74 TR6 upgrade

[Phil Crawford]

Thanks Ken it's been fun.
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

I decided to make my tank out of steel because it was something I could do and cost about $50.00. It was made out of 16 gauge, I wanted 18 gauge but would have to order it so I used the 16 gauge instead. The 18 gauge is about two pounds/sq ft and the 16 gauge is about 2.5 lbs/sq ft.  The tank weighs about 40 lbs, heavier than aluminum but about $350.00 cheaper.  I welded the tank up with a small acetylene torch with a very fine flame that I borrowed from a friend. It is made to weld sheet metal on car bodies.
The tank sits in the tire well. I made the top of the tank level with the ground so there would not have to be a vent in the rear of the tank that wants to spit gas when you really hammer it.  There is a baffle front to back with a small basin for the pick up to rest in.



The pickup is 3/8" steel brake line.  The fittings are brake line couplings silver soldered in to the tank. The other one is the return line from the filter regulator. If the line should ever be a problem I could unsolder the coupling and do the repair although it would be a royal pain in the but.


If you look closely you can see the 45 deg cut on the end of the pick up tube. A flat cut would not be the thing to do here and would surely plug itself. I took some close measurements and drilled holes in the top of the tank over the baffle to be welded up later so the baffle would be attached to the top of the tank.


There is some warpage but not enough to be bothersome.  The fill neck is made out of 2" exhaust pipe.  The vent is up high on the fill neck I don't if you can see it or not. It's a 3/8" barb fitting silver soldered in place.  You can also see the fuel gauge sending unit mounting hole and the suction and return lines.  I pressure tested the tank and checked for leaks with soapy water. I had one leak just below the suction line ended up silver soldering the leak because the solder had covered the weld and could no longer weld in the area of the solder.

I put the tank in place and tacked the mounting tabs in place then took the tank out welded the tabs up and painted with oil base primer and put the tank back in place. I am pleased with the out come except for the weight.  If I had a tig machine I would have used aluminum. Next time maybe..

[Phil Crawford]

Made a bracket for the over flow tank and painted the tank. It is getting tight under the hood.

Went grazing around the radiator hose rack at napa and found both of the hoses I needed even though I had to cut both of them to work they are a standard hose I can get anywhere.

This is the bottom hose.

It seems the only space left under the hood is in front of the radiator so this is the home of the washer tank.

[88v8]

Fantastic work, again.
Regarding the tank, are you not concerned about ethanol corrosion?

Ivor

[Phil Crawford]

Ivor
Never gave corrosion from ethanol on a steel tank a second thought.  Should I have?
Phil

[tbo]

I've been running regular high test gas for years in my steel gas tank in my TR with no problem. Sounds like a question for a chemist or Fred.

[Phil Crawford]

Tim
I have never had a problem either and with the tank already in the car it is not likely to get much thought.
TKS
Phil

[jdevries]

Most factory OEM fuel tanks are galvanized inside and out. You could always use some kind of gas tank sealer like the motorcylce guys do. Just a thought but you know how water gets into gasoline storage tanks and condensation always rears its ugly head and causes rust to form. Not a pretty thought. Ounce of prevention.

[Phil Crawford]

John
Thanks for the info. I will consider the info.
Phil

[BWA]

Phil here is a possible solution to prevent corrosion in your gas tank. Check out the following link for a POR-15 product speciffically designed for gas tanks:  http://www.por15.com/US-STANDARD-TANK-SEALER/productinfo/TSG/
You could buy some of this and pour it in your tank and slosh it around and then let the excess drain out.  You probably would have to leave the tank in a drain position to prevent the POR_15 from accumalating and plugging your pick up line.

Cheers
Byron

[DiDueColpi]

Hi Phil,
the problem isn't with the Ethanol corroding the fuel tank.
The issue is that Ethanol is hygroscopic. It draws moisture out of the air.
So when the moisture in the Ethanol contacts the raw steel tank, or fuel lines or aluminum parts for that matter, it corrodes (rusts) them.
The best fix is to get the tank and lines etc. plated or galvanized.
The second as mentioned is a coating. But make sure that the coating is compatible with your fuel. Some aren't.
The simplest and easiest is to just keep the tank full when the car is parked. No air space means no moisture.
Cheers
Fred

By the way nice work on the car Phil!

[Phil Crawford]

Fred
Thanks for the info. Most of the time I will be using non ethanol gas so it shouldn't be a problem. But a full tank is a sure bet.
Thanks again
By the way the wild hogs around here could give a race horse a good run for it's money. One tore up my yard last night. Have to bait the cage.

[74ls1tr6]

Philip,

Did you figure out your steering tolerances?

[Phil Crawford]

Calvin,

Haven't had time to think about just got some miata seats and got side tracked. I might take the ball out of the hiem joint and drill it out and insert a 5/8" bronze bushing. This should tighten it up some what.
Thanks
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

No new photos but have been working steadily.  Had some start up problems with the motor.  When i started it up it ran really fast all the time with no control from the throttle pedal. After chasing rainbows for 2 days I found the throttle body was being held open by a piece of plastic in the servo body. This throttle was slightly damaged when the tree fell on the truck and a piece of the broken plastic got up in the gears. It ran great after that. When you chase wires for a while you get real well aquainted with the wiring.
I took the car down the road yesterday for short ride on a back road and it ran well. It will definitely  tack out quickly.
Did a little paint repair and it turned into bear. If I had used a dark primer it would have saved a lot of time in the repair.  Should have some more photos soon.
Phil

[74ls1tr6]

Hi Phil,

Congrats on the first drive out on the back roads!! Must have been fun. I remember mine with no seats installed around the block.

[Phil Crawford]

Hey Calvin
Good to here from you.  It was fun.. I had seats but not bolted down and no hood. I am sure it didn't take long for you realize these cars are fasts with these big engines.  But not too fast.. I believe the bugs I have left will be taken care with some computer work when I get it dino tuned. How is your car running? I saw your autocross it looked like fun.  Never done that. Are you going to make any changes in the car in the future?There is always something you can do to improve the car. Do you have a in tank fuel pump? Mine is not and it is really noisy.  Will try a little sound proofing to see if that helps. One day I may have to put it into the tank if I can't quite it down.
See you later
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

This is the fuel pump, filter regulator and the suction filter(this is a marine filter and water trap easy to change and inexpensive).


Vitaloni baby turbo mirrors. Got them from a moped dealer on ebay at 1/4 the cost new and they are new.

When I started to install the front bumper this hole appeared and the one that was supposed to be there was not. This is not an original fender and I guess it is for a late 74 instead of an early one. So I got the grinder out and cut down to the metal and welded the hole up and reprimmed, painted, cleared, color sanded and buffed. What a hassel.

The almost finished product.





You can tell I live on a gravel road.

The only thing left is the interior.  Been driving it around and it has been fun to finally drive it after almost 3 years.

[tbo]

Hi Phil. She's a real beauty.Looks Great.Do you think that fuel pump is noisy because its so small and has to work hard all the time, I mean they pump a lot of gallons per minute for a small pump.I'm putting one on my TR3 and I'm wondering about the noise too.

[Phil Crawford]

Tim
I believe the right way to do it is put it in the tank which solves a lot of problems.  They are always pumping a lot more than you need with the recirculation and this is what keeps them cool with the fuel going around the motor.  I already had the pump when I decided to build my tank so I went with it. If it is still noisy after the back is closed up I may pull the tank and install the pump in the tank.  I hope not.....Thanks for the compliment I too like the way it looks.
Thanks
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Had a bit of a set back picked up a whining noise in the diff and had to pull the chunk.  When I replaced the pinion bearings and crush sleeve I didn't torque the bearings correctly and ruined them in about 50 miles. Replaced the bearings and crush sleeve today and torqued to 25 inch pounds. Should finish the alighnment tomorrow. It took me 7 hours to pull the third member and had to cut a crossmember in front of the diff. Will replace with a bolt in unit in case I have to do this job again.  I had never set up a diff. before and I was always uneasy so I guess I was not totally supprised when I heard the noise. The life of a hot rodder.
Wish me luck.
Phil

[88v8]

Setting up a diff is one job I would never do. Needs special tools and gauges, a lot of hassle.

The fuel pump setup looks like the one in my injection car. Yes, one hears it whining away, but it's just part of the car's soundtrack. Would never put it in the tank, more hassle when it goes wrong.

Having to cut the x-member illustrates a problem of one-off builds - maintenace access. Car makers have whole teams of people working on that sort of thing, you just have you.

Must say it's an amazing acheivement to fit all that modification into the car and have it still look externally standard.
Are you going to put a soft-top on it? That's another lot of fun, getting the screen, soft-top and windows to line up.

Ivor

[BlownMGB-V8]

Differentials are not so bad, if you don't mind tedious. Worst part is doing the same thing over and over and over and over and...................
Don't much care for crush sleeves though, I'd much rather use a solid spacer and shims on the pinion.

Jim

[Phil Crawford]

Ivor
Thanks for the support and looking at my project.  Had to replace the pinion bearings and crush sleeve because they were too loose.  Just didn't do them right the first time. I believe I have it correct this time and hope fully never have to do this job again. Ken the (poolman) came by and helped me put that heavy ^%$#%&&%## in the hole.  Thanks Ken!!!!  Should finish it up tomorrow and be back on the road this week. I do have a soft top and put a new top on before I started the project.  I don't think it is perfect but it is OK and it was a bear to do.
Jim
I have never done a diff with shims but I can see where it could be better. You need to be a young man to crush that sleeve. I used a 4' cheater to turn that bad boy. You set the pinion to 25 inches Lbs of rotational torque with new bearings.  I used a 1 lbs. bag of red beans on the end of a 25" stick.. Worked great and you could move the beans the weight along the stick until you got to the 25".
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Installed the diff. a couple days ago and had to get Ken (poolman) to help me push it into the hole. Just wasn't enough push in this old body.  Everything is back in place and hopefully correct this time.  I had mentioned my concern about the slack in the oversize heim joints.  I replace them with 3/4" heim joints and reinforced the mounting bracket (someone suggested this but I don't remember who.Thanks) and this made a lot of difference. The slack is barely noticeable now.  Also replaced the steering column bushings while I had everything out.
Before I pulled the diff. I had a chance to try out the cruise control and it worked beautifully just like a gm car.
Phil