gas tank idea.

[Brandy]

Hey everybody, i had an idea today while sitting on a stool looking at the spare tire well of my 67 coronet. What would it look like, and how much space under car would it free up, if i turned the spare tire well into a gas tank? So i got out my high school math brain cells and they say it will hold 26 gallons of gas.

Discuss amongst yer selfs....

 

[Meep-Meep]

I'm sure that area has been used to hold a fuel cell by plenty or racers. I'm considering it on my 66 if I go the cell route.

 

[Cranky]

I like my weight in as close to the center of the car as possible so....I removed the tire well and will make a flat floor and place the cell under the car and as close to the rear end as possible. Think of the 'bar bell' effect. The closer the weight is to the center of the bar, the faster you can twist it back and forth or around and around. The same thing works with the car too. Even if you are not planning on building a race car, weight out near the bumpers affect the way a street car handles too.

 

[YY1]

The 66/67 tank is in a pretty good place center of gravity wise.

The tire well, however, makes for some difficult stowage issues depending on what you're stowing.

What would you put where the tank used to be? Shine? Then you'd need....a tank...

 

[krowbar]

16 gallon RCI fuel cell in my tire carrier. Removing the original tank frees up alot of space.

 

[Brandy]

All good info, thanks. I thought of the handling/center of gravity thing. It doesn't make a lot of sense to invest in suspension kits and sway bars etc and then sling all that weight on the *** end. Perhaps a better idea would be to position a cell behind the rear seat and above the axle. then remove the tub AND the underslung gas tank and make the floor flat. That way it would give lots of room for exhaust etc. I don't plan to go on vacation in it so no luggage. The spare can be mounted on the floor in a custom thing. What say you?

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The 66/67 tank is in a pretty good place center of gravity wise.

The tire well, however, makes for some difficult stowage issues depending on what you're stowing.

What would you put where the tank used to be? Shine? Then you'd need....a tank...

Ah,,,, shhhhh, that goes under the back seat. Mum's the word....

 

[HT413]

Not sure why you need all that extra room. Unless your car is tubbed, the extra room for exhaust that moving the gas tank would afford is of no consequence. Sure, moving the tank closer to the center of the car ( behind the front seats) is better for handling, but it also makes the forward weight bias of these cars even worse.

 

[bobtile]

When I was in high school, I used the well in my 73 Duster as a cooler. It easily held a case of beer and ice.

 

[dsd1967]

I'm mini tubbing a 67, and have been considering how to handle getting dual exhaust out the back of the car. The tank and spare tire area are pretty big obstacles now that the springs have been moved inboard. One thought I had was to go with a 68-70 floor center section and fuel tank, narrow the fuel tank and have the filler neck come out the back like the 68-70 models did. Am I overthinking this issue? Anyone else mini tub a 66-67 and put exhaust all the way out back?

 

[Brandy]

No, yer not over rethinking it. I had the same idea, which is why i want to move the tank and tub. Plus, i hate seeing stuff hanging down lower than the frame when i look from the side. I want the axle and suspension to show and not have convoluted turns and bends in my exhaust.I intend to tub it to the frame.hopfully enough to get L60 14's under it.

I'm mini tubbing a 67, and have been considering how to handle getting dual exhaust out the back of the car. The tank and spare tire area are pretty big obstacles now that the springs have been moved inboard. One thought I had was to go with a 68-70 floor center section and fuel tank, narrow the fuel tank and have the filler neck come out the back like the 68-70 models did. Am I overthinking this issue? Anyone else mini tub a 66-67 and put exhaust all the way out back?

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Not sure why you need all that extra room. Unless your car is tubbed, the extra room for exhaust that moving the gas tank would afford is of no consequence. Sure, moving the tank closer to the center of the car ( behind the front seats) is better for handling, but it also makes the forward weight bias of these cars even worse.

Yep, i agree, forward weight bias is of concern. but what is to far or to close to the axle? Who knows. if i put tank further back in tub area then it;s too far back. Would the spot in between the axle and the tub be the place? Anyone?

 

[Cranky]

To help improve forward weight would be to use as much aluminum on the engine as possible. Going with the smallest aluminum radiator that will still cool the engine is another improvement. Also, moving the engine back 1" makes a pretty good difference too. 700+ lbs moved 1" does make a difference. Move the rear axle forward 1".....see where this is going. Now if you're drag racing, you can stagger your front wheels to get more roll out in the starting beams. Of course, this move usually isn't legal at the track but my pea brain is full of stuff like this lol.

 

[Brandy]

I see. Iv'e got a 440 wedge RB big block to go in. The car came with a 26 inch radiator shroud.

 

[67GTX440]

The 66/67 tank is in a pretty good place center of gravity wise.

The tire well, however, makes for some difficult stowage issues depending on what you're stowing.

What would you put where the tank used to be? Shine? Then you'd need....a tank...

Maybe put the fuel tank in the spare tire well and the spare tire where the fuel tank used to be like a pick-up truck. LOL

For shine you need to incorporate the frame rails to be really stealth. If you are set up with flex fuel for gasoline or shine you have got it made!

There may be some reasons they put the gas tank on the outside of the body if you think about it. It might be best to seal up the passage from the trunk to the passenger compartment with sheet metal if you move it inside the trunk. Think early 70's Pintos.

 

[Brandy]

I considered that while sitting and staring at the trunk. In AH64 Apache attack hell's the fuel tank has a inch thick coating around it so that any munitions that happen to strike it are , so to speak, "caught in a glue trap" , so they don't puncture. i don't see any reason i can't do the same thing, and it would be outside the "crumple " Zone too.i intend to weld up a outer wall about an inch from the tank walls, Kinda an outer box that the tank sits in, and then fill it with expandable foam. Venting the space to the outside of the trunk. I think that ought to do it. The loss of trunk space don't matter to me. I'm looking for "trick'" not stock.

Maybe put the fuel tank in the spare tire well and the spare tire where the fuel tank used to be like a pick-up truck. LOL

For shine you need to incorporate the frame rails to be really stealth. If you are set up with flex fuel for gasoline or shine you have got it made!

There may be some reasons they put the gas tank on the outside of the body if you think about it. It might be best to seal up the passage from the trunk to the passenger compartment with sheet metal if you move it inside the trunk. Think early 70's Pintos.

 

[YY1]

My 71 torino also had the top of the tank as the trunk floor.

I always thought that was a questionable design feature.

How many trucks had the tank directly behind the seat...and the filler directly in the path of any cigarette ashes.

 

[mopar 3 B]

And now we know why fuel tanks are no longer in truck cabs. I like the flat floor idea but do not believe there would be room between altered frame rails for 68-70 B body tank. A body maybe?

 

[HT413]

I think it would be super cool to do as you say, fab a tank to fit the tire well, and add a sump. Maybe run an electric fuel pump in tank with regulator and fuel return line depending on the performance of the motor. Maybe do this in conjunction with a nice fuel injection system.

Then cut a hole in the floor to accommodate the sump and drop the tank in place. Make the tank semi removable and keep the piece you cut out of the floor to return it back to stock in the future.

Also, expandable foam is not what you want. That stuff is closed cell and will kill any ventilation you were hoping to pickup from the cavity. Also, i highly doubt is gasoline resistant / fuel vapor resistant, so you will end up with a major issue if you intend on the foam providing structural support for the inner tank. I would suggest sourcing sheets of fuel cell foam or going without as even fuel cell foam has a finite lifespan.

Perhaps fab it single wall tank then weld in a lid overtop that is flush with the floor pan and vent that.

 

[Brandy]

Draw me a diagram of what yer saying please. I don't want to do this more than once.

I think it would be super cool to do as you say, fab a tank to fit the tire well, and add a sump. Maybe run an electric fuel pump in tank with regulator and fuel return line depending on the performance of the motor. Maybe do this in conjunction with a nice fuel injection system.

Then cut a hole in the floor to accommodate the sump and drop the tank in place. Make the tank semi removable and keep the piece you cut out of the floor to return it back to stock in the future.

Also, expandable foam is not what you want. That stuff is closed cell and will kill any ventilation you were hoping to pickup from the cavity. Also, i highly doubt is gasoline resistant / fuel vapor resistant, so you will end up with a major issue if you intend on the foam providing structural support for the inner tank. I would suggest sourcing sheets of fuel cell foam or going without as even fuel cell foam has a finite lifespan.

Perhaps fab it single wall tank then weld in a lid overtop that is flush with the floor pan and vent that.

 

[mopar 3 B]

There is already a plug in bottom of spare well. I would put pump in the tank before running fitting out trunk floor. 26" dia. X 8" deep should fit in well. 18 gal.. Modify existing fill and vent tube to fill tank from top.

 

[HT413]

Draw me a diagram of what yer saying please. I don't want to do this more than once.

Like this. Fab up a single wall tank, weld a sump kinda like this, then cut the floor so. Peaks out. Then weld in a lid over the tank to make it flush to trunk floor and vent the space between tank and lid. That way you incorporate all of the features you were looking for but maybe a bit more effective of an end product.

Or just buy a premade tank to fit your needs and install it.



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Of course, someone already makes a tire well fuel cell...