may want to build a simple gastank, problem is my measurements are whacky so nothing off the shelf will fit (something like 30x10x7 what gage metal should i be looking at? -Rob
I would use 16 or 18 gauge, personally. It might be easier to build from heavier aluminum if you have the ability to tig weld it. I would probably roll a couple of beads into the bigger sides to minimize any oil can flex. If you look around on the web a bit, I think you can find someone to build you a custom tank affordably. The hardest part is the filler neck, sender and pickup/return bungs.
I've used 18 ga. mild steel. It's thin enough that I can cut it with my inexpensive air nibbler and aircraft snips. Then I sneak into my friend's welding shop and use his sheet metal brake when his back is turned. It is thick enough to weld with my wirefeed and .023" wire without any burn through. A fill with water will typically show 1 or 2 pin hole leaks which are easily rewelded. Speedway in Lincoln, NE sells a steel filler neck that I weld to the tank. It comes with a cap. I weld a steel pipe thread bushing for an outlet, resulting in a 3/8" female pipe thread in which to connect a fuel line, shut-off valve, filter or electric pump, depending on your desire.
If you plan on making it out of steel and welding it with a mig welder your going to have a hell of a time trying to get it to be leak free. Pat
dont plan on welding it myself, plan on tacking it and having someone tig it...but now that i think about it..i may look into getting someone to custom biuld one for me. any suggestions on places that do this? id like to put a fuel gage in the dash....never had a car with a fuel gage......always wanted one! haha
be sure to put some baffles in it, or an access to put some foam in it. I did a tech thread a while ago... not that you want to follow my example but it did show one way to get the job done, I'll see if I can find it..
If you are building it out of aluminum, I wouldn't go thinner than 16ga. Aluminum can be pretty soft you know.
no not alum, but steel, just tigged. the more i think about it the more it might be easier for me to find someone who custom makes them.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38970&highlight=gas+tank I also did a how-to on building a tank out of stainless.
For what its worth,heres the tank in my 18+ yr old "modern" style t bucket. I sheared all of the aluminum myself(forgot what gage,but its pretty heavy),made 2 baffles for the inside that run front to rear,machined all the bungs ect. I added extra bungs in case I went to Fuel Inj so I could run a return line,& one on the bottom for a pet**** drain.I *think* I got the filler neck from an 81 T-Bird.I cut the hole in the tank big enough for gas pumps,made a gasket & sheet metal screwed it on.Had a buddy weld it up & have had no problems. Its an Auto Meter sender that needed minor tweaking but the gauge reads like its supposed to. This formula tells me how much it holds.25" long,,18.5" wide,,9.5" tall. Length X Width X Height (in inches) divided by 231. And it *does* hold 19 gallons. Hope this helps...
i just made my tank out of 0.090 aluminum with a tunnel for the drive shaft with a sump on each side. filler is a flush harley cap. cross over under pinion is 3/8 tubing with an-6 tube nuts and feed to pump is -8 an. there are 2 baffles and a box for the vent tube because i could only make the vent 1" higher then the tank.
i ALWAYS USE 16 GA WHEN I MAKE THEM. I ALSO MIG THEM, AND HAVE HAD VERY GOOD LUCK AND VERY FEW LEAKS. OUR SHOP SELLS THE FILL, VENT, PICK UP AND SENDER PARTS YOU COULD NEED (PITIFUL PLUG)! IT ISNT VERY HARD TO DO. GO AHEAD DIVE IN HEAD FIRST! .
This thread is very old, but it is the type of thread that gets looked up and read by the next person attempting to do a similar project. Let me say that I have several years of experience building both auxiliary and replacement fuel tanks for 4X4 vehicles. I also built fuel tanks for amatuer built airplanes. For those unfamiliar, those are full size planes that are built from plans or kits that when finished do everything a commercially built airplane will do, with some minor restrictions. Those restrictions primarily are that you cannot use a homebuilt plane for commercial purposes, such as hauling freight or people for hire. Steel tanks I built were for 4X4 vehicles. Steel stands up to the bumps and dings of off-roading and lasts for years even if not internally coated to prevent rust. My standard was 16 ga mild steel and I have been running a pair I built, for my 1956 S120 IHC Travelall, for 25 years. My point of info here is testing for leaks. Filling with water is a pain and does not disclose pinhole leaks that may not show up until gasoline in put in the tank. Fixing a leak after having put gasoline in the tank is a discussion all to itself which I won't get into here. The easiest and, in my book, best way to to detect leaks is by pressure testing. It takes a few fittings, plugs and caps to seal the tank up along with a fitting through which to charge with air. An automotive tire valve stem, a metal screw in type allows you to, with a small selection of threaded bushings, to easily connect into a threaded hole in the tank. Usually I used the drain hole which was a welded, or brazed-in internally threaded flange fitting. I used a "T" fitting so I could screw in a pressure gage. It takes VERY little pressure to test for leaks. In the range of ~3 psi. Enough pressure to show an air leak but not enough to damage or "blow up" and tank. A cheap gage I found on Ebay was plastic, designed for the regulated low pressure side of a paintball gun with a range of 0 to 8 psi. Or an old low pressure gage from an acetylene welding regulator will do it (one I have is 0 to 15 psi that is easy to read with a 1.24" dial face). Once the tank holes are plugged or capped, use an air chuck fitting to gently pressurize the tank to about 3 psi. The tank may make some bongs and pings, but if your welds are decent the seams won't split or the tank blow up. Take a trigger type spray bottle, like an old Windex squirt bottle, and fill it with water and a few drops of liquid dish detergent and shake. Spray all the seams and look for expanding soap bubbles. If you find a leak mark the spot, an arrow pointing to the leak, a silver magic marker works well, and then bleed out the air. Then remove the gas cap so the tank doesn't build pressure when you weld on it. The cool thing is that you can immediately weld the pin hole and recheck for a leak in a minute or two. No dumping water, drying things out, welding and refilling with water to check the fix. If you've built a tank with various tubes sticking out, they can be plugged with golf tees OR capped with balloons held on with rubber bands. Pressurize the tank so that the balloons are expanded to about half full, and spray the seams. The pressure may not be 3 psi on the gage, but will be enough.
Thats what POR15 tank sealer is for. Well,that and preventing it from ever rusting. Make your tank out of stainless
I have built several tanks for various applications. From motor homes to boats and custom car applications. I even built saddle tanks for a diesel van to run veggie oil,and installed a water coil in each one to heat it with engine water. Aluminum is the easiest to work with and lasts the longest. Machines easy for filler neck and bungs,welds nicely. If you run a purge back up penetration will be 100% if you don't use a thicker Guage and a 50% overlap method and it will be fine. The best method to check for leaks I have found is seal it tight,before the fill neck is in and use a small 1/8 pipe fitting for air conditioning guage and hook up a a/c vacuum pump on it. Pull to 20-25 hg and let it sit. If it holds vacuum for a hour or so you will be good. Vacuum is a lot harder to seal than pressure. The larger the tank the more it wants to balloon with pressure. If it p***es, cut in the filler neck. It's just too big to seal so test before you install it.
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