Chris MacKenzie stopped by with his 99 Jetta for a few hours, and we ran his lines from the engine compartment to the trunk. Pretty slick. His car was a collisions "rebuild" so, it doesn't have the airbag trigger along the inside rocker.
Anyway, I finally started on the Benz. Pulled the carpet & diesel tank cover in the trunk, and started mocking up my tank. I want to maximize height to save on depth, because it's already a bit cramped back there. Also had to work around the spare tire. According to my calculations (caution: palmer used a calculator again), this tank will be good for ~115liters.
I still have a couple tweaks to make. It fits in place well, but I had an awful time wiggling it in. It won't be any easier once it's made of steel. I need to shave an inch here & there to make it slide in a little easier. Once the design is finalized, I'll buy a sheet of steel and start cutting. Should be fun.
You'll note that Chance was my special assistant on this task. He's got a sore back and is very cranky. Takes after me.
In other news, people kept calling to wish me a happy birthday. Apparently they forgot that I moved it to July 19th.
Update: Jan 20: I've had a couple questions about what material I'll be using for the tank. Many suggest using aluminum or stainless steel, because vegetable oil will react with mild steel over time. Here's the thing about mild steel for the tank... many people are using the stock tanks in their conversions, and that's mild steel. The difference (I think) is that the tank is coated.
In my Jetta, I had a mild steel tank that was bare on the inside. After a couple years, it did get a pretty gross coating inside... but even then it wasn't plugging filters. Still, I cleaned it and just used Armor Coat to paint it inside. 2 years later, I had the tank out again and there was no film on the inside of the tank, and the paint had held up fine.
For this car, I'll either bring it to a gas tank repair place to have it coated, or I'll use one of the Wurth or POR15 products.
In my Jetta, I had a mild steel tank that was bare on the inside. After a couple years, it did get a pretty gross coating inside... but even then it wasn't plugging filters. Still, I cleaned it and just used Armor Coat to paint it inside. 2 years later, I had the tank out again and there was no film on the inside of the tank, and the paint had held up fine.
For this car, I'll either bring it to a gas tank repair place to have it coated, or I'll use one of the Wurth or POR15 products.
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