Oct 7 - Fuel tank and filler

So I got my "new" fuel tank and filler in.  The filler tube looks super nice and the tank doesn't look bad, it looks pretty good.  So in putting the filler tube in I'm realizing that I'll have to extend it's reach so I can put in an aviation style gas door on the drivers side.  So I go to Lowe's and get a 4.5" hole saw with arbor and run by O'Reilly's and get some 2" rubber filler tube hose and a little bit of 1/2" for the vent tube.

After coming home and cutting my "new" filler tube, I then attach the rubber hose to add to the length.  I get it set about to where it needs to be and mark it from the under side.  I use a small 1/8" drill bit to mark it from under neath and through the fiberglass body.  Then from the top I drill out my 4.5" hole to allow a spot to fill the tank from.  I tie wrap the neck to the frame under the body and it kind of keeps it where it needs to be while I work from beneath the car.  I get the rubber hoses on to the bottom of the filler tube (not easy working in that little hole trying to do that job.  Then I get the tank into place.  once it is strapped up to the bottom of the car I get the rubber elbows from the filler tube and vent tied in to the tank.

I replace all of my normal hose clamps on my fuel line with proper fuel injection hose clamps and that fixes all of my leaks on that side of the system (going up to the fuel injector rail).  I then get the 5 gallon gas can out that I had recently filled up with 87 octane fuel.  I poured it into the filler tube with my buddy watching the tube for leaks.  It all looks good.  Then while I'm walking around to the passenger side to check it all out for myself I can already smell the fuel from under the car.  I'm like you've got to be kidding me!  This is why I was looking for a nicer tank so I wouldn't have to fix my leaky one!  :-)  Yep there was one spot under it that was leaking.

So I cleaned that spot off with my finger and you could see the clean fuel coming out of the pinhole or tiniest crack in the metal.  At this point you could see the fuel "appear" in one spot and that was it.  I decided to do what testing I could before I got a puddle under the car.  And those tests didn't go very far.  I found out that after pressurizing the fuel system, I didn't have any fuel leaks on my injector rail anymore (so that was a plus) but that I had to fix this tank.  I can't go down the road this way and I surely don't want it smelling up the garage daily.  :-)


Tomorrow will be another day.

 

 

 

 

Found a gas door that looks like it will fit properly. Belongs on a Ford F150 97-03. I'll 3D print a ring that will make the straight ring more flush with the contour of the quarter panel area I'm in.

This was repaired before as can now be seen.  It just didn't hold.