Silca Pump Re-Purposed

A friend of mind gave me his old Silca pump that no longer worked. He’s had this thing since the early 80’s. If you’re not familiar with Silca Floor Pumps, they’re considered to be higher end and if you were to buy one now, the price ranges from $70-$100. Silca makes their pumps to be serviceable by selling new seals, plungers and gaskets. But rather than spending money, I figured I’d take the worn out pump and find new ways to rejuvenate it.

Some will probably throw a fit when they read this…but I actually threw away the pump body and only salvaged the hose and pump head.

The problem I had with the pump head was the end washer that creates a seal over the tire valve was worn out. It wouldn’t hold in place and often leaked air.
To address this issue, I took a piece of an old inner tube from the Ghetto Tubeless project and cut out a shape that matches the end washer. Then I cut out a hole no bigger than 4mm.

Place the inner tube cut out in the pump head followed by the end washer.

You’ll see that the hole I cut out in the inner tube is small enough to allow a presta valve to pass and create a nice seal.Reinstall the pump head cap, make sure things are tight.

I then take the other end of the hose and attach it to my air gun that’s is powered by my air compressor.

After it’s all said and done, I can inflate any presta valve inner tube. I’m not too concerned on the exact PSI, I usually go by how it feels in my hand. Besides, I try to air up tires on the higher side and adjust accordingly as I’m out riding.