Fuel Pump trapdoor 96 fbody vert
Fuel Pump trapdoor 96 fbody vert i am getting ready to replace my stock fuel pump with a racetronix. i am goin to use the trapdoor method iow cutting a panel out of the body above teh actual tank and doing the install that way
i did this on both my 85's and it was a beautiful thing . i know what im doing as far as teh cutting and teh measurements but does anyone have any suggestions as to what i can line the new sheetmetal plate im going to be screwing down afterwards. weatherstripping, aeronautical foam? i want to keep road noise down as well as moisture/fumes/crap etc..
i did this on both my 85's and it was a beautiful thing . i know what im doing as far as teh cutting and teh measurements but does anyone have any suggestions as to what i can line the new sheetmetal plate im going to be screwing down afterwards. weatherstripping, aeronautical foam? i want to keep road noise down as well as moisture/fumes/crap etc..
Launching!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
From: Karnes City, Texas
I did the same thing when I replaced the fuel pump to my '95 Z28. My Dad just placed a piece of aluminum over the piece that was cut out, he used sylicone around the piece of aluminum to help with the fuems and moisture then covered that with dynamat to keep the noise out. That little set-up worked fine when i had my Z.
honestly, i didnt cut the metal out completely. i cut three sides of it and just bent it back and when i was done i used duck tape and a small hammer to make it stick. there's a black pad under there that will keep the noise down.
i prefer to just drop out the tank, after doing it 1283088709834768934 times it gets pretty easy. haha, but i saw a cool idea a while back, you can either get a breaker panel door and use that, or in the plumbing section of lowes or home depot they make a spring loaded plastic panel that you could use. i personally would cut the three sides and stick it back in place, then go over with dynamat.
I have never had to replace the fuel pump but i have to:
Remove the clutch 5 times
Pulled the motor 2 times
Replace ring and pinion 4 times
Pulled headers and exhaust god knows how many time
All of the above are a piece of cake now so I say to myself what is the big deal with dropping the tank and installing the pump the "correct" way. I can not imagine cutting body metal in the area of fuel lines and altering the uni-body itself.
I am guessing you put the rear of the chassis up on stands, let the rear end drop, remove the PH bar, remove the upper PH bar brace, disconnect some tubes and fittings, remove some heat shields, remove some bolts and finally drop the damn tank. I did this on my jeep Wrangler in 30 minutes tops.
What is the big damn deal with replacing the fuel pump on 4th gen f-bodies?
Remove the clutch 5 times
Pulled the motor 2 times
Replace ring and pinion 4 times
Pulled headers and exhaust god knows how many time
All of the above are a piece of cake now so I say to myself what is the big deal with dropping the tank and installing the pump the "correct" way. I can not imagine cutting body metal in the area of fuel lines and altering the uni-body itself.
I am guessing you put the rear of the chassis up on stands, let the rear end drop, remove the PH bar, remove the upper PH bar brace, disconnect some tubes and fittings, remove some heat shields, remove some bolts and finally drop the damn tank. I did this on my jeep Wrangler in 30 minutes tops.
What is the big damn deal with replacing the fuel pump on 4th gen f-bodies?
ha! I just cut it out and left it, I didn't even have a back seat for a while and it was fine. No moisture (not even in the rain), no fumes, and the noise... well... it was already gutted so I can't tell you about noise. I have the back seat back over it now, and I can't tell the difference. Oh this was in a 2K cavalier... might be a lil different but I can't see it being a huge difference.
cut it if you cant afford it. my friend did not get his cut and had to take his to a shop and they charged him an *** load to do it. plus if anything goes wrong, they would have to drop it again. keep it simple 
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Originally Posted by wrd1972
I have never had to replace the fuel pump but i have to:
Remove the clutch 5 times
Pulled the motor 2 times
Replace ring and pinion 4 times
Pulled headers and exhaust god knows how many time
All of the above are a piece of cake now so I say to myself what is the big deal with dropping the tank and installing the pump the "correct" way. I can not imagine cutting body metal in the area of fuel lines and altering the uni-body itself.
I am guessing you put the rear of the chassis up on stands, let the rear end drop, remove the PH bar, remove the upper PH bar brace, disconnect some tubes and fittings, remove some heat shields, remove some bolts and finally drop the damn tank. I did this on my jeep Wrangler in 30 minutes tops.
What is the big damn deal with replacing the fuel pump on 4th gen f-bodies?
Remove the clutch 5 times
Pulled the motor 2 times
Replace ring and pinion 4 times
Pulled headers and exhaust god knows how many time
All of the above are a piece of cake now so I say to myself what is the big deal with dropping the tank and installing the pump the "correct" way. I can not imagine cutting body metal in the area of fuel lines and altering the uni-body itself.
I am guessing you put the rear of the chassis up on stands, let the rear end drop, remove the PH bar, remove the upper PH bar brace, disconnect some tubes and fittings, remove some heat shields, remove some bolts and finally drop the damn tank. I did this on my jeep Wrangler in 30 minutes tops.
What is the big damn deal with replacing the fuel pump on 4th gen f-bodies?
breaks of course. 
I just did the trap door mod this evening, took about an hour with beer breaks involved and giving it a bath afterwards. Only cut 3 sides instead of cutting the entire panel out. Glued trap door back down with 3M Panel bonding adhesive and covered it with dynamat. Looks OEM before I put the carpet back down. Too bad you wont be able to see the craftsmanship to finish it off. 
Really did not feel like wasting the time it would take to R&I the exhaust, rear end and fuel tank. In my opinion this is the only way to go.
Really did not feel like wasting the time it would take to R&I the exhaust, rear end and fuel tank. In my opinion this is the only way to go. 