I have been speaking with a company that manufature alloy fuel cells. They have designed a tank that was to my specification and provided me a price with options. As my old tank was holed by rust and the fact i intend to race my car eventually i have decided to have a custom cell made. This cell fits in the spare wheel well. It is 65 ltrs in size. It will have a 40mm wide top face that is 3mm thick and would require drilling a few holes that would then be bolted through the boot floor to fix in position. Rather than having straps The cell comes with an access hole, 2 feed lines, one return and a rollover breather pipe. I have also requested that a pipe be made with filler cap as i intend to move this to one side of the number plate panel. So the car can be filled without removing the bootlid. Extra's which are cheapish: - An internal swirl pot located at the back side of the tank(side closest to the back of the car) so under hard acceleration the fuel is forced into the pot. The return feed will empty into this pot as well. I am adding this option. The pot also includes oneway valves to stop the fuel escaping. By having the collection tank at the back the car can almost be driven with an emoty tank. If it's external then the fuel would swirl around the collection pipe. They also offer a fuel gauge sender unit to use with either the standard gauge or offer a vdo gauge, the gauge is extra. they also offer wiring. I will be ordering 2 and they have dropped the price from £490 + vat to £465 + vat. The internall swirl pot is £65 and the gauge sender unit is £55. The company is called proalloy their website is http://www.proalloy.co.uk/pages/669.htm If anyone is interested then pm me. I will be going ahead with this in the next month.
This looks interesting. Does it use the std fuel pumps and are they retained in the std locations. Also how is it bolted - through the base-if so are there welded nuts in place etc. Wil the cost reduce further and is it via yourself or through the manufacturers. thanks karl.
T, looks very good to me! two more things come to my mind when looking at their website. Coolant overflow tank (when you need to relocate the plastc tank after fitting a welded cage) Power steering reservoir (fit an 18cm Carbon airbox and you know where I am coming from)
I can ask how much extra it would reduce them buy. Because of the amount involved i would ask the chap i have been dealing with and supply names and email address and we could pay them directly. You probably could use the existing fuel pump but i'm adding in 2 new ones. The pump decission is down to you. I planned to drill 8 holes in the lip and then through the boot base, which runs around the wheel well hole and bolt it in place. More secure than straps, plus no extra weight of the straps. though they won't weigh much.
I'm removing my power steering. Less weight and removes the 4 bhp it takes from the engine. I may just use the original coolant tank and make a braket fitted to the rollcage.
Toby Please ask and let us know. Uwe Both of those items are useful for the reasons you mention. Karl
I could easily fabricate thoose two items myself if I find a place selling the rad cap type fitting as a weld on part. I am sure theese are available, I haven't really searched extensive. As soon as my cage will get welded in I have to tackle these things. Toby, I am not quite sure if the plastic tank can be moved a lot. All depends how the cage pipes meet the strut tower.
On mine too! But you know what the saying is.....nothing last's longer than a temporary solution Just browsed the website again. They are selling everything I require for a DIY tank ;smilie[78]
This company lists the filler neck for sale in their magazine advert,but their web page is next to useless and doesn't show anything. Worth an email though. www.ahfabrications.com A friend of my Brother works for Brise Fabrications and it might be worth asking them too. They can also do any fabrication work you might need, from fuel tanks to wings. www.brise.co.uk
Cheers Sir Sidney! I will keep that in mind. Looking at the prices (and the quality!) proalloy supplies it's hardly worth getting the welder out!
Uwe, weld on necks are available here http://www.thinkauto.com/acatalog/intro.html near the bottom of the page. prices here http://www.thinkauto.com/acatalog/Price_List_Radiator_necks_311.html I can also recommend the company highly, I've dealt with them a few times, and they were very helpful & competent. HTH John
These guys may be up to do some custom fabrications . http://www.666fabrication.com/services.html This tank wont work since it is made for a 325i , I asume they could fab one up for our cars rather easy. Thomas
no probs i am looking to go ahead with the order in about a month so wanted to find out if others are interested.
T, is this also FIA approved or any other norm? I have posted this in the german website just to see if there's any interest.
i'm sure it is as i mentioned that it was to be racing spec. The manufacturer has said upto 4 units £465 + vat and extras and shipping. For 5 - 10 units a further 10% off. They would set up a laser cut machine for that price. cheers Uwe
