HOT ROD Drift Truck Project: The Fuel System

We Build a Performance Fuel System to Support 1,200 HP on E85

- Mark Gearhart

Our ongoing project, the Drift Rod, a Factory Five Racing 1935 Ford Pickup needed a fuel system to support the 1,200 hp the twin-turbo Coyote engine makes. Running a 1,200hp engine on E85 requires a lot of fuel. So much that you can almost count the dollars as they disappear into the engine.

You need big diameter fuel lines and high-volume pumps to keep up with the amount of fuel consumption needed to keep this engine running safely. When doing so in a streetcar, you also need to factor in issues of excessive heating of the fuel, and excessive heat in the pump.

For this project, we turned to Aeromotive, which recently introduced its Trifekta triple fuel-pump system for big horsepower and/or alcohol-burning applications. Trifekta fuels the vehicle off a single, E85 friendly 450lph Walbro fuel pump for cruising.

The other twin auxiliary 450lph fuel pumps are triggered by anything from a Hobbs switch to a Racepak SmartWire. The concept here is to reduce fuel cycling and likewise, reduce the amount of heat that can build up in the fuel system. Then when it’s time for all hell to break loose, the second two pumps come to life.