| 06-03-2012 |
**I cannot figure out why this website is turning my pictures back to the original orientation they were shot. I have edited them in my photo uploader website one by one and it still reverts them back to sideways**
I began the dreaded task of installing the gas tank. I knew getting the tank to sit just right without rubbing would mean making custom upper tank supports that would have to be shaped and bent to exactly the right shape and as I expected, it wasn't easy. It took the better part of an entire day to make these two straps. I started out with some angle iron I picked up from the trusty scrapyard.
After some cutting, grinding, rinse, and repeat I started forming the passenger side strap.
I eventually had to use some creative bending techniques to get what I needed from the bending tools I had available.
As simple as this piece looks, it took me half to day to get it made and bent.
Then on to the next one, which happened to have a big fuel pump in the way.
And I began bending it to match the first one I made.
Then on to some cutting and welding to make the strap work around the pump.
It will be hidden, so it doesn't have to be pretty, but I did end up grinding the edges down to make the corners smooth. I just couldn't live with it knowing those nasty jagged edges were hiding up there.
Here it is with the universal lower tank straps installed. I'll have to trim off the excess when it's time to finish it off for good.
It's a pretty tight fit, but it doesn't rub anywhere, which is exactly how I had it cut out with the cardboard. The guys did an amazing job making this tank. And hopefully there'll be plenty of room for the sway bar to move all it needs to.
I went to 3 parts houses, one "speed performance shop" in a nearby town and a Fastenal and none of them could tell me exactly what type of threads this fuel rail has. I spent most of that day just driving around trying to find these thread sizes, which in a way worked out because I ended up having an infection due to allergies so I had to take it easy for a couple of days anyhow. Hopefully the internet has given me the answer, but I'll only know for sure once the ones I've ordered get here and I try them.
As I started working with the final mounting of the parking brake I realized this old bracket was going to have to come off. I was very pleased to find out that these smaller rivets were actually pleasant to work with compared to the previous rivets I've had to deal with on this frame.
Also, this battery tray had to come off because the crossmembers and transmission interfere. I'll have to come up with somewhere to mount the new battery.
Here's the new Corvette regulator/filter all-in-one assembly. This piece is surprisingly cheap and only requires the return line to go straight from the regulator back to the tank, leaving only one fuel line to run the rest of the way up to the fuel rails, which I will split with a Y-piece and go in to the back of each fuel rail and have a plug in the front of each fuel rail. This will give me a much cleaner look and save on having to run as much fuel line.
Here's the fuel pump fittings:
Here's April helping me straighten some fuel line. A tip from Bill, the man who cut and bent my gas tank, was that rolled fuel line is cheaper than straight fuel line and rather than buying the expensive tool to straighten fuel line you can just cut a hole in a piece of wood and feed it through.
My mother and father stopped by so dad helped April and I get the appropriate bends in the fuel line. Fortunately there were 3 of us or I think we might have run short on brain power.
