Matchbox gets towed for the first time since 1988!

[ATaylorRacing]

So, Saturday I race Cheap Skate at Edgewater, loose first round, and still keep my number two points place in the United Manual Transmission Racers series. SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY....I fill up Matchbox and leave at about 5:30 am to head toward National Trail for the Import Face-Off. One mile later the car dies and has no fuel pressure. I check the ground at the fuel pump (Holley electric red) and then check the hot wire all the way from pump into the interior and the kill switch I have it hooked up to. I go to turn the switch off and back on and it falls apart in my hand! I by pass it and still have the pump on when the ignition is on and off when it is off. Fuel pressure back up and away I go. At the 74 mile mark of my trip, still in Indiana, the car starts to stumble and zero pressure! I retrace all the wires with nothing wrong. I then run a long jumper wire straight from the battery to the pump...NOTHING! Good old AAA tows me into Richmond and I get an aftermarket universal replacement Chinese made electric, plumb it, wire it, use zip ties to hold it to the old pumps bracket and after a 1.5 hr delay back on my way. The pump worked fine and I only missed a single round of test...ended up in the last three cars in the bracket class and lost to the eventual winner when I slightly caught third with my full manual valve body (stock shifter) and went off by .10...drove home fine. Some of you guys would say that the mechanical problem was that I had not kept up on maintenance...but not so in this case. The Holley electric red was put on the car back in March of last year to replace one just like it that was originally put on in 1985! It started to die last year, that is why I used the same as a replacement. First one lasted 28 years...the second 1.5!

[turismolover22]

Its funny the manufacturing standards some companies now pass as "good" i think some holley parts are assembled in china.

[ATaylorRacing]

I posted this to the yellowbullet web forum along with a poll on how many years their pumps from Holley have lasted with the following results so far: View Poll Results: How long has your Holley electric pump lasted? Here is the link: http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=605084Over 25 years http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar2-l.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar2.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar2-r.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/clear.gif 216.67%11-25 years http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar3-l.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar3.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar3-r.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/clear.gif 433.33%6-10 years http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar4-l.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar4.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar4-r.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/clear.gif 18.33%5 or less years http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar5-l.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar5.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/images/ibulletin/polls/bar5-r.gifhttp://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/clear.gif 541.67%

[Reaper1]

The fuel quality nowdays might play a part in how long some of these old designs stand up to the test of time. I do agree that "quality" in modern times simply means that it *should* last through the warranty period....but that's about it. Sad, really...