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| The Alfatross' gas tank shortly after removal. |
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| Draining the tank to check for debris and to ascertain its capacity. |
Beautiful, powerful engines are great. Flawless paint finishes, sumptuous interiors, jewel-like instruments, and state of the art brakes are all well and good but your're not going anywhere without gas and a tank to put it in.
The Alfatross' gas tank appeared to be in pretty bad shape when I took it out back in 2004. All of the important openings such as the tank filler neck, the fuel level sender, the drain plug, the fuel line to fuel pump connection, overflow circuit, and vent were good as new. The hoses were shot, of course, and there was rust and even pitting on the tank's exterior. The interior of the tank was surprisingly busy with a complex of baffles around the fuel pick-up, but thankfully virtually rust free.
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| Once in place, the gas tank leaves little room for anything else in the trunk. |
Could there be undetectible pin holes that would later cause big problems? I considered my options: make a new one? Take it to a skilled welder in the hope that prophylactic reinforcing patches could be applied here and there? Or research gas tank interior sealing agents, pick a good one, and seal the hell out of it?
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| The copper fuel line was preventing the spare tire from fitting properly in its recess next to the tank. Note it is in contact with the tire. |
Having already sealed the gas tank for the '73 VW microbus with a product offered by POR 15 I decided on that approach. After completing that process and giving the sealer weeks to set up, I should have plugged all the openings and filled it with some kind of fluid to (a) check for leaks, and (b) calculate its usable volume. I should have, but I didn't. I was just as put off by the idea of filling it with water, even after sealing it, as I was filling it with many gallons of gasoline, which would mean handling a lot of a substance I have learned to keep contained and avoid contact as much as possible.
So the gas tank ended up being installed and plumbed in just before the Arizona Concours in January 2016. We put a few gallons in and everything was fine, but I was still dubious about its integrity. A couple of weeks ago I decided to end the suspense and fill it to capacity. But first I needed to drain it completely to see if there were any debris, rust fragments, traces of sealer, or other signs of something going wrong. To my great relief the filter in the funnel over the catchment tank was completely clean.
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| I was suspicious that a leak had developed at the outlet from the tank to the fuel pump, but repeated tests failed to confirm that. |
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| The new fuel line I made had a tortured shape, but permitted the spare tire to sit upright. |
So far my concerns that the tank might have a leak somewhere have proven unfounded. There remains a detectable aroma of gas in the trunk, but now I suspect it is emanating from a loose rubber seal at the filler cap, rather than the tank itself.
The tank fills the trunk area from battery to tire, with little room to spare. The radius in the bend of the copper fuel line we made to replace the broken original was too large, forcing the spare tire to sit at an angle, so I made another one with a tighter radius and that fixed the problem.
But there is one thing I can't do anything about. It comes with the territory. When the car is on the ground and the trunk lid raised as far as it will go, you have to get down on your knees, duck your head, contort your back, and dislocate your right arm to wiggle the spare tire out. One of The Alfatross' siblings whacked David Smith on the head with its trunk lid, during one such maneuver. The gash required several stitches to close. Oh, the inconveniences we suffer to live with such beautiful creatures!
