trip report / fuel pump woes

[CLDEPE@frmail.frco.com]

Well folks, just got back from a 3200 mile trip in the old '83 5kt successfully.
 We went to the Badlands, camped in the Black Hills for a couple of days, and
continued northwest into Wyoming and Montana.  Went on alot of two lane in
Montana (no speed limit) and really completely enjoyed myself.  The terrain
there is quite different from what I am used to (central Iowa) so it made the
trip go far too quickly.  I eventually hooked up to I-90 and headed into Bozeman
for a couple of days.  I was quite impressed by this town- a liberal college
town where there is no (or little) disparity between the locals and the college
crowd.  We stayed there for two days, enjoying the stores and hiked up to Lava
Lake, which was completely breathtaking.  Anyway, we slowly made our way on two
lane through Yellowstone, into central Wyoming, and then back home.  An
excellent week!
All went very well mechanically, even at continuous 75 - 80 mph speeds for the
old girl, except for one slight hitch.  It seems that when I get above about
1500 feet above sea level, the fuel pump begins to make these strange noises.
This occurred in the Smokies about three years ago, and dissapeared on the trip
home.  Same thing this time, except that in Bozeman, the car actually stalled
several times, darn near getting me smacked.  At highway speeds, its fine.  Only
at idle is the problem (and noise) noticable.  When we came back, the noise and
stalling problem disappeared.  Do I need a new pump?  Does the altitude expose a
weakness in the old one?  I also have suspected problems from the control
pressure regulator for some time, could that be related?
On a side note, the car got 19.2 mpg (+/- 0.3) for the whole trip, regardless of
flat cornfields or mountain passes.  Pretty interesting. Well, thanks for being
a captive audience!
Until next time-

CDePenning
'83 5kt