BUGA Community
Technical => Driveline => Topic started by: Bedfordcrazy on August 12, 2010, 02:29:45 PM
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Hi all, I have a Q. Does anyone know what the fuel tank size is for a swb van. I am putting duel tanks into my van, mainly as a saftey thing. I am wondering can we cut the tank [qualified tank guy] and make it larger to carry more fuel ? Any advice appreciated.
george.
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if you want to cut or weld a petrol tank you MUST fill it with water otherwise it'll go bang.
I haven't filled my tank up for a while, but i think it's about 50L
Your easiest option would be to make up a custom tank, it'll look nicer than a butchered tank. Then you can pick where you want your fuel gauge, whether you want to use a boating grade gauge, or a gauge from the wreckers etc....
Just need to figure out your dimensions and then weld up some sheeting into a box
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Seeing as you are in Brisbane I am screwing myself over by telling you this. F100 rear fuel tanks fit nicely under Bedfords and they are about 75L.
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VN commodore tanks fit well too, they come in 60 and 80 L (I have 60 under my standard van)
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I didn't know that. Thanks
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Busy, do you have a picture of the VN tank? Does the VN tank have an internal pump?
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Will the VN tank fit where the original beddie tank is or do you put them op the back
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The F100 fits where the original is. If that helps
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Yes thanks Shane my tank had rust holes in the bottom & I soldered them up but I'm not happy with that they will probably come through again at the worst possable time I'd rather replace it now So now to find a f100 tank Thanks again Cheers Reid
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Anyone come up with any good ideas for the rubber breather that joins the filler to the tank? the one that splits and fills the van with fumes....
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Dano, silicon?
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the VN tank fits well, has internal fuel pump as well as extra return needed for fuel injection systems.
I did modify the tank, blanked off original filler and moved it to rear like bedford tanks, used commodore straps with bedford hooks on the body side.
I'll get some photos, of tank in place
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Awesome, thanks guys, shane why are you screwing yourself, lol I have 2 beddy tanks, but i will be getting the experts to modify my tanks, i'm not that game. lol What model F100 tank ? or are they all the same. Would a VP tank fit in the van in the same place as the beddy. The advice i got from a mate who does custom tanks, will be to fit 2 external fuel pumps, and not go internal. What is the capacity of the VN and VP tanks.
george.
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Hey Matte thats not a nice thing to call Danno he's not a silli-con ;D ;D ;)
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Hey all, i have just stumbled onto a possible problem. I have put my V6 from the Vp, now they are talking about scrapping unleaded fuel, now i am using ULP 95 fuel in the cruiser, are we going to be able to use these fuels in the v6 ? or do we have to modify to use. Something i forgot to think about b4 picking a new motor.
george.
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Merlin, my mistake - he's a silli-EXcon....
George, what I understand of the effects of Ethenol based fuel is that you need rubber hoses that're resistant to the corrosive properties of ethanol.
That being said we were running race fuels containing ethanol a couple of seasons ago, and it caused absolutely no problems with out rubber hose(although we only have a short section of rubber) Best thing about ethanol for us is that it burns clean
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So is that a yes on the Q. of, can we run the v6s on these new fuels, being that they run hotter do we need to upgrade the seals to a different seal, or can we even, because we will be pulling my engine back out soon to rebuild it b4 it goes in permantly, but i dont want to have to pull it out again in a year or 2 to replace the seals, i might as well do the upgrade properly now and be done with it, if thats what is required. So far i can't get a straight answer from anyone as to where i stand. Worse case i have to go to a later model of engine, something i hope i dont have to do in years to come, but would rather do it now then to start all over again down the track.
george.
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I suggest you rock on over to www.justcommodores.com.au (http://www.justcommodores.com.au) and have a search there. I have a nosey fairly regularly and haven't seen that question come up but if there's nothing there you could always ask. There are quite a few friendly and knowledgeable people there.
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Apparently you can run E10 without needing to change anything, its only if you go up to anything higher that will require being reengineered. I'd do a search thru the ethanol sites and try to find a workshop that deals with the conversions specifically - better to hear first hand what is required
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the pictures aren't the best but hopefully give you an idea
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photo 1 is from left rear
photo 2 is more to the middle showing the mounting strap
photo 3 shows the space and filler pipe to the leaf spring mount
photo 5 is meant to show the the space from the front step area, sadly you can't see it very well
last photo is up the side of the tank, the inner sill mounting, which is the bedford hook (hook to outside of van) on the commodore strap.
the pic below is the coby exhaust i am using on the VN conversion, can't remember what thread is was on
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Thanks for the photos Busy They are good enough to see how it's done Did you solder the new filler tube in or weld it Cheers Reid
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Thanks muchly for the pics, very handy.
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i had a radiator place do the mods on the gas tank, they just soldered in the new pipe
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Guys,
no photos as yet but I am gettin a local fabrication shop to manufacture my new tank for the camper (LWB Cab/Chassis type) to replace the rusted out one. It will be made out of thick alluminium plate with baffles inside etc and fit in the original place for a Cab/Chassis fuel tank (behind the RH side of the cab). I have been able to get it made longer for more capacity but not wider due to the overhanging body and chassis rail on the inside. When i get it made i will post some photos.
In relation to the fuel hose question, i decided to go to 2" silicon hose to join the filler to the tank. These hoses are used on turbo applications and are OK with ethanol and fairly cheap to buy from eBay. Original was rubber and it had gone as hard as the proverbial. A recipe for fumes and leaks IMHO.
Cheers
Neil
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Hey neil what are they charging for a new tank to be made ?
george.
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$550 Aus mate. I was going to do the whole "flush it" "wet it" and "Kream it" to stop the leaks and subsequent internal rust from filling full of water but it all got too big with bits of "stuff" falling off everywhere inside the tank" Rust and old Kream treatment do not go well together >:( In short, the old tank was RS and i decided to go down the whole new tank route. Went to all teh wreckers around and could not find anything that fitted neatly. I could have got a rough old steel one that i would have still have had to modify the mounts and pipes etc for $150 and then deal with whatever was floating around inside it too. It's a lot of money but it won't rust or fill up with rubbish and it is one less thing to worry about when i am in the middle of Australia someday.
Neil
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I reckon thats a good price Neil... ;)
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I had a tank made for my custom van, it sits at the back and if lower could be called a drop tank but I hate them so is just a gas tank :) cost $400 nz and a VDO sender unit was $70
Tank is just grey steel
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Neil, $550 is a damm fantastic price!! Is that including engineering? Usually I pay about $1200 for alloy baffled tanks including the engineering cert.
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Hey Neil, what size tank did you get made ?
george.
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Hey Neil, what size tank did you get made ?
george.
Umm, about that wide by this square... Sorry, don't know the exact details. It is about 900ml long, 350 high and 650 wide. I had a space that needed filling so i filled it. ;)
The old tank was a manufactured tank too and this one is the same dimensions but about another 200ml longer because i took the black water holding tank out and had more space (Couldn't see the point in carrying all that around with me all the time ;D)
Hadn't though about engineering the tank before. The old one was as weak as ... and this one is much stronger. Ah well, probably have to jump that one when i get it registered. I was expecting that I would need to get the whole camper engineered before rego even though it is a factory job. They tend to get a bit nervous these days
Neil