The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
OK, so I got the aluminum fuel tank in. It's bitchin'. Saves 8 lbs over the stocker. Fully TIG welded, sumped, new sending unit and even a drain plug yet. Install was mostly straightforward, it's a fuel tank.
Here's the tank, just out of the box.
And next to the OE tank.
So, no one makes a 'repro' gas tank pad with the original material. As in the pic above, I've used roofing tar paper. When I ordered the tank, Jeff from Hot Rod City suggested I use neoprene tool box liner. You can get it at Home Depot in rolls for $9.98. Worked great. I cut it out all nicey-nice. 3M spray adhesive was used to keep it in place during the install.
I was able to re use my existing fuel lines and fittings which was great. The tank came with bosses welded on the bottom to mount line clamps, a really cool feature. The tank is designed to use the OE straps and J bolts. I glued some neoprene strips inside the straps to keep things from getting gouged over time.
The one 'tricky' part was the filler tube. In the OE application, the filler tube goes through a hole in the tank and is held in place with tight-fitting rubber grommet. The aluminum tank has a spout that comes out through the floor which makes the tube too long so the tube must be cut to fit. Hot Rod City provides a large hose and clamps to secure it once it's cut.
I cut about 7 inches off the end of the tube.
The filler tube has a baffle-type thing running the length of the tube and sticks out the end like a tongue. When I cut the tube, I kept some of the baffle sticking out like the original. I figured the baffle/tongue thing was there to keep fuel from spitting back or maybe to help gas flow evenly into the tank. Took some grinding and shaping but it came out OK. Probably too much work for something that will never see the light of day.
After the cut, the angle of the tube and spout don't quite match up but that's where the length of hose comes into play.
With the hose. The tube went down a little farther once it was in place for reals.
So yeah, turned out pretty well, I'm stoked. Just finishing up the fuel lines and it will be done.
More to come.
OK, so I got the aluminum fuel tank in. It's bitchin'. Saves 8 lbs over the stocker. Fully TIG welded, sumped, new sending unit and even a drain plug yet. Install was mostly straightforward, it's a fuel tank.
Here's the tank, just out of the box.
And next to the OE tank.
So, no one makes a 'repro' gas tank pad with the original material. As in the pic above, I've used roofing tar paper. When I ordered the tank, Jeff from Hot Rod City suggested I use neoprene tool box liner. You can get it at Home Depot in rolls for $9.98. Worked great. I cut it out all nicey-nice. 3M spray adhesive was used to keep it in place during the install.
I was able to re use my existing fuel lines and fittings which was great. The tank came with bosses welded on the bottom to mount line clamps, a really cool feature. The tank is designed to use the OE straps and J bolts. I glued some neoprene strips inside the straps to keep things from getting gouged over time.
The one 'tricky' part was the filler tube. In the OE application, the filler tube goes through a hole in the tank and is held in place with tight-fitting rubber grommet. The aluminum tank has a spout that comes out through the floor which makes the tube too long so the tube must be cut to fit. Hot Rod City provides a large hose and clamps to secure it once it's cut.
I cut about 7 inches off the end of the tube.
The filler tube has a baffle-type thing running the length of the tube and sticks out the end like a tongue. When I cut the tube, I kept some of the baffle sticking out like the original. I figured the baffle/tongue thing was there to keep fuel from spitting back or maybe to help gas flow evenly into the tank. Took some grinding and shaping but it came out OK. Probably too much work for something that will never see the light of day.
After the cut, the angle of the tube and spout don't quite match up but that's where the length of hose comes into play.
With the hose. The tube went down a little farther once it was in place for reals.
So yeah, turned out pretty well, I'm stoked. Just finishing up the fuel lines and it will be done.
More to come.
