Technical Thoughts on re-purposing vintage oil drum into fuel tank?

Found three on FB. One person is on vacation, another says it’s not available, and the third I went to. It’s a well known trans repair shop. He said they only had one left. Takes me outside next to the dumpster and one is missing the lid, and the other is lying in the mud. He kicks it over, worms are stuck to the bottom. Lol! I said the ad said they were clean. Tells me to get back to the other worker in a few weeks who posted the ad…

 

You thought you would find the perfect candidate on the first try?
Keep looking, the ultimate is still out there.
I plugged in Steel Tank, then Aluminum Tank and found this
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1573971267456886/
Keep trying different things. When I was watching He****s, I tried misspellings, too.

 

...how about a portable air tank?...lots of sizes.

 

Not really. Saw propane tanks while looking. If I can find a decent 60L tank, I’ll use it. Will cut it open, add baffles, and the necessary ports, etc. Weld it back up and seal it with the appropriate sealer.

 

Not sure how many liter capacity you are looking to end up with? If I were looking to referb a propane tank I would start with 2 new 20 lb tanks as they are not that pricey and you have something clean to start working. Cut both at the bottom seam, add baffles, etc. as needed, and weld them together.

 

Way too compromised to even consider, Neil young. Make or find something cleaner and smaller. That’s too RR to use even as a cover. Free ain’t always best.

 

Haha! Ok. I’ll have to take a pic of the other one I have, but I think the plan is now to re-purpose a new (used) one.

 

Finally found one in decent shape. Was only $20.

 

Comparison of the two tanks.

 

This just popped up. It’s 14” x 26” which would be perfect. Looks like it ‘s homemade. Asked if there was any baffling, and he said there was a centre one. Offered $150. We’ll see. Haha!

 

As a kid in HS , my Bud and I put 351C into a Pinto . He needed a fuel cell /tank . Kids have no money . We had a local propane company near by. Purchased two new 20 lb tanks cut them apart added one baffle each . TIG welded the two into one tank added bungs and brackets . Painted it Hillbilly Chrome , with Ralley wheel paint . He used it until the car was sold .

 

Not sure if this is a street car or some sort of race only car. There seem to be less rules in la Belle province, but can you get this barrel tank through inspection, either for the street or the track you want to race at? Consider using a purpose made tank - maybe boat or fuel cell- with a barrel shaped cover. We are getting to like you and don’t want to see you end in a fiery blaze. Common knowledge is to displace the “air” in a vessel with exhaust fumes prior to cutting of any kind. At my skill level there will be no cutting into fuel tanks.

 

Unfortunately, car will never be street legal in Quebec, but doesn’t mean I want to cut corners. Safety is always a top priority, so I try to do everything as best as I can.

 

Most all have MiG Welding tanks on hand . Purge the drum or tank with non flammable gases a few times , wave a match over the opening to determine if clear to cut or weld . A CO2 tank is easy to rent for drinks , it’s liquid in the tank and will produce plenty of enough non flammable gases a few to purge your drum to work on it . If your still feeling iffy about it , get some dry ice and cut into pieces drop into the tank / drum it will produce plenty of useable non flammable gases also to allow you to complete the tasks at hand . I have had to pack plenty of large diameter pipe full of dry ice to complete the welds safety . There was no way to stop slight leakage of propane or gas into the pipe to complete the welds safety no.

 

Cutting into a used fuel tank is still something I’m not sure about doing myself. Years ago, a local shop teacher had one of his students do that, and IIRC, the student died in the subsequent explosion.

 

I worked in the machine shop as part of Project Transition at the Army Depot I was stationed at just before I mustered out. The shop foreman during a safety meeting talked about a local resident who cut into an empty 55 gallon drum with a cutting torch. The drum hadn't had gas in it for over 50 years and it still exploded and killed him.

And on another note, I needed a leak around the sending unit on an O/T Austin Healey gas tank repaired. I took it to the local radiator shop for the repair. It was run by 2 old time radiator repair guys who had been around forever. The one guy said he didn't do that type of repair anymore after he had a tank "go off" on him. He said his partner still did them but would eventually stop because he would have a tank "go off" on him as well. The process was to hot tank the tank and immediately do the repair as soon as the tank was removed from the hot tank and it was still warm. The shop is no longer there - it's now a Mexican fast food joint.

 

You mention wanting to be safe. To my mind, those drums are pushing the limits. They are designed to be filled, sealed and transported upright. Cutting and welding, partially filled (slosh), vented and sideways is beyond their design. I suggested alternatives to nudge you toward something built for the job.
There are a lot of things we do to emulate the old time looks. Low or no roll bars, wheels out at each corner, metal dashes and many other things have all been shown to be less safe. I don't think every rod needs crumple zones, air bags and side impact bars, but fuel is one area where if possible a proper tank is a good 'modernization'. Even that stainless tank looks like it's been beat up some.

 

The wall thickness of the new tank is less than the old tank. So, could be an issue. I really don’t need 60L as it will be only for show and maybe some sort of races. Will look into an actual fuel cell that I could place inside the tank.

 

must be planning some long distance travels to need, and have space for, an oil drum. my experience with home made tank is that if not sealed good inside will need a clear fuel filter to watch for rust. expensive but, stainless only material to use.

 

Just found this, but it’s 4 hrs away.

 

Another potential option is beer kegs, It sounds veeeeeery close to Rat Rod territory but they are made of stainless steel and made to handle high internal pressures so no issues there. Also available if different shapes and sizes to suit your taste.

Just a case of making it not look like a beer keg lol!

 

On my way to pick up the aluminum one.

 

AI answer
The total volume of a cylindrical tank with a 12-inch diameter and 24-inch length is 11.75 US gallons (or 44.48 liters).

 

Got the tank home. Was a long day. I’m glad I have a professionally built fuel tank. I’m thinking of shortening it down so it can fit in the yellow tank and move the fittings from the side to the bottom. Seems it has two baffles in it. Will be taking to a weld shop(s) to see what they say as I’m not cutting nothing. Haha!

 

Seems strange to dress it up in ugly. but if you make big saddles to hold it in place, you could get what looks like a couple inches by cutting it on each side and hiding the gaps under the straps. How this holding saddles and straps transfers to the full interior tank is another hurdle.

IMHO, Just clean it up and run it. If you gotta patina it, go for a paint that looks like the old anodizing.
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/m...ox-aluminum-vintage-army-green/id-f_22364542/

 

You got it all backwards, leave the alloy tank alone, cut the barrel about if you must use it.

 

We’ll see about keeping it “vintage” looking. I really want to, but everything will likely end up getting painted anyways.

 

Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see if anyone is interested and if so, how much $$$.