trwebb26 Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Today I dropped the tank... You can tip the tank from side to side and hear the rust sliding around in it. Flashlight through the sending unit hole confirmed it - rusty inards. I completely plan on making this a badass car (350+whp) with a L28ET swap. Questions: - Should I mess with the old tank (take it to a renu dealer) - or should I just put in a fuel cell? - Will the stock fuel lines acoomodate 350 whp - or while I'm rebuilding the fuel system - should I go ahead with bigger stainless send and return lines. I'm not that worried about the cost... I plan on having this car a long time and I want to do it "right" - If I do put in bigger lines - do I need to change out the elbows coming out of the fuel tank for bigger ones? Basically - while I'm spending all of this time - I wan't to do it right so I don't have to ever mess with it again. Like I said - I'm not so worried about the cost. I guess - if you were to design the ideal fuel system for a 78 Z - what would it look like? Thanks for the Replies!!! -Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Tim, welcome to hybridz. All of you questions have been asked and answered many, many, many times in length. I would recommend searching for the answers and reading as much as possible. The quick answer is yes you need a fuel cell if you want to do it right. No you need to run bigger fuel lines for 300+hp. When you put the fuel cell in you can run different size fittings. Most go with 8an for supply, 6an for return, and 6an for the vent on the gas tank. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trwebb26 Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 I've read all of the articles (it took a long time). I'm not afraid of doing a bunch of work to make it right. It sounds like there are 2 reasons not to use a fuel cell: 1) The gas vents to the atmosphere rather than to a vent tank. This would not be nice because I will be parking the car in a garage attached to my house. 2) You have to fill up the tank through the hatch... this would make your car smell like gas - suck ***! I think I want to use the stock tank as I will be using the car for fun and racing on the weekends. Just something to scare the sh*t out of the local "import" kids. I do want to mess with the tank one time only. I've read that the stock tank and lines will support 300 whp - and that is it. Has anybody ever had their tank "Gas Tank Renu'd" and had them weld in a larger pickup tube and return nipple. I don't see any reason they couldn't put in a 1/2" send line and a 3/8" return using AN fittings as long as the tank was all apart. This would give me the functionality I'm looking for out of a stock tank, while still having big enough lines to support serious fuel delivery. Thoughts??? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 I had my tank "renu'd" and they can put larger lines in the tank. It turned out great by the way. I also had the same concerns about filling and venting. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trwebb26 Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 What size lines did you have them put in? What type of fitting did they use coming out of the tank? Were the fittings welded? (i've read about people using bulkhead fittings with a nut on the inside of the tank... scary!) Where did you buy the fittings? Did you have to supply the lines for the inside - or did they provide them. What'd they charge you for the whole tank including the extra work on the lines. Thanks! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 When I sent the tank in I asked if he could put larger lines in, he told me yes. They supply the lines. As it turned out the 280 tank had the same sized lines as my Camaro had, I believe 3/8. (I had no problem with ~500 RWHP in the Camaro with that sized line) So he replaced the lines with the same sized lines that were in my 96 Camaro. He left me about 3" of line out of the tank for both the feed and return and I put compression fittings on the lines to AN-8 line to my Paxton external fuel pump. (I know the tank lines are smaller than the AN-8 line, but I had all of the fittings at the house already and I never had a fuel issue before... same motor that was in my Camaro is now in the 280) The lines appeared to be welded to the tank to seal them, but I could not tell for sure since they were covered by the painted on coating. I think the entire job was about $250 - $275. 1 week turnaround, and I did not ask him to hurry. I bought my fittings at a local hydraulic fitting supplier (Colliflower, Inc.) Even if you wanted to, I doubt that you could get a bulkhead fitting in a stock 280 tank, since the hole for the sender/float and lines is tiny. You would need to get your hand/arm in to tighten up the nut. Cars with stock in-tank pumps have much larger holes. The bulkhead fittings seal OK at first but over time they leak. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zredbaron Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 i very much recommend renu. see pics of my 'fuel tank not filling' thread active in this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWRex Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Anyone have any pics or tips on a fuel cell with the filler going to the stock location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZ85 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Anyone have any pics or tips on a fuel cell with the filler going to the stock location? http://groups.msn.com/Datsun280zClub/bigphils78280z.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=118&pgmarket=en-us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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