New Fuel Tank

[Colin Byrne]

Hi guys just thought I'd throw up a couple of pics of the weekends work.  With the harder springs and the location of the original fuel tank the floor of the boot on my car was beginning to fail.  So I decided to make up a new tank that sits up on the shelf between the two rear shock mounts, it should hold 60L.

[Fast Eddie]

Nice work!
was the bottle of Cascade on the bench to satiate any dissapointment at not being at this year's Targa or is some secret fuel additive

[alfagtv58]

Fantastic work Colin, very impressive.  One question, I would have thought you would want that sort of weight kept as low as possible, was it not feasible to fabricate something that went in to replace the existing tank as that is below the boot line?

[Colin Byrne]

The beer was more there to get a steadier welding hand!

Yea your right phil, it would have been nice to get it lower, at first I was going to build two tanks and have them underneath the rear seat, but there just wasn't enough room for the volume I wanted.  If I just built a bigger tank and put it in the original position then there would have been even bigger problems with the boot floor falling apart.  The floor is only held together with a few spot welds behind the rear bumper, you add some stiff springs, 60KG of fuel and tank, and a few "airborne" manoeuvres or even bumps in the road and its not long until those little spots welds become "un-welded".  I know it has raised the CG vertically, which is not ideal, but it has reduced the polar moment of inertia (the mass is closer to the yaw rotation point) which should be beneficial to the handling and it's in a much safer position in terms of rocks

[Justin Jacobs]

If you have'nt already read the blurb on the ALFAHOLICS new product list re 105 fuel tanks then it would be time well spent . Has some great installed tank photos as well . They quote 399 pounds which is a cool $1000 or more . Yours looks very proffessional Colin. Is it filled with foam or baffels ?After removeing the old tank and flattening the floor ,under car air flow it is claimed to make a difference ? Let us know if this your experience. I look forward to seeing the installation at Sandown .

[Colin Byrne]

Hi Justin, yea I saw the alfaholics tank, it's a very nice job, just a little expensive!.  And after reading about the air flow causing problems I'm currently making up a replacement "tub" for the old tank, and will also be makeing a similar filler setup.  The tank Is baffled and will have a large surge pot  (at the bottom of the tank, not a separate one) I have had bad experiences with foam breaking up over time and clogging pumps so i don't like useing it now, and yes it will hopefully be fully functional for Sandown, I've just got find a nice fuel cap for it!