 10 seconds is serious,espeacially after spending the amount I have on it.Too each his own I guess.
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I agree with you completely. Perhaps that is a reason the economy is like it is. No one seems to value money any more all they want to do is spend it as quick or quicker than they get it. I think 500 hp is great for you. I didn't see where you said you were building a full out professional race car.
 
pettybludart said:
I feel running my stroker 10 seconds is serious,espeacially after spending the amount I have on it.Too each his own I guess.
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I agree. There are cars in the 14 second bracket that are dedicated "serious race pieces" and never see the street. Yours is a great example of what I would call a serious race car.
 
Never heard or seen 3/8" fuel line in a factory smallblock car..that being said.3/8" should be fine thats what i run in my duster feeding the 520 h.p. 416(currently out of car)..i would also run an electric fuel pump..

500 h.p. is not a serious race piece..hmm,i thought it kind of was seeing as its in my STREET CAR,and i take it to the track and kick the snot out of most of the race ONLY serious rides..lol..
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Wanting and needing are two different things. If one wants a 1/2" fuel system, go for it.
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I didn't see where anybody argued the point of the 1/2" line. In fact, I think we're all in agreement that 1/2" is overkill in this case.
 
Ironmike said:
all Demon 340's came from the factory with 3/8 line,
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Nope... 340 cars got 5/16 lines throughout the entire factory run. The factory cars that received 3/8 line are few and far between.

A 5/16 would be fine especially if you are pushing fuel with an electric. It may be OK to feed a 500hp engine.

A 3/8 line would be a better choice with a HV mechanical pump.
 
Ironmike said:
all Demon 340's came from the factory with 3/8 line, but I'm not sure it will support over 500 HP. Thought more guys would chime in.....
Click to expand...

mine didn't, 1/2" is overkill with a mechanical pump, unless your using the belt drive mechanical fuel pump
 
3/8" line should be fine...For the record, im using 1/2" stainless hardline for my fuel system on the dart with 408 stroker...
 
Mine's got 3/8 lines from the pickup forward. Pretty original 56,000 mile car. The lines don't look new, so I assumed they were factory. Year One told me the '71 340's came with 3/8. I really don't care either way. I just don't want to starve the engine. Edelbrock's high perf mechanical pump puts out almost as much volume as Holley's Blue pump. No need for electric with the good mechanical pumps out there.

Also 500hp CAN be a serious race car if 'ya want it to(I don't). I was drag racing when Nixon was president....running in the high 10's, with a car I drove to the track. I'm new to MOPAR....not new to the world.

OK, just for fun. Would anyone consider the following a serious racecar?

485 rear wheel hp, 2400 lb Vega, 5:13 rear, Moser 4 link. Powerglide with brake, leaving at 6500RPM. Oh, I forgot 34x17 slicks.

In case you're on the fence, yeah. It's a serious race car!
 
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