Yes! I bought a 31 Ford Coupe without a deck lid. I am now trying to dummy up a gas tank in trunk space. How thick is a deck lid? I plan to buy an after market, if used one doesn't show up. I'm looking on all sites. I have about four inches from top of gas tank, to putting a straight edge across body. Should this be enough clearance?
Kind depends on how many Gal. tank you want. And that if your going to go far or not with. I've see many add too big a tank,then have near no room to put stuff in the trunk. Its a trade off. The ones I've see used the most are the round alum tanks @ 6 gal,,up to 11 gal. Most of our hot rod with V8s get about 10 MPG so that's an idea of how far ya can run,between refills. As for making your own trunk lid; Use some sheet about same or a little bit thinner then the "A" body. If you have english wheel,it's fairly EZ to put a small bit of crown needed to look stock. But I've seen a few that look far ,that are just flat an bent to fit the hole{ no real crown=You do a mock up, dose take a framework to hole the shape anyway you do it.
If you can find A Toyota Celica, a gas tank fits excellent behind seat vertically..?? Just as it fits in Toyota go for a '70-'77 should be findable..... fill spout isn't bad lookin' either..
I have used a 16 gallon rectangular tank from Tanks,Inc. It worked well. Put a firewall in between your tank and the passengers-but, there really is NO place to safely locate a gas tank in a '31 Ford. You probably should review your state regs,too.
Think the question was how thick ? About 1.5" or so... think you are ok... If you need a more accurate measurement I will break out the calipers Friday am... . If you want to make one or have one made... Multiply its hight times width times length... divide by 231... Gives you the volume in gallons...
. If you want to make one or have one made... Multiply its hight times width times length... divide by 231... Gives you the volume in gallons...[/QUOTE] I will not forget this! Thanks Smitty, you have a shitload of information!
If you are making your own and want to know how much it will hold, just Google tank volume calculator. Select the shape of the tank and enter measurements. Super easy.
I used a Tanks in I also used a Tanks in my Model A coupe and installed a plywood panel between the tank and the interior, not really a firewall but hopefully would give you time to get out. I covered the plywood on both sides with foil covered sound deadener like is on the floor before I reinstalled it.
Triumph Spitfire gas tanks have a neat configuration. They may be a little small for your application, at 12 gallons. (I think that's US gallons; if Imperial, that would be 15 gallons US.) Also have a cool flip-open gas cap, which is normally located on the top-center of the rear deck.
Sounds like you want a pretty big tank but having traveled with tanks that ranged from about 12 gallons to 35 gallons outside of available space I'd say your engine's fuel mileage and the distances you intend to drive along with where you intend to drive it have a lot to do with the needed capacity. If you get 10 mpg and a road trip to Bonneville every year is one of the main things on your hot rod activity calendar you need more capacity than if anything two hours from the house is a long drive in the car. I remember someone telling a story about 30 years ago about doing road trips with a buddy who drove a t bucket with a big block in it that had a six gallon gas tank. A couple of guys in his club had to carry jugs of gas for him so he could put gas in on the side of the road when the distance between stations was too far and on roads with station every 50 miles apart they stopped every 50 miles so he could gas up.
I will not forget this! Thanks Smitty, you have a shitload of information![/QUOTE] just remember that the dimensions are in inches. 231 is cubic inches in a gallon mike
Tanks inc. universal 18 gallon tank. Fits perfect in an A and is well built. Don’t think you can beat it for the price. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I will not forget this! Thanks Smitty, you have a shitload of information![/QUOTE] If you make your own, remember there will be air space at the top. And, don't forget a roll-over valve.
a '31 Ford coupe has a drip rail below the deck lid, just stay below the drip rail and you should be fine.
If you make your own, remember there will be air space at the top. And, don't forget a roll-over valve.[/QUOTE] I like to weld 2 output ports into the base of the tank... one of them 1.5" above the other... set it up with a pair of ball valves and you can use the lower port as a reserve tank… works...
Tanks has an 18 gallon tank with all the fittings and mounting flanges and interior baffles for about $255.I guess depending on your skill and supplies you have on hand you could make your own, but counting labor, it would have to be pretty close. You'd likely need to buy the filler/cap, outlet ports, rollover valves,etc even if you had the steel.
This 13 gallon stainless fuel tank fit in my T turtle deck, should fit in an "A" with room to spare...
I will not forget this! Thanks Smitty, you have a shitload of information![/QUOTE] That works for US gallons of course if we were talking Imperial gallons the figure would be 277.
I had a Toyota tank in my Model A roadster, and I was told it came out of a Toyota(friendly donation for the cause). Put car together in the mid 80's, so sounds about right. I was able to mount it behind seat, but in front of the trunk bulkhead. Also, had room for battery box towards passenger side of tank. I vented everything outside car. Installed short filler neck to driver's side.
im surprised more guys dont make their own tank, doesnt seem too hard, especially for someone who just replaced the floors and fabbed a new cowl and firewall and built their suspension from scratch etc.... custom tank for what you want, how far you want to be able to go vs trunk space just seems like the perfect route idk
IM002908 by edcodesign posted Oct 26, 2015 at 1:27 PM Yep Tanks makes a nice product, used one in my A .
In aluminum okay. In steel, remember the interior is lead tinned, so it won't rot. I worried of this, when shortening a Toronado tank by 1" to yield ~ 18 gal. It fit low, between the frame rails.