Fuel tank........again!

[Dane_Rescueman]

Since owning "Moll" my Berlinetta I have used her for long distance trips in the UK and abroad. It is always huge fun but one thing has always bugged me. The Escort van fuel tank. With only a maximum of 30 or so litres useable it has taken five stops on my non-stop LEJOG trips which needed a bit of planning once I was in the far North. Also, the tank has never been a fast filler despite changing the vent and filler orientation there was not much difference noted. The tank is getting a bit tatty and so after seeing Scot's Berli at Stoneleigh I bit the bullet and designed a new tank which will hold about 11 Gallons; around 50 litres. I sent the drawings to CompBrake who soon made a lovely new tank out of 4mm Aluminium alloy. It is guaranteed to resist the ravages of E10 fuel. I try to use super fuel when I can though although in Cornwall, the super fuels are labelled as 5% Ethanol.
After removing the old tank and all the plumbing, holes were drilled to allow the new tank straps to bolt in. All went fine and, quite surprisingly, all tank outlet spigots lined up with the intended hose positions. Even the fuel float sensor that arrived with the tank was compatible with my VDO fuel gauge.
Yesterday, with the job finished, I loaded 9 litres of fuel from a can and checked for leaks with all the pumps working. None seen so off we went to refuel fully in Wadebridge with fresh BP ultra. The tank is now a very fast filler and fills to brim with no blowbacks...and no leaks!.
The old tank is available to anyone that wants it. It seem solid and has a patina of moderate amounts of black Waxoyl. It comes with a VDO float sender.
I took Moll for a 25 mile fast run with no problems or leaks at all. I can now travel 300 miles between refuels yippee!

[Dane_Rescueman]

Although a bit boxy the manufacturer has welded in two baffles inside to control the inevitable turbulence whilst travelling.

[scott h]

Looks good! I had mine made by OBP from a drawing. In my Berlinetta's first life a 20mpg V8 and a medium sized tank gave me the range anxiety like a modern electric car! So during the rebuild I went a wee bit overboard and got one 700 x 300 x 300mm which is 63 litres. My exhaust silencers are under the tank and with hindsight a shallower tank would give a wee bit more ground clearance under the exhaust.

[Dane_Rescueman]

My tank is more visible from the back than the old Escort tank but still well clear of any lumps in the road. I have fitted a side exhaust to raise the silencer up under the running board. My cross members are slightly less than 300mm so I had my tank made 290mm width. The tank straps are secured by M8 bolts into steel rivnuts. I tested each rivnut to 100Kg so to any doubters it is easily strong enough. This means that it would only take minutes to remove the tank if I ever need to. The tank has two baffles welded in to stop too much sloshing about during energetic handling.