Fuel Tank Overflow

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

Mike it will work but I seem to remember that breathers must not be able to drain the tank in the highly unlikely case of overturning.
Does anyone else know the (prior to SVA) rules on this?

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

I don't know the rules on this but when you go for your MOT now one of the checks is to make sure the seal on your filler cap is good. If you follow my previous offering I mention the valve system in the filler cap.This is set up by the maker to allow the tank to breath with a small amount of +pressure and a small amount of -pressure under normal use but if in the unfortunate event of the car being upside down should stop any fuel leaking from the cap.

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

Thanks Hugh.

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

If its of any help, and this is going back 17 years, my cap is made by CBS Automotive, part no.CL25 and fits Sherpa van 75- Escorts and Cortinas 68-. I used the Escort filler neck flush under the body as you can just see on the attached pic. The ramp is another story. Well it was its 17th. birthday on the 17th. of this month!!!

[CABRIOBOB]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

Hugh,
Could you please take some more pictures of your ramps and advise of sizes of metal used and size of the ramps and detail of the lifting jack tool .email me on [email protected].

cheers..........Bob

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

I promised to provide a feedback, once I had modified the tank overflow arrangements. To summarise, I junked the original overflow-to-the-ground plumbing, and have fitted 1.5 metres of 12mm bore petrol-quality rubber pipe to the outlet at the top of the tank. This is then routed inside the boot (under the carpet) to the filler pipe. Mine is the type where a large diameter rubber pipe effectively joins the underside of the filler cap to the metal pipe going down to the tank.
I cut a hole through both the large rubber and metal pipes, and connected a 'saddle' fitting bought from Car Builder Solutions. This has a 15mm stub pipe, so a 15/12mm adaptor was required to complete the plumbing.
As well as not dripping petrol onto the ground, the additional benefit is that the tank fills up a lot faster now. A £25 fill-up goes into the tank in fairly record time, whereas before it took absolutely ages to do. This confirmed my original thoughts, that the expelled air couldn't get out of the tank at the same pace as the incoming petrol.
Total cost for the mod was about £22 + hose-clips (in stock) + postage. Not cheap, but worthwhile.

Cheers
Mike

[danny_nelson]

Re: Fuel Tank Overflow

The Berlinetta build manual page 15 for the Cortina based 2.14 Escort van tanks have a top breather. This must be connected to a suitable hose which is led down to a level lower than the bottom of the tank. This is to ensure the fuel stays in the tank should the car roll over. Alternatively a branch can be fitted to the filler hose to connect with the breather. So lots of Berlys built leaving a trail of petrol on garage forecourts!