Fuel Tank Construction Photos

Drain Flanges

Sometimes I get carried away on details. I thought the fuel drain fittings (which hang out in the slip-stream) looked a little too crude and draggy, so I beveled the cylindrical portions. I used a piece of scrap aluminum to make a holding fixture for the flanges to allow them to be turned on the lathe.

Fuel Pickup Tubes

I told you I get carried away! But why make jagged slots with a band saw when you've got an old Atlas milling machine that rarely gets used? I made a holding fixture out of some scrap hardwood blocks and machined thirteen 0.027" wide slots on 0.080" centers into each fuel pickup tube. I calculated the area of the slots (at the inside diameter) to be 2.4 times the area of the tube ID, so they should not be too restrictive. There were virtually no burrs left on the tubes.

Applying Fuel Tank Sealant

Installing tank ribs. I used 20cc disposable veterinary syringes to apply the fuel tank sealant. These are sold at the local Farm and Fleet store for less than $1 each. This made it easy to get the sealant just where you wanted it and minimized the mess.

Ready To Close Tank

View of tank just before installing the back plate. I installed the optional capacitive fuel level senders. I like the fact that there are no moving parts. I hope that I won't ever have to open up my tanks for service. I etched and alodined all of the tank parts before assembly.

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Updated 6/30/00