My New DeLorean (VIN 1063) and Fuel Pump Pickup Repair

["hodakaguy" <hodakaguy@xxxx>]

I just picked up my DeLorean. Vin 1063. Looking forward to talking 
with other DeLorean owners. 

Last night I replaced the Fuel Pickup Tube and the Rubber seals 
around the fuel pump. The little metal stud that is attached to the 
bottom of the tank that holds down the Fuel Pump pickup assy. had 
came unattached from the bottom of the tank. I thought about using 
some sort of Glue to reattach it to the bottom of the tank but I was 
worried about the glue breaking down once it was submerged in 
gasoline. I ended up draining the tank completely then running a 
purge of argon gas into the tank to eliminate the chance of a fire. 
Then I heated up the little metal disk with the stud on it and 
pressed it back into the plastic at the bottom of the tank. It formed 
new plastic "rivets" like the originals and attached itself nicely. 
At least I won't have to bother with any glue. Is there another way 
people fix these also? I'll add pics of the process to my Pics. page 
soon. 

I picked the car up in LA California from the original owner on 
Monday. I drove it home the 1200 miles to WA state without incident. 
The only problem that I had was it quit me once becouse of the fuel 
pump pickup tube collapsing. I was at 1/4 tank and it was 110 Deg F. 
when it happened. I re-filled the tank and the problem went away. 
We'll see how long the new pickup tube lasts. If I have to take it 
apart again I will install a spring inside the tube to keep it from 
collapsing, I read about that mod on another site and it looks like 
it would work great. 

UPDATE: Well, I drove the car a few hundred miles accross the state 
the next morning after doing the fuel pump pickup tube replacement 
and right as I was arriving I started smelling gas again. I removed 
the access cover to the fuel pump again and found that the pump 
itself had failed and was spraying a small stream of gas into the 
upper part of the boot where the electrical connections are for the 
pump. It was spraying out of the top of the pump where the pump is 
crimped. I located another pump and changed my old long neck pump 
over to the newer style short neck pump. Now everything seems to be 
happy with the fuel system for the time being. Now just the drive 
back home :-) Tom C.