Formula Ford Fuel Tank Modification

I made this fuel tank in aluminium for the local Further Education College when they started a Motorsports course. One of the first cars they purchased for race and testing was a formula ford with 1600cc engine.

The race car itself had been stripped down and various improvements made to it to improve all aspects of the car by students and lecturers .

Original tank with new sender flange hole cut in

The fuel tank itself was originally made with fuel pickup  fuel filler neck and breather and foam filled, no facility had been required for a sender unit. Upon strip and rebuild it was decided this year that they wanted to upgrade the tank to include a fuel level sender.

Sender unit & machined flange

A new sender unit was sourced and a new alloy flange to mount the sender was machined and collected with the tank for mods and fitting.

Now with a tank that has been foam filled to prevent fuel slosh is not as easy to modify as a tank with baffles. Typically you can never get all of the foam out of the tank. As this foam has been soaked in fuel it is very difficult to prevent ignition of the fuel vapours when electric arc welding.

CAUTION !!  – DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

So to modify this tank I needed to mark and hole saw the new aperture for the new fuel sender mounting flange, upside down to any swarf falls out and not into the tank. I cannot just start welding – I had to fill the tank with an inert gas (argon) to remove all the oxygen in the tank.

Filling with argon gas

Argon – an “inert” gas

Argon gas is an inert gas (non-reactive) and is also heavier than air. I f we completely fill the tank with argon gas – even if there is still tank foam and fuel vapours in it the fuel vapours will not explode. I would not recommend anyone try this at home as it can be dangerous and I have seen a tank “blow” and send the welder across the workshop (he was lucky not to be hurt) and the tank ended up ripped apart due to the explosion when the fuel vapours ignited.

Fuel tank foam clearly visible through new hole

 I could not remove all of the foam and hence filling the tank with argon. I prefer to completely empty the tank, wask it out / steam clean it inside and then fill with argon before welding new fittings to a used tank.

Having had experience of welding aluminium tanks that have been used I know that I can get away with filling foam filled ones with argon before attempting welding of new fittings etc.

tacked up sender flange

See above the sender flange in position tacked up and level in the tank, note also the argon gas is still being fed into the tank by the black hose. Please also note that the bottom hose stub (fuel take off stub) has been taped up to prevent heavier argon gas escaping from the bottom of the tank.

New Flange welded in position

New flange welded into position, once this has cooled down its ready for blanking off and pressure testing again just to make sure that there are no pinholes in the weld and potential leaks.

If it is leak free then we need to fit the sender and squash the foam blocks and push back into the tank through the filler neck.

Fit the sender 1st and then push foam back in thro filler neck

AGAIN I NEED TO REITERATE – PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME !!

Hopefully the college will be happy – and now they can see how much fuel is in the car without using a stick.

Hope the students take care of it and plumb back in neatly 🙂

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

For all your Custom Car & Motorcycle Parts Manufacture and Welding / Repairs

SEE –

www.flashcustoms.co.uk

Don`t forget to email or call us for all your custom made 1 off bespoke items.

Thanks for reading our blog – we hope this has been of use to you.

Recommended sites

FLASH CUSTOMS – Specialist Custom Car & Motorcycle Parts

Automotive LED Lights – Car & Motorcycle LED Lighting Solutions

Loaded Wallet – Discount and cash back offers

Cash Back – Cash Back & Money Saving offers

Get Fit at Home

How an Internal Combustion Engine Works

Many articles have been written debating the design, manufacture, improving the Internal Combustion Engine but, how many people really understand how an engine works?

I have found an excellent Haynes model that you build from a kit that will help any budding motor engineer improve their basic knowledge of an Internal Combustion Engine.

This could be ideal for any apprentice, motor vehicle student, motor sport student or young motor enthusiast, also great as a gift or present.

 Haynes Internal Combustion Engine Model

The engine you build is a greatly simplified version of a real car engine. The model is designed to be fun to put together, and to make it easier for you to understand how a full-size four-stroke car engine works. This box contains all the parts and tools you need to assemble the working model. It comes complete with its very own Haynes Manual giving you clear step-by-step instructions to guide you through the build process, all you need to provide is the time, two batteries and a little vegetable oil. The on/off controller also includes a sound chip which reproduces the noise of an engine starting, as the model begins to work. Cracking little working model.

WATCH VIDEO

Thanks for reading 🙂

Recommended sites

FLASH CUSTOMS

Automotive LED Lights

Loaded Wallet

Cash Back