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Showing results for tags 'straps'.
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Some of you know that sometime back I purchased a new fuel tank from Tanks Inc. I figured that I was just going to use the original straps, instead of the aluminum ones that came with it because they were in good shape, so I thought. The original ones worked, but the only problem is that they barely tightened into the long bolt head that is used to attach and tighten the tank to the bottom of the trunk. As seen in this photo, this is as far as I could get it to tighten with the new tank. Though the tank felt tightly snug, I didn't like the idea of the bolt end not being able to go in all the way. When I did the other side, the bolt snapped from where it was riveted to the strap. I must have tried to tighten it too tight. Of course, this tank is a bit taller than the original. This bummed me out because I really wanted to stay with the originals because of the way they attached behind the fuel tank to the body of the car, as if they locked in place. So I tried to see what I could do with the new ones that were sent with the tank, but I didn't like the fact that they were aluminum, and not steel. I tried to get those to work, but ended up messing them up. So I thought on how I could still salvage the old ones and make them stronger, as well, based on the design of the new straps. So here is what I came up with... I figured that I had to extend the ends of the straps that the bolt ends were riveted to by a few inches so that it would fit around the tank just right. Since I don't have my own machine shop to fabricate things, I decided to go to Lowe's and look around for something that might work. So I found this below. Not sure what it's called, but I found it in the construction section of the store. I took the original and the new strap with me to see if it would be long enough to work as an extension, and it did. So I got that, new bolts, nuts and lock washers, as well as new bolts to connect it to the original strap. Then, I drilled out the old rivets that were holding the bolt end piece to the strap. After that, I took the ends of the original pieces and pounded them straighter. Then, I took the new angled pieces and drilled the bottom hole a little bigger, then one above it to match, according to how the holes were on the strap. Then, took the other side and drilled a 3/8" hole. Then, I cut the end off where the bigger hole was drilled and removed the burrs and sharp edges with a flat file. Then, I bolted the new piece to the old strap. Later today, I will clean it up, paint it black and put rubber back on the inside of it, then hook install the tank. Not the prettiest thing, but I'm sure it will do the job. I will get back and let you know how the installation goes.