Technical Where to place the gas tank in my A

LOL My attempt at sunday night humor. Now back to regular scheduled programming.....

 

I am building a '30 A coupe and pondered this problem for a while. The original location is feared by many because they are afraid of gas ending up in their lap in a collision. Ford put the tank in the rear to solve this but that is the most likely place to be hit in a collision. If you place the tank underneath the car it will be separated from the cabin space in case of collision but there just isn't enough room in a Model A. I decided that the tank in the trunk placed forward behind the seat is the safest place in a collision. It is in the middle of the car in a place least likely to be crushed. Still, it is behind the seat like the old pickup trucks of the '60s and the manufacturers eventually decided that was unsafe. If you had a full fendered car you could use those tanks made for under the running board aprons but then you must consider a side impact. What to do? You decide but I am going with the tank behind the seat with a gas filler door in the body side.

 

1928 Chevy tank with the filler shortened and moved to the other side, placed behind the seat.

 

If the fuel line gets a leak all of the gas will dump out. At least that is the reason given to me. And yes I know that it will siphon out of a line connected to the top of the tank all too well.

Scroll down this page to "fuel withdrawel fittings. It pertains to tanks made after 1975.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=393.67

I'd have to think that ruling is what most guys go by when referring to the concept that gas tanks have to have the withdrawel fitting on the top with a tube running down into the tank to pick up the fuel.

 

Lots of good ideas and suggestions here, fellahs. I'm still chewing on it. However, the original cowl tank isn't an option, as I've cut it out to house my cowl steering and battery/electrical. Also, I'm running a mechanical fuel pump. Someone "hopped up" (if you can use that term on a 305) with an Edelbrock kit...performer intake, carb, cam, etc....so I went that route as opposed to the pump in the tank option. I'll likely swap out the tank for a bigger one later on, but I'm trying to roll with what I've got and can afford atm.

 

It may not do you any good, but here is a photo of the tank from above in it's finished state. I know it is weird looking...it looks like a battleship. It is shaped that way to fill the available space in the X-member. The notch is for clearance for a suspension arm.

Tank holds 10.5 gallons


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That's pretty neat, do you have any pics of it mounted in the frame?

 

I don't think so. I'll be able to take some soon....currently painting all this stuff and will be assembling shortly.


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That's great !!
exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post.
You've got 10.5 gallons in a space that's normally waisted. A double dip in your favor , how can you beat that?

 

I have a similar tank in my 30' coupe which is still in progress. Two questions. 1, Do you have a barrier between the passenger area and the trunk, ie. steel plate. 2, If not, do you get fuel fume smell inside the passenger area?. I don't want to have to smell fuel all the time. I considered tubing it to an outside fuel cap, but if there is no problem with the fuel odor, I may just keep it inside the trunk. Thanks. Mike

 

Thanks, Vicky. And here's a shot of it in position .


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That's pretty neat, what are you doing for exaust?

 

If not doing an EFI setup I'm a big fan of where Henry originally had it.

 

Check out my '31 sport coupe build thread. I built a custom tank that is mostly under the seat with a small portion in the trunk. I have room to fit a 6.00x16" spare in the trunk and the battery, and still have room for a decent amount of luggage. Here's a link.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=647879&page=7

 

Not too many choices really. Trunk is probably better than the 16 gallon gasoline bomb I have hanging out the rear of my Deuce Hi-Boy chassis.

 

Yup, and never, ever use the car in a motion picture. We all know that even the slightest impact, even in the front causes the car to explode violently!

 

it does not smell like gas, i have the gas vent coming out of the tank, up to the highest point in the cab,("C" pillar) then down through a small hole in the subrail. i will be building a bulkhead behind the seat though as i do get exhaust fumes if i'm not moving. but i'll do all those smart things later, i'm to busy starting other projects that wil get 94 percent done so i can move on to others! that what i do. until someone "shames" me in to finishing things.

 

The exhaust is outside the frame, because the frame is pinched and between that,the starter,steering box,and oil filter on the Hemi I was all out of room.


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Put the tank where Ford did on the A! In the cowl where it was supposed to be

 

This has been posted before:





RCI tank on a sub frame between body frame rails. Valve on bulkhead is a fuel shut off. Boxes at each end of tank are twin battery boxes. Filler mounted in quarter panel.

To see more views follow the link to my blog.

Canuck

 

That reminds me of the tanks that my Mini Cooper has (1968 Cooper S)
You could do something similar,Fab a couple of 8 Gallon tanks and mount them on each quarter panel side?