Pre-war (up to 1942) 39 Lasalle Fuel System Trouble

[39LaSalleDriver]

Well the fun keeps on rolling 

As my resto continues, I've rewired the car with a new harness (got horn working too), reworked the dash, redone the floor pans etc., etc., etc. I finally got it back up and running enough to get it to my mechanic to put in a new rear main seal and put in an all new brake system.

I won't bore everyone with my misadventures in driving it to him (thank goodness for Hagerty towing), but now a new level of problems has presented itself.

Since buying the car in December I haven't driven it more than 10 miles, so I finally went to put a full tank of gas in it. While taking a break and admiring my beauty in the driveway, I noticed a stream(s) of liquid dripping onto the drive. Turns out the gas tank is leaking like a spaghetti strainer along the seamline. 

Previous owner had mentioned he had had the tank "reworked" but who knows what that means? He had also added a Carter electric fuel pump, and from what I suspect, decided to remove the original mechanical fuel pump as well. At least I don't have one. And honestly, I've had several problems because of this setup which has left me on the side of the road three times in my all of 10 miles of driving 

Well, I've had enough of that nonsense and I have no intention of being left high and dry again because my battery dies and kills the fuel pump, or because the boot falls off the terminal after hitting a bump killing the fuel pump; or as I am beginning to suspect, a fuel pump which is on continually is draining my battery. I have now purchased a AC 1522119 mechanical fuel pump (hoping this is the correct model) to rebuild and install for primary fuel delivery, and an Airtex E8902 electric fuel pump to install in series for "just in case." Finally, after a lot of research via here and other sources, I did some soul searching and decided to start fresh and install a 53-GCX Chevy fuel tank from Tanks, Inc.

My questions now are twofold...when I get the car back home from the shop this week I need to check and see if the gauge is working correctly. Will my LaSalle fuel sending unit (assuming it's still the original in there) work with the new tank, or should I buy a new one for the Chevy tank to install? If my LaSalle one will work, I'll address cleaning up/restoring it when I get to that point.

Second, who do you all recommend for purchasing a fuel pump rebuild kit (I'm pretty sure I can do the work myself)? I'm sure this has been asked before and I know it can be frustrating for some of you long timers around here, but unfortunately, a lot of data on this forum regarding such sources is out of date because of people passing away, going out of business, etc. (like Cooper's, Whalen, et al.). Thanks for all the help.

[Bobby B]

Jon,
Hi. When you get a rebuild kit, just make sure it's ethanol friendly. I deal with Mike Gadeleto @Cadillac Parts Ltd. Might be worth it to let him do it. Just make sure you "Clock" it back correctly when assembling. Good Luck!
                                                                                               Bobby
http://www.cadillacpartsltd.com/info.html

[39LaSalleDriver]

Thanks Bobby, I'm going to give Mike a call.

Turns out the old gas tank appears to have been off of some other model vehicle and not the original one so I won't feel guilty about disposing of it some way. The filler neck was located in the corner closest to the driver. The tank is also wedge shaped, and seems to be considerably smaller than the replacement I bought from Tanks, Inc. If my last trip to the pump is correct, it seemed to hold about 15 gal. The new one is 18 gal. so that is a decent gain.

For anyone else's future point of reference, I can confirm that the 53-GCX Chevy tank from Tanks, Inc. drops into a 39 Lasalle Series 5019 beautifully with no modifications to the tank whatsoever. The gas line connection will be on the passenger front side, but that is easily dealt with, and the replacement straps provided will have to be slightly modified to fit properly. Also, the filler neck rubber tubing provided is not long enough, so you will have to get one of those. But other than that, it dropped in perfectly and I didn't even have to jack the car up. Likely would have made the job easier, but not necessary to do.

Put in a new sending unit, Airtex pump, and inline fuel filter between the tank and Airtex unit as well. When the weather straightens out, I hopefully will have the new filler hose in hand and can get this beast back to running again.