C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

[Loren Smith]

What is the difference between this 4656 fuel pump which went for $333 on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=300006451771&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

and the "rebuilt original" 4656 fuel pump Corvette Central sells for $115.00 (part no. 351314?

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000050e~Z5Z5Z5AANBC~P115.00~~~~S1UP0TVRXA24227113050c~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000050x

If they're different, was is the judging point hit?

[Mike M.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

as the ebay seller stated, the rivet on his pump is what i'm used to seeing, not the gold colored rivet on the cc pump. no way can i see paying over 200 bucks to get the natural steel colored rivet. heck, if i weren't capable of making the 4656 pumps from junkyard donors, i'd buy the cc pump and change out the rivet. btw, most real 4656 pumps i have or had demonstrate the uneven stamping lineup like the one on ebay. the gasket between lower plate and its main body, on the ebay critter, would appear to be a replacemnt gasket as it extendeds beyond the two parts excessivly. mike

[Jack H.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

The eBay pump shows a typical factory original lower gasket (with white thread reinforced canvass material) and we can't see what C-Central gives you but it's probably modern, generic, material. The eBay pump shows the '4656' stamp on the mounting flange and we can't see what the size/font alignment is for the C-Central pump.

Many catalog pumps are 'pieced' together from various components (perhaps not all AC Delco parts from the era) and, while fit and function is OK, wind up losing a point or two on the judging field due to very minor but detectable differences between that part and the configuration of known factory original equivalents.

[Mike E.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

Central is a restamp, other is not.

[steve westphal]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

The original one, as with mine, will break in about a year. That's the difference!!!!!! There are a few parts for the C1's that serve you better if you stay away from NOS such as fuel pumps, master cylinders, etc. At least that has been my experience! I was closing in on a fairly unused set of correct exhaust manifolds(they were asking a fortune for them) when I was told by a couple of reliable sources that the original ones burn thru as they are very thin in a couple of spots!! If you are being judged, then I guess you must have the correct parts, but, I drive my '56 and do not care if the part is correct. Not to say that I wouldn't like to have a set to have with the car as it is 85% original, but, at a thousand bucks, I have other places to put the money!

[Mike M.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

jack: i disagree with your analysis of the gasket. although you are correct in noting the "tiger strips" are original configuration, the O.D. of the gasket exceeds that of originals. mike

[Jack H.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

Looks right to me...overhangs the bottom by roughly 1/2 of a baby finger width. That agrees reasonably well with what I've seen on non-rebuilt originals + what's packed in the old timer D-R pump rebuild boxes I collect at swap meets when they appear.

Can't see the upper diaphram from the eBay pix, but I'd be looking for a small rectangular tab protruding with a reinforcement staple in in...

[John M.]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

Mike,
Jack is correct. The gasket is in fact an original gasket and not a repro.
Tom Wander rebuilt this pump on my workbench, and I can vouch that it is the real deal all the way through with the exception of the diaphram. We pulled the original out and put in the newer style diaphram. Even though I have several multi-leave original diaphrams in my posession, I would never use one on a car that was going to be driven. Every time we find a pump with an original gasket like this one, we go out of our way to reuse it. I learned from Jack years ago that even the most stuck gasket can be removed by soaking in a bucket of gas for a while. The rivet was the correct copper rivet and the pump was as nice as any that I had seen in a while. Most of the restamped 4656 pumps I see today are really 4657 pumps, and the screw bosses are not consistent with a real 4656. This pump had all new check valves, a new diaphram, and a new seal installed, and should serve the buyer of this pump for many years. The original diaphram is easily identified by the staple on the little tab sticking out the side of the pump where the multiple plies of the diaphram were stapled together, but only a fool would put one of these old diaphrams in a pump. I have never taken a point hit for having the replacement diaphram in my 4565.

Regards, John McGraw

[Tom Wander]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

John is being WAY too modest. I did the grunt work - cleaning, scraping etc. but relied on his expertise for correct assembly.

[Loren Smith]

Re: C1 4656 Fuel Pump Question

Thanks to all who replied.