Leaking fuel pump Options

[BillC]

My 914 has been up on jackstands since December. In that time, I installed the CFR stainless fuel lines and and new fuel hoses (and a bunch of other stuff). I finally finished putting everything back together and took it off the jackstands this afternoon <yay!>.

I then put about 1.5 gallons of gas in it, had my son stand by with a fire extinguisher, and tried to start it up. I started by cycling the key on and off a few times, to allow the pump to prime itself and fill the fuel lines. Then, I heard it -- the disheartening sound of fuel splattering on the floor. <crap!>.

So, back onto stands and start poking around trying to find what was leaking. I was hoping to find a loose clamp or something simple. But, that's not my luck. It turns out the fuel pump is leaking internally -- fuel is coming out through and around the electrical connector. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

Any idea what happened? The car was running fine before I jacked it up for its long-deferred maintenance. The pump was out of the car for a few months, could it have dried out internally and something cracked/failed?

And, does anyone have a known-good fuel pump that will fit my '73 1.7 D-Jet? I put a "wanted" ad in the classifieds section, but thought I might as well ask here, while I'm at it.

Or, would y'all recommend getting the rebuilt pump from AA? At $395, it aint cheap. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is it any good.

I know y'all would probably just recommend relocating the pump to the front, but I'd really like to keep the car as original as possible.