Accusump installed

[Jim Harding]

For the past few months, I’ve been mulling over the idea of installing an oil accumulator in my car. I’ve heard the claims that say starting a ‘dry’ engine that has sat for a week or more causes more wear than driving hundreds of miles. True or false, I’ve always cranked my engine with the ignition off until I saw oil pressure on the gauge. Solves the problem of starting a dry engine, but that procedure has to take its toll on the starter. So a few weeks ago I put together a shopping list to install a Canton Accusump. Finding a suitable location and fabricating the mounts were what I thought would be the easiest task of this job. Assembling the braided lines and 10AN fittings would be the hardest….. I’ve always purchased assembled hoses when I could, and when I had to roll my own, I always had a hard time getting the hose properly installed in the socket. That turned out to be the easiest part. When purchasing the parts for this job, I saw a device made by Koul Tools. The manufacture claims, “These clever tools make installing the socket onto stainless braided hose almost effortless.” So I bought one. I got to say, it works as advertised. Put the socket in the “tool”, clamp it in the vise, and twist in the hose. In less than a minute, the hose and socket are joined. Even if the braid is slightly flaring out, the thing still works. If you’ve had issues with installing AN hose ends, get one of these Koul Tools.
The location I chose was the 1 X 2 box tubing that runs between the shock mounts. I fabricated a couple mounts out of 1 1/4" X 3/16” flat steel, and screwed everything together with 5/16 X 24 AN bolts and insert nuts.
Plumbing everything together went easy too. I now have instant oil pressure as I hit the starter. Next on the list will be an electric fuel pump. I still have to crank over the engine until the mechanical pump gets fuel into the bowls.
Below are some pictures of the installation.