Stainless Fuel tanks arriving soon!

[streetneat]

 This post has appeared elswhere on this site and here it is again in the right area.... somewhat modified to make better sense....

"Cant find a fuel tank for your FE.FC FB OR EK Ute ,Van,sedan or wagon? Well at last there is an affordable solution being developed right now that should overcome the problems with rusty,dented and tiny Tanks that these cars have...
I am developing a Stainless fuel tank that suits all Models of FE,FC FB and EK Sedans Wagons Utes and P'van . These will hold about 65 litres ( originals were 43 litres) and are 2" deeper than stock. They have a larger intake pipe inside the tank to suit bigger engines and use all the factory mounting points. The sender unit is custom made to suit the original fuel guage (0-30 OHMS). All parts will be supplied in the kit and all the modification required is to hacksaw cut your old filler neck off and using the supplied clamps and hose your old filler neck just clamps back on. It shouldn't leak and the whole thing is designed to be a straight out bolt in deal. The original fuel lines will even screw into the new tank. This tank is still being developed and is being trailed in a EK Ute in Sydney. This is an upcoming feature in  Street Machine magazine. ( same ute as the recent gearbox swap article) Estimated cost is about $675 with all parts plus freight. The tank is made from 1.6mm thick 316 stainless steel and is strong enough to handle the bumps a lot better than the original. They can be supplied polished or powdercoated at extra cost.
The tank shown in the picture is the prototype and it is promising. This shows the baffle plate and pick up pipe. I will keep every one informed as the development progresses. Cheers streetneat...."

ATM the wagon and ute/van tank has been developed so if  there is any interest is in these tanks, I need to know how many sender units I need to buy . They are not cheap to buy and get modified  so numbers would help.

[Fast_Eddie]

Andrew,

Please put me down for a sedan version. Let me know if you want a deposit.

Any idea how long until the sedan model will be ready?

Regards

Edward

[streetneat]

Edward...
                  Marty who is making the tanks has come and picked up my wifes sedan tank and has taken it away for measuring and tool making. The hardest part with the sedan version is he has to make a radius die to do the corners of the tank. As the tank in a sedan fits in from above ,unlike a wagon /ute  tank it has to be spot on for fittment in the factory hole. The Ute /wagon versions we were able to cheat slightly on.I imagine
in the next few weeks the tank will be ready.  I dont  require a deposit but have noted you as the first to place an order for a sedan tank.  Send me a PM with your details /where abouts /email etc and  I will keep in touch and let you know. We will take pics of the tank installed in Kims car so you can judgse for you selves  and if its what you want. Cheers streetneat

[ACE]

Hi Andrew,
The picture of the fuel tank looks great.
Do they require a Engineers Report?
Regards ACE

[Ed]

Hi Andrew,

Id like a tank to suit wagon please.

Is the fuel outlet in the factopry position?

Can you do tanks with dash 6 fuel supply and return line fittings?

i dont need a sender unit, I am planning to use a Classic Instruments sender.

Cheers

Ed

[streetneat]

Hi Ed..
          We will  have the tanks made to order if you really want it that way but for simplicity we use our modified sender units as they are universal fit that has to be cut down and modified before the tank is welded up.  You only need to specify the ohms rating of your fuel guage and we get the sender unit modified to suit your Classic instuments fuel guage. This  over comes differences in sender unit design and makes certain that it fits. You dont want to go to the trouble and expense of buying a tank to find that your choice of guages means that the sender unit as supplied by Classic wont fit.
If you want to run an electric pump for a fuel injected motor then we reccomend the VL Commodore type that is external to the tank. Return line fittings can be added to the tank during construction and for Custom made tanks I will put you in direct contact with Marty who is making the tank.
Bear in mind that once all these extras come into play the price will increase and we can only give estimates on what these extras will run out at.  Once we start getting into custom made fuel tanks for individual applications it can become a lot of extra time and expense. It CAN be done  But we prefer to get people to try and use the tanks that we are making.
As far as an engineers report goes we are looking into that, but as each State has different interpretations and requirements - we are leaving that up to the purchasers to find out what is required in thier respective States. We imagine an engineer upon inspecting the tank will be satisfied with its construction and as its really just a repro rather than a redesign (other than being two inches deeper and twice as strong as the original).

Filler necks are in the factory location and simply require you to hacksaw cut your neck off at the base of the tank leaving yourself enough room for the supplied hose clamp to be fitted. Details and pics  will follow on this and our prototype tank has been snapped up by Street Machine Magazine for an article on how this is fitted in to an EK Ute.
Cheers streetneat

[Ed]

Hi streetneat,

Based on your info it will be heaps easier using your sender unit, I can get the ohms rating of the guage.. no probs.

I have used external lift and hi vol pumps so no probs there either, the only difference im after is the size of the supply and return fittings.

CHeers

Ed

[streetneat]

Let me know the diameter/number of the return lines that you require and I can have this welded in to suit . Also the location of where you want the return lines. I imagine this wont add very much at all to the tank price. As I have stated and you can see in the piccy that the intake line is huge so will handle the fuel supply you require no probs.  Let me know asap the ohms rating.I t needs to be in the right sequence too - eg 0 - 30 or 90 - 0 etc etc..
Cheers streetneat...

[fc4kiwi]

just saw add for fuel tanks, will you be exporting them to New Zealand, if so how much for a polish FC sedan verison.
PS I may be using a set of custom gauges is there anything you need to know if I order one.
also what would the time frame be to get it overhere after a order.

[streetneat]

Well the sedan tank prototype is under way.  From speaking to my fabricator mate it sounds promising. The tank could be sent to NZ as I send parts to the wifes Rellies there sometimes. What part of NZ? You would have to let me know the OHMS rating of your custom guage. I will advise when we are making a few more of these tanks the likely ETA of the tank. ATM its a few weeks.
As the tanks are a new item and the orders are rushing in we are trying to get through the testing stage first.  We want to make absolutely sure that everything is spot on.
We have decided that for now, the certification of the tanks is up to the purchaser. Getting a straight answer from an engineer is too hard and they are giving us conflicting answers as to what is required for certification. Some are not worried  about certification and some want impossible testing ... (crash testing ,destroying tanks with pressure etc,etc)
In a nut shell we are going to supply a good product in our belief so the owners can take up the issue if they wish with their respective engineers. The cost of these tanks would be unnaceptable if we were to pursue this idea of certification . It would cost in the thousands if we were to go with the testing one over zealous engineer has proposed... However I am still making enquiries, so its not a dead issue ...yet...
During testing the only leak we got feed back on was a slight weeping  from the sender unit screws. Thread sealant such as 567 loctite overcame this. We will be letting the manufacturer of the sender unit know to advise of this in their instruction sheet.
Cheers streetneat...

[streetneat]

Here is the sedan tank finally ,well under way. This is trail fitted into an EK and will also fit FC. The problem we are facing at present is the fact the fillerneck pipe is 2 1/4 " as standard and this pipe is not available in stainless  So we are having to use the 2 1/2 " tube and luckily we can pass this through the original rubber grommet with  a bit of lube it will fit and stay in place This new setback means we will HAVE to supply a custom made filler neck. We believe that the original fuel cap can be modified to fix onto the new marine type filler cap that we are going to have to use. We are looking into it today to see whats available . This means that the projected price of the tanks will go up accordingly - so they will no longer be $675.   What it DOES mean is that you wont have to do any mods like adapting your own filler neck. We are trying to make this kit a simple task for anyone with basic tools to fit. We may require your stainless fuel cap to retro fit to the new marine cap. The filler pipe will have a rubber connector( made from proper fuel hose designed for this task) at its base to allow for any minor disrepencies in cars due to  minor accident damage or manufacturing differences between cars.
You can view these tanks in the flesh at this years Brisbane hot rod show at our display . We will have both types of tanks there for your viewing pleasure. Final prices should be worked out by then. Oh yeah the final capacity works out to be nearly 58 litres. we estimated the tank would hold another twenty litres above the standard tank capacity of 43 litres  but by the time we take the radius corners into account the tank holds 57-58 litres.. a significant  improvement over stock none the less.
Cheers streetneat.

[Effie C]

Hey Street don't forget an EK has a longer filler neck then an FC. "Trying to be helpful not hindering type advice"John M

[streetneat]

Yeah we have noted this and will be making allowances for this. I tried an EK standard tank in a FC and found this out.  There will be two different necks made....  Here is a shot showing how far the tank hangs down under a stock height EK ... cheers streetneat

[Ed]

Streetneat,

I can get a Classic guage in most ohms ratings.

including

0 - 30
0 - 90
75 - 10
or std aftermarket 22 - 240.

At what ohms rating is ur std sender unit, seeing as I have a choice of guages?

Cheers

Ed

[Ed]

sorry std aftermarket is 33 - 240

NOT 22 - 240 which i quoted in prev post.

Cheers

Ed

[streetneat]

Well I have had a bunch of sender units converted to read 0-30 ohms ...so I suppose if you were to go for this rating you will be spot on.... The tank filler pipes are being re - addressed ATM so expect a slight price increase. ...Read my previous posts for a "PLEASE EXPLAIN"... In a nut shell we hit a stumbling block that means we now have to make the filler neck ... and cap ..so it makes it easier for you but also slightyly more expensive .. price yet to be advised...... ...
cheers streetneat.....

[FC-V8]

Streetneat
Whats the latest on the tanks, have you started  production yet ? Also could you post some photos of the finish product for a wagon with the top showing how & where the sender unit will sit ?
Cheers
Glenn

[streetneat]

Well Glen I have been road testing the first tank in my FC Ute for a week to see if there were any problems... So far so good. The first major dilema was the sender unit leaking. It poured fuel up through the screw holes and after much stuffing around the simple effective fix was to use fibre washers. The fuel tank has shown no other signs of leaking in this last week. I had a go at the suppliers of these units for the lack of suitable washers to prevent this from happening... Of course  after I pointed out the solution they didn't want to argue about it any more... I guess I can wear the $3 cost of the fibre washers for each tank... The sender unit is in its stock location. The fuel I squeezed into the tank was 57 litres... servo pumps seem to differ as to how much they reckon you are getting so we dont know the actual litres but we figured this would be the fairest (?) way of determining that. The best bit is I have been driving the Ute all week and still have half a tank showing. The accuracy of my sender unit is perfect but I had to change the fuel guage at the dash end three times b4 I found an accurate one. Fortunatelty I had plenty of them... The filler neck was cut off and flared at the exhuast shop  ( this was free and most exhaust shops would be the same I suspect for two seconds work of flaring...)This attached to the 2 1/2" pipe coming from the tank via the correct rubber fuel hose and two clamps. Even though there was a slight mismatch in the angles by a fraction of an inch, this was easily compensated for by the rubber connection. We had suspected there might be a variation between cars and this precaution paid off. So the end price of the wagon /Ute/ Van  tanks becomes $695 instead of $675 as first estimated..this covers the cost of the joiner hose ,clamps and brass adaptor for the fuel line.I will also be including new mounting screws( same screws as supplied by rare spares for mudguard bolts for these cars) for the wagon/van/ute tanks as I found the standard original screws are not up to the job of the extra wieght of the tank...plus most of the originals were badly rusted in most cars...
I hope all this new info helps and we wanted the tanks to be right b4 we released them into the wild... so place your orders (we are still working on the sedan filler necks)  Cheers streetneat...

[COL58FE]

g'day STREETNEAT,i'm going for LPG in my fe is it possible for you to make a gas tank to fit straight into the original tank hole.i've seen a new design in commodore wagon's their shaped like the spare wheel and fit's perfect into the wheel well or to buy one of these would this be a better option.if you can help how many $$$ roughly in stainless thank's,and your work is ART in eye's.COL58FE.

[Ed]

Hey Col,

I dont think you could make an angled tank hold any sort of gas under pressure without blowing up. Besides needing 10 year checks on std LPG tanks, i dont think the RTA would like a folded stainless 1.6mm folded box holding pressured gas.

u can get donut tanks, or taxi wagon triple tanks.. maybe you could house these inside one of street neats tanks instead?