Weight Distribution / Fuel Tank Placment

[BillZ260]

So you want it as close to the rear axle as possible. Has anyone made their fuel cell removable?

 

I want to hang my Cell w/ straps, 3" wide .120 sheet, so that all you have to do is unbold it unhook the line and you have tons of room to work.

 

Iv'e seen several of you guys putting in boxes that the cell slides down into, is this necessary? I don't really like that it's permanently mounted there. Also is the double wall a must? Aren't the cell's designed for some amount of rock/chip impact?

 

Iv'e done this once already but I am not really sure about how I have it set up best for weight distribution. Right now it is almost at the end of hte car. I know i need to move it closer to the axle, but I also want to make sure that I take into consideration anything else that NEEDS to be done for a daily driver.

 

Thanks! as always

[Wagz]

I built a square tube frame to mount my cell in. The cell has mounting tabs on the bottom of the tank. So, the tank slides up into the frame from underneath the car and attaches with bolts at four corners. All I have to do is detach fuel, return and vent lines, unbolt it and drop it out the bottom.

 

Here are some pictures: http://marcsgarage.net/gallery/FuelCell

 

If you look at the shot with the sump peeking out the rear of the car, you can just see two of the four mounting ears. Hope this is helpful.

[johnc]

Here's what the Rusty Old Datsun had for fuel cell mounting:

 

 

 

 

I want to hang my Cell w/ straps, 3" wide .120 sheet, so that all you have to do is unbold it unhook the line and you have tons of room to work.

 

Try .049 or .063 sheet. You'll kill yourself trying to properly bend .120. The straps you see in the picture above are .049.

[blueovalz]

I went as wide and deep as was possible (keeping the front to rear dimension as short as was possible) on my cell while still trying to maintain a 15+ gallon capacity. As was mentioned in the "sister string" about the Rusty Old Datsun, I also ramped the bottom of my cell upward as it goes back toward the rear (a 3" difference). In addition to this (and not readily visible), the rear deck on my Z (the 240 anyway, but I'm sure it's true with all of them) is angle upward slightly as it goes rearward and is in the same plane as the top of my cell. These two factors aid in keeping fuel forward at the pick-ups near the front of the cell. This obviously has it's advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

The advantages are that the center of gravity of the fuel is kept closer to the axle, aesthetically the end of the cell (and the fuel fittings)is no longer visible behind the valance panel, and some amount of airflow advantages could be argued. BUT, the disadvantages are the required increased baffling to keep the fuel forward under acceleration, and the "custom" design required, as all (the ones I've seen) aftermarket cells are flat bottomed. All in all, I had the local sheetmetal shop build my 17 gallon cell to these requirements for about $250. It is .060" walls with a .125" top (which is now the rear deck surface) and brackets welded on the sides to allow the tank to be dropped in place into a frame similar to the tubes used previous photos.

[BillZ260]

Thanks for the input fella's, all very nice work BTW...

 

I'll have to recheck my cell's capacity, I thought it was 15 gal, but it looks way smaller than the ones you guys have, it may be a bit taller but it's about the same width and about half as deep. Right now mine is at the very back of the car, I could move it up about 12 or so inches, but if I need to build more of a frame to place it in then I've got some work to do.

 

I'll be back w/ progress later.

 

Thanks again...

[COZY Z COLE]

Off topic but BILL have you seen this guy's 74 260Z???......

 

http://www.machinegod.org/car/

 

LARRY

[johnc]

Dimensionally my cell was an 18 gallon one. But, when filling it for the first time, I couldn't get 15 gallons into it.

[BillZ260]

Nope, havn't see that, like the color, not the tunnell ram.

 

Well the cell I bought, some time ago, was the only one that I had found that had the filler on the side. I wanted to use the stock fuel filler door. So I placed it where it is now for ease of instalation of the filer hose and all that. But with recent posts and seeing what every one else has done, I am beginning to rethink my install. Here is the cell I currently have but mine doesn't have the return line. And I thought I only paid about half that amount.

 

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?Ntt=fuel+cell&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&searchinresults=false&N=0&target=egnsearch.asp It's the RCI-2161A

 

The reason I got it was it had the filler where I wanted, it had the sending unit already, and no return, which I don't need w/ the Holley Red and carb set up. Or so I've been told. It's currently in place and there is plenty of ground clearance, but I guess I am just unsure of what I've completed. I'll see about getting some pics posted.

[BillZ260]

BTW, is where is a good source for flexible hose that can be used as a lead to the tank from the stock filler location. Guessing about and inch and a half or two inches is about what it needs to be

[Guest JAMIE T]

I actually plan on make a complete fuel cell "Cage" that will have the pump and filters attached to it that can be removed as a unit. I can install fuel shut-off valves on either side of the dissassembly point, or quick release fittings that will shut off flow when de-tached.

 

BTW, John, as usual, you work is fantastic. Are those straps stainless? The "T" bolts are brilliant.

[johnc]

Not stainless, just regular steel. I glued put neopreme(sp?) rubber to the inside of the straps after I took the pictures.