Electric or mechanical fuel pump?
 

What kind of HP will a mechanical pump support? Is the rpm limit factor in, say a motor that tops out before 6,000rpm or cubic inches, or a combination?

get ahold of RoBBMc Performance
the pump people

yup

RobbMC has both an 1100 HP and a 550 HP mechanical pump:

http://www.robbmcperformance.com/pro...ntiac1100.html
http://www.robbmcperformance.com/pro...ontiac550.html

Have a Robb Mc pump and pick-up and am happy with the result. The biggest stumbling block was the fuel line. Have a 10an all the way up to the Q-Jet.
Running a 461 roller ported E-Heads.

I have the RobbMc 1100 pump. Love it. Rebuildable. Best customer service in the business.

Jim

I agree with all of the above. Rob said the 1100 pump is good until at least the low 10's with the proper feed line.

Being that this was posted in the street section, the following probably doesn't matter, but I'll still throw it out for discussion.

Horsepower and final E.T. are not the only issues. The force of the launch has to be considered on whether the pump will perform properly. Mechanical pumps suck fuel the length of the car, and are limited on how much suction they can generate. Not only that, but fuel can flash into vapor when a vacuum is introduced. Except for acceleration, the big mechanical pump easily supply more fuel than the engine can consume. I'm not a math wizard so I can't give the actual pressure needed to overcome a 1+G launch, but I don't think suction is going to pull fuel until things settle back down. If the fuel bowls aren't drained during this time, the engine will still perform as expected. Electric fuel pumps push fuel from the tank forward, and are usually set to 12+ pounds of pressure that is only reduced just before the carburetor - and they will supply fuel at all times.

Electrical problems won't stop a mechanical pump from working. Sometimes simpler is better.