gas tank replacement or modification

[les]

we all know that our stock gas tanks leave something to be desired. long and narrow with the pumps mounted in the middle so they starve for fuel under hard acceleration with less than half a tank. does anyone know of a company that makes a better designed gas tank that will fit in a sy stock tank location and take the same in tank fuel pumps, but does not force us into using 12 gallons plus of gas when running hard. I don't want to bed mount a cell and would prefer to be able to use the same pumps since I am running two intanks to keep up with almost 800 horses and they are big pumps that are practically new and worth quite a bit of money.

I was wondering about having a stock tank modified by cutting it shorter on both ends? does anyone know of a modification that works on a stock tank? It gets expensive to run 116 octane and have to put 14 gallons in it, and I never quite get it all out when I syphon it with the fuel pumps and the schrader valve. it probably leaves at least a gallon still in. Then when I turn the boost down and run 94 on the street. it is always diluting my mix and is hard on my nerves wondering what the octane really is . I like the idea of a little extra 116 in the tank with 94, but definitely don't like the idea of 94 in my 116 mix. another thought I had is syphoning through the gas filler with an external pump and a hose that might sit in the bottom of the tank tbetter o get more out, but I thought that someone once told me you can screw the pumps up that way by sticking hoses down the filler

Thanks to anyone with any experience or advice

 

[ed hess]

i just got a cell and 2 externals that came with my bottom end. I would think having to siphon the tank would be a pia! besides with the cost of the higher octane i figure the labor to put this in will be worth in the fuel cost savings as using $5/gallon on thestreet.... its like like 25 entry fee, then 50 bucks in gas. Spend about the same for a nite out at a decent restaurant.

I would get a cell ..... my 2 cents.

ed

 

[TURBO TY]

what you could do is take the stock tank out. dump out all of the gas and have it cleaned out. order a fuel sump from jegs. made by jegs, part # 550-40757 $49.99. take it to a local welding shop and have them cut out a portion of your fuel tank and weld the sump in. the sump has 2 3/8" npt outlets. then run an external electric fuel pump with braided lines. that way there is no cutting of the bed and you could keep your oe fuel filler. yeah fuel cells look bad ass but are just as much of a pain in the ass. having to un do the taunea cover everytime to fill up gets pretty old pretty quick. just an idea. let me know what route you are gonna go. :evil:

 

[ed hess]

undo the tonneau... hmm my tonneau is electric, soall i do is press a button on the dash or remote. dont think anyone will ever see it in my case.

ed

 

[TURBO TY]

whats the weight of the electric cover?

 

[ed hess]

35 to40 lbs but im a small guy so lets say its probaly a tenth in the 1/4.... but i got tired of customers leaving the tonneau unsnapped after looking at the rhino lining in the bed. so i went with the electric/remote which i sell.

Gotta be able to eat, besides go fast.

ed

 

[Daron]

The Topic is about gas tank options...

http://www.ioportracing.com/fuelsa.htm

Give them a call. They custum make cells, could make one up to retain the in tank pump..

 

[rockvillespeed]

holley has just released an intank baffle for efi conversions - could certainly be made to work for us.
i do NOT recommend using the above mentioned add on sump for an efi car - the car will die every time u hit the brakes.
plus, it takes a very very conpetent welder to properly and safely install one.
if u wanna do it cheap, just weld in some baffles round the pickup.

 

[FLSY2730]

Re: gas tank replacement or modification

we all know that our stock gas tanks leave something to be desired. long and narrow with the pumps mounted in the middle so they starve for fuel under hard acceleration with less than half a tank. does anyone know of a company that makes a better designed gas tank that will fit in a sy stock tank location and take the same in tank fuel pumps, but does not force us into using 12 gallons plus of gas when running hard. I don't want to bed mount a cell and would prefer to be able to use the same pumps since I am running two intanks to keep up with almost 800 horses and they are big pumps that are practically new and worth quite a bit of money.

I was wondering about having a stock tank modified by cutting it shorter on both ends? does anyone know of a modification that works on a stock tank? It gets expensive to run 116 octane and have to put 14 gallons in it, and I never quite get it all out when I syphon it with the fuel pumps and the schrader valve. it probably leaves at least a gallon still in. Then when I turn the boost down and run 94 on the street. it is always diluting my mix and is hard on my nerves wondering what the octane really is . I like the idea of a little extra 116 in the tank with 94, but definitely don't like the idea of 94 in my 116 mix. another thought I had is syphoning through the gas filler with an external pump and a hose that might sit in the bottom of the tank tbetter o get more out, but I thought that someone once told me you can screw the pumps up that way by sticking hoses down the filler

Thanks to anyone with any experience or advice

How are you running 2 in tank pumps? Did you modify the tank? I would just do the fuel cell in the bed.

 

[Sy#26]

holley has just released an intank baffle for efi conversions - could certainly be made to work for us.
i do NOT recommend using the above mentioned add on sump for an efi car - the car will die every time u hit the brakes.
plus, it takes a very very conpetent welder to properly and safely install one.
if u wanna do it cheap, just weld in some baffles round the pickup.


Added a rear sump & external pump on my Sy, and the above does not reflect my experience at all. Made the sump, of about 2 qts capacity out of 1/16" steel, welded into a box. Drilled a few holes @ rear of tank to connect to it, brazed it on - no biggie. 3/8" NPT hole, external filter & pump. If you can weld & braze decently at all, this is not tough. Starvation? Nope, not in my experience; when you're on the brakes, generally you're in Decel Enlean or DFCO - practically no fuel is flowing - two quarts in the sump even under *hard* braking will carry the engine. Also possible to shim the tank lower in the rear w/ a 3/4" strip of plywood above the rear mounting strap - tank then sits low in the rear @ all times. BTW, how you gonna weld baffles inside the tank w/o cutting a *large* section of it out for access? Working thru the 3" FP access hole is a bit tough. Gots to then remove existing polyethylene baffles & add your own - stock baffles are pretty clever, how you going to improve things there?

My 2¢ worth, YMMV, etc.

 

[ghettosled]

he's probably running the ATR double pumper. From what I hear, they are no longer available. not sure why they stopped making them as it was one of the better products the sold. Basically had (2) 255 lt/hr pumps, a new hot wire feed from back of alt, and a pressure switch to activate the second pump. Works pretty well IMHO, and it is not loud.

 

[ed hess]

fwiw
the fuel cell i have has some sort of red plastic mesh material that looks like plastic scrunge pad. Comes almost to the top of it. I think this acts like one big baffle so that nothing sloshes around but doesnt restrict flow.
Now if i could figure out what it is you could buy a lot of it and stuff your tank with it. Only problem would be that the gauge float wouldnt be able to move. So you use your odometer instead of fuel gauge for knowing what you got left.

ed

 

[Sy769]

You can buy fuel tank foam many places. That was the route I was going but I didn't want to possibly make the float inop. I was thinking of building something to keep the foam away from the float. It was Nat's time however and the truck had to be put together ASAP. Maybe next time.

 

[Sy#26]

If you're gonna stuff foam in the tank, might want to consider replacing the swinging stock sender w/ an aftermarket one. They're a float contained in a tube, connect to the standard 90 ohm GM gauge. Got one in my water/methanol tank.

 

[TurboTony]

I had my stock tank sumped as well. It worked out great. Allowed me to run a monster fuel system, retain the stock filler and sender. I like the stealthy look of it too.

I've never had my truck stall due to fuel slosh forward when on the brakes. Even when I run the tank very low, under 3 gallons and stand on the brakes its never been an issue. The fuel pressure does drop for a second under those conditions, but thats about it.


Tony

 

[FLSY2730]

Man, what is that a 12an fitting coming out of the sump? Looks huge!!!

 

[TurboTony]

Yeah,

It's a 12 AN from the tank through the prefilter to the pump. Here's a better pic.

We kinda went overboard on the fuel system, but at least I will never have to upgrade it in the future :wink:


Tony

 

[the Sandman]

Same size as we just installed on my Syclone. It only looks huge at first, after a while you get used to it and it starts to look normal.

BTW does everyone know how the "dash" sizes work? Each dash is 1/16 inch so the -12 (dash 12) is 12/16 or 3/4 inches.

If you think the -12 fittings look big you should see the Aeromotive Pro-series regulator Dennis hooked up - recommended for use with the Aeromotive "Eliminator" external fuel pump I'm running. Immense.

 

[les]

thanks for the pix tony. with your sump in how many gallons do you think it's safe to run in your tank under full boost and acceleration. do you still run at least a half tank or is this system good for just a few gallons?

Les

 

[les]

only problem is that this system is running an external pump, which is great, except that my truck has the double in tank pumps that Stokes put in mine when he built my syclone and I hate to scrap them since they are so new. damn, why did GM put the pumps in the middle of the tank. didn't they realize that some of us would want a few hundred more HP!!

I like your setup better

Les