My stock fuel tank sump kit mod/install

[z2go]

Thought I would share my sub-project for the last couple of days. I'm doing a JTR V8 swap and wanted to make sure I got the best fuel delivery possible. So, I went with a Competition Engineering fuel tank sump kit, with 1/2" inlet and outlet. I found it on Ebay for $10 cheaper than on Summit, and it's from a reliable Ebay company, it seems. It got here in almost no time.

 

The goal was to attach this:

 

 

To this:

 

 

 

 

 

I started with giving it a good wash, and stripping all the old hoses and sending unit.

 

 

 

I went ahead and started cleaning the inside with the POR 15 system of Marine Clean. The hardest part about that was finding things to plug all the holes. I tried using duct tape at first, and that was a complete failure. I ended up using a racquetball to plug the sending unit hole, and used plastic wrap with rubber bands to cover all the other holes. The stock fuel line holes were the hardest, because I couldn't really get anything in the holes besides a bunch of plastic wrap, and then duct tape to try to hold it in. Still, it leaked a bit after a while through the wrap, so I replaced it every so often. If anyone has any better ideas for plugging these holes for the next guy, please add your .02.

 

 

As you can see, the tank is really clean after the soaking, and there was absolutely no smell of fuel in the tank anymore. It smelled like a fresh metal can, actually.

 

 

 

 

After two days of the cleaning process, I used some Talstrip II aircraft coating remover to get the paint off the outside. It did not take very long at all, the stuff is really good at lifting off paint, almost as a whole sheet in areas.

 

 

I decided to place the sump right in the middle, covering the stock drain plug, and facing towards the back of the car. I had to cut a 'v' in the sump and bend it to get the right angle for the bottom of the tank, but it worked rather easily. I also had to notch out the end of the sump to fit over the drain area bulge, and welded up the sides of the sump.

 

 

 

 

 

I then used a 2" and 1 1/2" (I think, I can't remember exactly, but the size is not important, just that I used two different sizes and one was 2"). The sump directions called for five 2 1/2" holes, but that would not work with the z, because of the baffle going down the middle of the tank, and the drain plug area. After drilling the holes, I filed down the edges and washed the tank with Marine Clean one more time.

 

 

 

Then all I had to do was tack on the sump, and weld all around. I made sure to jump around and not weld in one area too long. My welds didn't come out very pretty, I'm still pretty new at it, but they are completely solid and I didn't warp anything in the process, so I'm happy.

 

 

So, the final product looks pretty decent I think, for a home grown project. It decreased ground clearance by about 1.5-1.75 inches at the lowest point, but I don't think this is going to be a problem.

 

Please post any questions/comments/advice!

[junglist]

Looks good man, I'm going to be doing something similar to mine in the future.

[sweetride2go]

I modified my original tank by cutting the top off of the lower portion and adding 5" all the way around for added fuel capacity and I also added a larger fuel pickup and plugged most of the other lines. I migg'ed it, and really wish I had taken it to my brother to have it tig welded. I pressure tested it after I finished welding, and I had 32 leaks! I ground them out and rewelded, then narrowed it down to about 17. Then more grinding, and this time off to the brother and it was down to just one, which was sealed off with some sealer. And in hindsight I wish I had installed a lower sump like you had done.

 

I guess my advice here is to make sure you pressure test it. Other than that, it looks good!

 

Cheers

Ryan~

[z2go]

I modified my original tank by cutting the top off of the lower portion and adding 5" all the way around for added fuel capacity and I also added a larger fuel pickup and plugged most of the other lines. I migg'ed it, and really wish I had taken it to my brother to have it tig welded. I pressure tested it after I finished welding, and I had 32 leaks! I ground them out and rewelded, then narrowed it down to about 17. Then more grinding, and this time off to the brother and it was down to just one, which was sealed off with some sealer. And in hindsight I wish I had installed a lower sump like you had done.

 

I guess my advice here is to make sure you pressure test it. Other than that, it looks good!

 

Cheers

Ryan~

 

Thanks for the advice, I am planning on leak testing it but I hadn't thought about pressure testing. What did you do to test it?

[sweetride2go]

My poor mans method; I pluged all vent lines and the fill inlet. I made a fitting that would connect to an air hose with a small valve on it, and it had a AN fitting on the other end that would screw to my fuel line fitting on the tank. Then I opened the valve for a short peroid, you dont need much for air pressure, the air will get out if there is a way, and if you let to much in you tank will expand like a blowfish(I know cause I forgot about the valve briefly once, lol). Then I took a cheap spray bottle filled with a water/soap solution, and spray it around welded areas. The leaks show up great as a bunch of bubbles, then I marked the leak with a Sharpie. Fix the leaks and repeat.

 

I wish I had taken pictures of that part of the process. All I have is from Just before pressure testing.

 

In the end the tank was so time consuming that I had wished that I had gone with a fuelcell. But it works as of now, so all is good.

 

Cheers

Ryan~

[z2go]

So what did you use to plug the vent and fill holes? I know my saran wrap method will not work very well for a pressure test.

[sweetride2go]

Lol no, the seran wrap probably wont hold up long.

 

The vent lines weren't to hard. I was able to find stuff around the shop to plug those off, mostly with some rubber tubing, a bolt shoved into it, and a couple hose clamps to keep it there. The filler neck was the tricky one. But I was able to find these expandable rubber plugs that come in larger diameters at a hardware store in the plumbing section (sewer drain section). They are rubber in the center and have a large wing nut on one end with a bolt in the center. The more you tighten it the more the rubber expands. I think I used a 2" one, and it was a bit small, but after torquing the heck out of the wing nut it filled the filler neck. Then I just didn't take it out till I was done, ha...

 

I think this is the one I used. If I remember right, I had to stack a few washers behind the wing nut in order to get the rubber to squash/expand enough. But in hindsight you could probably wrap it with some rubber tape, maybe?

http://doitbest.com/Drain+fittings-Jones+Stephens+Corp-model-T31-002-doitbest-sku-419700.dib

 

Also, I don't think you will have to worry about it, but watch out for welding near some of the vent tubes, fuel line tubes, and sending unit area's. These are soldered/brazed, and I quickly realized this after welding near some of those area's, and it doesn't take much heat to soften up the joints.

 

Cheers

Ryan~

[Oddmanout84]

Very nice. I had almost given up on that sump, since I measured and found out the sump was way too long. For some reason, I had never thought about modifying the sump itself that way...

 

Biggest worry now is that I lined the tank with POR-15 a year ago, now its probably all going to have to come off...

[z2go]

Very nice. I had almost given up on that sump, since I measured and found out the sump was way too long. For some reason, I had never thought about modifying the sump itself that way...

 

Biggest worry now is that I lined the tank with POR-15 a year ago, now its probably all going to have to come off...

 

Ah! That's a serious pain. Well, you could at least just get it off the outside, and just recoat the inside some when you get the welding done. That part wasn't very difficult at all, it lined up pretty well when I bent it in place.