Gregarious13 Posted January 26, 2018 Author Report Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) I was able to crawl under the car today and get some fuel lines installed. I moved the lines to the passenger side frame rail for a more direct route. Because I will be making the gas tank I will.move the outlet to the passenger side too. The lines have a gap to install a fuel filter under the car. The line clamps are home made from 16 gauge aluminum. Greg Edited January 26, 2018 by Gregarious13 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted January 26, 2018 Author Report Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) Here is how I made the fuel line clips. I marked them out on a sheet of aluminum and cut the widths first so I had all the tabs and then drilled them all before cutting them loose. Once they we're cut loose I rough cut the round end with the band saw then finished with a file. Each piece was bent to 90° in a small break. Once all the pieces were bent. I made the curved end by pressing a 5/16" bolt into a small piece of angle iron in the vice. Greg Edited January 26, 2018 by Gregarious13 3 Quote
Ranger Posted February 6, 2018 Report Posted February 6, 2018 On December 15, 2017 at 9:50 AM, Frank Elder said: I will now pipe in with my standard reply......remove your cluster and other various items from the back of the dash, scuff the interior of the dash with scotch brite pad, tack clean, and paint with the brightest gloss white you can find. Reinstall said items. This will ensure the next time you are on your head under the dash that everything will be clearly illuminated by your lite of choice......you will congratulate yourself later on having such a brilliant idea.....lol. Dang! Wish I would have read this earlier. 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 16, 2018 Author Report Posted February 16, 2018 We have started making the gas tank. The two end panels and a center baffle are complete. We will hopefully get the steel wrapped around to make the body of the tank on Sunday. I know it's not a stock tank and that I can buy one for a few hundred dollars, but I have never made a gas tank before and wanted to give it a go. All the tank parts start with a paper pattern. Then go to the bead roller. We rolled a 1/2" bead cross to the corners then used a tipping die to bring the edges to 90°. Finally the hard part is tuck shrinking the corner radius. We rolled a bead in a piece of 2 1/4" exhaust tube for the filler hose connection and welded that to the tank panel. The next part is the outer skin of the tank. Then the outlet tube and level sender holes. And finally a tank liner from KBS coatings. I haven't engineered the pickup tube yet and haven't fully decided how to weld the panels together. I think I'll use a few plug welds around the flange and the Tig the edges of the flanges together. I'll have to figure out the pickup tube before final assembly, I think. Suggestions are welcome. To be continued... Greg 3 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 16, 2018 Author Report Posted February 16, 2018 1 minute ago, Frank Elder said: LIKE! What capacity? I'm not sure the capacity, but it's dimensions are close to the original, so probably similar capacity to that tank. When we fill it for the leak test I'll let you know how much fuel went in. Greg 1 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 19, 2018 Author Report Posted February 19, 2018 After some wrestling, we got the tank wrapped! In hindsight, I would have made two halves of the tank shell. I think it would have suffered less distortion in the panel from bead rolling. Over all I am about 75% satisfied with the way it turned out, the ends are slightly twisted, maybe off by a 1/16". But it will be a great gas tank! I'm happy it worked out and I learned quite alot during the process. Now it's time to weld it up! Greg 1 Quote
RobertKB Posted February 19, 2018 Report Posted February 19, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Gregarious13 said: Now it's time to weld it up! Greg Just don't fill it first!! Edited February 19, 2018 by RobertKB 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 20, 2018 Author Report Posted February 20, 2018 It's explosion proof, it'll be fine! Greg Quote
RobertKB Posted February 20, 2018 Report Posted February 20, 2018 16 hours ago, Gregarious13 said: It's explosion proof, it'll be fine! Greg Good luck with that!! Tank looks great by-the-way. 1 Quote
Dartgame Posted February 20, 2018 Report Posted February 20, 2018 Just curious - I think you can get repopped gas tanks - any reason you rolled your own ? Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 20, 2018 Author Report Posted February 20, 2018 13 minutes ago, Dartgame said: Just curious - I think you can get repopped gas tanks - any reason you rolled your own ? Yep, new tanks are a couple hundred dollars. I made this because I wanted to. I like the challenge. Keeps the mind active when doing things like this and I always learn something. Greg 2 3 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 22, 2018 Author Report Posted February 22, 2018 Well, I only got a couple hours in the garage last night but progress was made. In an attempt to remove some of the twisting on the tank I strapped it to the bench before the welding begun. I just got the spot welds in the flange complete. Slow but steady, Greg 1 Quote
rhelm1953 Posted February 22, 2018 Report Posted February 22, 2018 That's a nice looking tank but you have many feet of welding to do with no pinholes to have a leak free tank. I've welded up a few oil pans when I needed to modify them for clearance and always find it a challenge to get them leak free. Have you considered brazing the seams once it is all spot welded together? The brass will flow into the seam and should give good fill and sealing, also the lower temperature will reduce the risk of a burn through. Or you are a much better welder than I am... :-) 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 23, 2018 Author Report Posted February 23, 2018 The plan was to grind the seam flanges flush, make sure they are super tight, then use the Tig welder and fusion weld the seams without filler rod. I have pretty good control over the heat input with the Tig welder so burn through shouldn't be a problem. But now I'm thinking the braze is a good choice, i hadn't thought of that. We were also going to use a tank liner that should seal any tiny pin holes, like POR 15. Greg Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 23, 2018 Author Report Posted February 23, 2018 Here is what the edge weld ended up looking like. I tried the braze but it was too clumsy on the edge of the steel like that. I think it would work well for a lap joint though. When the two sheets of steel are tight together it's pretty easy to wash the edges into each other once a puddle is started. Greg Quote
rhelm1953 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Posted February 23, 2018 Nice job, you are a better welder than I am! Although that may be a rather low bar... :-) 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted February 23, 2018 Author Report Posted February 23, 2018 1 minute ago, rhelm1953 said: Nice job, you are a better welder than I am! Although that may be a rather low bar... :-) Thanks, I have practiced a little. I also ran some tests before committing to the real deal to get the welder dialed in. At this point I'm ready for the tank to be finished! It was fun but took a ton of time! Greg Quote
Gregarious13 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Report Posted March 6, 2018 Well the tank is under the car! We had to make new straps because the corner radiuses if the new tank are so much smaller and the tank is slightly larger than stock. Now we paint it Black and put it back. Greg 2 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Posted March 13, 2018 One little update. The inside of the tank is coated and now the bottom half of the tank has a rubber coating for protection from road debris and noises. I'll get it back in the car this weekend. And then finish rebuilding the carburetor. That will be the end of the fuel system for now. I can't wait to see the capacity of this tank. It looks much bigger than the original, even though the measurements are very similar. Greg 1 Quote
Hickory Posted March 17, 2018 Report Posted March 17, 2018 I am a born full blooded mechanic, and after seeing his garage I see why he made his own tank. Probably like me I enjoy the challah ge like he has mentioned and I always want to put my over priced tools to work. Expecially ones I don't use all the time, it's like Christmas every time I get to use a tool I haven't got my money out of yet. 1 Quote
Gregarious13 Posted March 18, 2018 Author Report Posted March 18, 2018 Here it is, installed and filled. The tank holds 17 gallons. Even better, it doesn't leak! Went for some test rides to get the car tuned in. I'm going to mount new tires on Friday. Greg 1 Quote
mrwrstory Posted March 18, 2018 Report Posted March 18, 2018 Atta boy!!!! Really enjoy seeing your progress and your "get her done" discipline. Sets a great example for both our older and younger members. Please keep the conversation going. 1 Quote
knuckleharley Posted March 18, 2018 Report Posted March 18, 2018 On 3/12/2018 at 9:54 PM, Gregarious13 said: One little update. The inside of the tank is coated and now the bottom half of the tank has a rubber coating for protection from road debris and noises. Greg What product did you use as a sealer,and what was the process? Quote
MackTheFinger Posted March 18, 2018 Report Posted March 18, 2018 6 hours ago, Gregarious13 said: Here it is, installed and filled. The tank holds 17 gallons. Even better, it doesn't leak! Went for some test rides to get the car tuned in. I'm going to mount new tires on Friday. Greg Car's looking good. I've decided to sell my 1950 Coronet coupe but yours makes me wonder why.. Gas is sure expensive where you live... Quote
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