Hi All,
Wow, I appreciate where all are coming from and had no intention of diminishing the potential for a pump failure. However, I personally have had little issue with the Lucas pump. Since owning my Healey since new, its first 15 years was as my/our everyday family car and was only augmented when the family grew too large.
Bill, the Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) diode is a relatively new development and, differs from a standard diode that only maintains electrical directional flow. This diode maintains directional flow as well as shunts to ground voltage that exceeds a max (my selected TVS grounds all voltage exceeding 25V). Yes, diodes were used on some Lucas models and this use placed them into the single polarity category. However, pumps using only a standard diode are still susceptible to the voltage build-up (as much as 200V) as a result of the coil's affect (not too dissimilar to the way the ignition coil functions).
There are many things I have changed to give greater reliability and serviceability to my Healey (all but the added fuses can be reversed), but my fuel pump only became a concern when reading the concerns, experiences and proposals of others. Yes, modern cars do have pump failures but it is not something that comes to mind as a point of vulnerability or to be addressed with the addition of a parallel pump.
Again, I see the convenience of electrically switching to a second pump during a failure and would definitely install one if I had some of the experiences of others or decided to take a extended trip far from home. However, I am much more confident with the modifications I have made to my points-triggered pump and a long trip in my Healey is not presently planned, so I will probably not go any further.
All the best to all,
Ray (64BJ8P1)