Which fuel tanks fit and which have the largest lines?

[Guest 1zcarfan]

I have a '72 Z that I plan to drop a Chevy 302 into. I plan to run it initially with carburation but possibly move up to tuned port injection. So I am looking for a tank with the largest delivery lines, equipped with a high pressure return line and not have to butcher my car to make it fit. A bolt in would be nice including the dump can sized filler neck.

I have heard RUMORS that the '75 tanks have a larger delivery line, a return line designed for fuel injection and supposedly will bolt in. No one I've talked to has actually done it though, so I'm not sure if it's a simple bolt in or with a torch and big hammer it can be done!!! I really do want to keep the large filler as well but I guess it's not manditory.

Anyone have any first (even second or third) hand knowledge of this situation?

[z-REX]

the '75 and '76 fi tanks, as i've been told, bolt right up. or there's plan b... fuel cell in the hatch, otherwise known as how i'm going to manage to run my dual exhaust.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

Damn, that was fast!!!

There's a lot of "as I've been told" stories out there. I tend to believe that they must be some truth to them but I'm still just guessing. Would you tend to believe "bolt in" means that the filler can remain the larger size?

Thanks for the responce. It makes me feel some better about it. I don't want to go the fuel cell route although it would be nice to have a little more room for exhaust. The plan as it now stands is to make this somewhat of a sleeper but that probably won't last too long.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but it's hard to fool them a second time.

[z-REX]

i don't think they would have changed the filler, that frickin' thing is huge! i know this because i just pulled mine this afternoon in prep for my work. i got my knowledge from the prez of my z-club when i bought my now-not-to-be-used l28et from him. he had the tank i would've needed and he has done the swap before. however, now i'm going v8 and plans changed just a little. let's just say i doubt sleeper would be a term that will apply......

[fl327]

75-76 will come close to bolt in, but not truly, since tank is bigger and baffled at the bottom. return line is bigger than 240z

i think if you can get the strap that holds a 75 in the car it will be bolt in, since the filler neck is in the same position.

i wouldnt use tpi on a 302 chevy, tpi would limit you to like 4500 usuable rpm, not good for racing. the carb would let you rev to the sky,if you have the cam carb and heads suitable to such.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

The filler is huge isn't. I suppose it serves no real purpose at the local Shell station but it is a conversation piece of nostalgia from the good old days.

Please tell me that this isn't as big a pain in the ass as I remember it being. I had to replace the filler hose years ago and as I remember, it was a bear to get all the lines reconnected and the tank back in place.

By the way, I am getting a little older now so maybe, just maybe, I'll have the patience to keep my foot off the loud pedal all the time. I might just sneak up on a few youngsters in thier little four door sedan rice grinders!!! Hell, I've blown the doors off Corvettes and Mustangs with a basically stock L28!!!

[z-REX]

memory serves you correctly. what a pain in the a$$. at least i'm going with a totally different approach... if i had a hard time manipulating a fuel line i just cut it off. that's the good side of plan b!

[Guest 1zcarfan]

That will never do. I plan to twist this thing to at least 7000RPM useable and 8000RPM just cause it can. One of the cranks I have was in a 11000RPM drag car. The other was in a Can Am car. I'm sure that they turned it over 4500RPM don't you think???

I can't imagine that TPI would limit RPM that low, but if it does, I DON'T WANT IT. Besides, I know how to work on Holleys.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

I'm starting to like the sound of plan b!!!!!

So much less stressful. I'm really getting too old to put up with too much. I've only got one nerve left and EVERYONE seems to want a shot at stepping on it.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

The filler is huge isn't. I suppose it serves no real purpose at the local Shell station but it is a conversation piece of nostalgia from the good old days.

Please tell me that this isn't as big a pain in the ass as I remember it being. I had to replace the filler hose years ago and as I remember, it was a bear to get all the lines reconnected and the tank back in place.

By the way, I am getting a little older now so maybe, just maybe, I'll have the patience to keep my foot off the loud pedal all the time. I might just sneak up on a few youngsters in thier little four door sedan rice grinders!!! Hell, I've blown the doors off Corvettes and Mustangs with a basically stock L28!!!

[Guest Nic-Rebel450CA]

One of the cranks I have was in a 11000RPM drag car. The other was in a Can Am car. I'm sure that they turned it over 4500RPM don't you think???

Are you sure that you want a crank that has already been abused??

I can't imagine that TPI would limit RPM that low, but if it does, I DON'T WANT IT.

It does.. Port injection is not good for top end because of lack of atomization time.

 

I am building a 302 for my Z as well, maybe we should compare notes, of course, I cant tell you all of my secrets..

[Datsun660z]

I two 1976 280-Z's and they BOTH Have the Large Filler Neck

[z-REX]

plan b is nice plus it gives you an excuse to replace every 30-odd year old piece of fuel line you have on the car. give summitracing.com a check... the catalog section has a pretty wide range of cells. save that remaining nerve... you'll need it somewhere else on the car.

[baddriver]

I don't think that the TPI is going to limit the RPM to 4500 on a 302. The problem with the TPI on the 350 is that it just doesn't flow a lot of air. Basically you are limited to a small CFM per cylinder going through the ports. For a 350, that's not a lot of air. But a 302 will need less to rev since it is a smaller motor. By my calculations, a 302 will rev to 5200 RPM before it requires the same airflow as a 350 at 4500. That might still be too low, but can be delt with by increasing runner size. Grumpy has a post somewhere that compares the stealthram to the TPI, and it's clear that he preferrs the Stealth. The difference is $$$$.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

Nic-Rebel450CA

I understand your concern about the cranks!!! The previous owner ENCOURAGED me to take them to a crankshaft specialist and have them both THROUGHLY checked. He has three more good ones and one that needs the thrush journal repaired. My hope is that these are proven good cranks, not abused. He did say that he staged @ 11000RPM and tried to have it bounce off the 11200RPM rev limiter just as the light turned green, then shifted @ 10200, 10400 and 10600 as I recall. I would have thought it more likely 10600, 10400 & 10200, but what do I know??? He did recommend the Can Am crank but it is standard mains, the other is 0.010" under. After all, this is just a sreet car. I don't intend for it to live at high RPMs. Just occasionally when I want to show my ASS!!!

I spoke with the same person (who is MUCH more knowledgable than I) and he felt that TPI would be an excellent choice after the initial kinks got straightened out. He did say that larger runners would be necessary and recommended a TPI with a MAF sensor rather than one he had for sale from a '90s Vette. I didn't go into details on the differences between the two. At this point I'm really not ready for the learning curve on TPI, I think my plate is fairly full now, but DAMN TPI sure looks good!!!

I'd be happy to exchange information with you. I have no big secrets except maybe with the locals. It is just a little 5.0 Litre after all!!!!! Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope that you will be leading the way on this journey. I'm still trying to get the 2400 to run well enough (I was told it would need an engine) to run a couple thousand miles to shake down the car BEFORE I tear it down. It is structurally quite sound but the previous owners have patched and rigged everything they touched, and they seem to have touched just about everything.

Good luck with yours and feel free to drop me a note @: pdshindler@sbcglobal.net

[Guest 1zcarfan]

Datsun660z,

Thanks for the information on the filler necks of the '76 tanks. I was under the impression that the 240s were the only tanks sized for racing dump cans. I thought (shame on me) that the 260s and early 280s had standard sized fillers with the later 280s requiring an unleaded restrictor in the standard neck.

Do you have any knowledge of the fuel delivery line size? I thought (there I go thinking again) that rumors had it that it was larger than the 5/16" 240s delivery line. I haven't done my homework and measured my lines, but surely the measurement in inside diameter, not outside.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

zbobo,

Still not ready for the fuel cell idea, YET!!!

I'm sure about that last nerve being later in the project. I think I mentioned that I'm older and more patient in one of my responces. Hmmmm... What just happened to all me patience?????

You are absolutely correct about the 30 plus year old hoses. About 18 years ago when I replaced the filler neck hose and the others were only 14 years old another hose cracked while wrestling the tank in or out. I could fill it without leaking but if I got the level into the filler neck above the tank, that hose would leak. What a Bummer.

[Guest 1zcarfan]

baddriver,

The person that I got my engine parts from is VERY knowledgable. He is a respected engine builder around the country, builds ground up custom cars professionally, has a dyno and previously was a machinist, so he is VERY maticulous.

His thoughts were that a TPI would be a great idea with larger runners, custom chip and I'm sure some massaging. He knows the 302's very well since he raced them for years. He could be mistaken, but my guess is that he's right. It would just need some work to match the personality of the 302's optimum HP and torque curves. I'm sure HE could figure it out with a little calculation time and dyno time. I'm not sure I can afford it and I'm not sure he's courious enough to do it for my budget.

I am going to start with carburetor for simplicity's sake. That may be as far as I get but I sure like the idea of and the look of the TPI.