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Fuel tank, fuel filler pipe and fuel cap - talk to me please
Sorry for the lack of specific photo's but I am not very mobile at the moment so I am using ones I have taken previously.
I have a fuel tank with the filler tube protruding.
With the body on the filler tube stops about an inch and a half short of touching the body where the filler cap will need to be mounted. (There is a bit of cardboard around the filler tube to stop stuff falling in)
I want to fit a fuel cap something like this
Am I best connecting the cap and the tank filler neck with a short length of rubber hose and two fuel clips? I assume I can get the appropriate hose in the appropriate size.
Lots of the sites I have looked at talk about welding the filler neck but I don't think this is practical on the G46.
With our Sammio Spyder I went to the local motor factor for a piece of connecting hose and they couldn't help at all since modern cars don't use them. They sent me off to a commercial hose company called 'Hyphose Ltd' in Farlington, Portsmouth. They deal with all sorts of hydraulic hose stuff for lorries & diggers, anyway they fixed me up with a section of marine engine exhaust hose of the correct size. It was reinforced with a steel band between the inner and outer layer of rubber material to prevent collapse, and it is virtually impervious to fuel and heat.
For an official 6" length (actually nearer a foot!) and two zinc plated 'jubilee' clips they charged me the bargain price of £6.54 inc. vat.
I am sure there are plenty of other similar companies out there, but if you wish to contact them the Portsmouth branch number is 02392 324644.
I would also add that the exhaust hose was a stop-gap for them since it was all they had available in that size on the shelf, and I didn't want to wait a couple of days to get the proper hose in from another site.
We went for modestly priced filler from Demon Tweeks. No locking filler cap option, but it does have a proper internal seal. Good value at £46.32 delivered inc. vat I thought compared to some, and it includes a good solid neck for the hose to fix on to.
Thanks for the pointer, there is a hose specialist just down the road from me here in Southampton who sorted me out for the radiator hoses. I had forgotten about them.
Now I just need to find an Aston or Monza style fuel cap for less that £100.
Loads for Minis that appear just to cover the existing fuel filler which in no use to me.
It also needs to be about 2.5" - 3" to be the right size for the G46, the 2" ones look too small.
I joined my tank/filler in the same manner as you are describing, so seeing as you're not going anywhere atm, have a look on these two site as both sell fuel filler hose and all manner of filler caps!:
Or if you want a more period filler then trawl fleabay, as the aged Spitfire filler i ended up with fits the look of my car nicely and was only about a tenner
Just thought I would add a few pictures of the budget Demon Tweeks cap and fuel hose.
Everybody likes pictures!
I appreciate what you are saying about the size WCA, I think we can get away with it on the Spyder - it looks o.k. in the flesh. Maybe a tad small for the G46 ? Difficult to know without actually trying one out.
and on a related note, something i spotted from this is pic is:
* which way around are people fitting their fillers?
And
* does it really matter?
I only ask as mine opens the other way to Pauls, i.e. the hinge is facing forwards, as i've got an older Spitfire filler and i thought it could do with all the help it could get to keep shut
I wondered that. I would have the hinge flip forward towards the cabin. I think the one in the pictures does too. It is the clasp, not the hinge that you can see below where the word Gas is engraved.
Andrew hush suggest to me that the petrol tank be relocated.
The standard scimitar tank is huge 17 gallons ( 80 litres or over £100)
At 25mpg on a long run thats over 400 miles!
Better to put a smaller one in all that empty space between the driver and rear axle and have a decent size boot with the free space released by removing the existing tank, rather than the exiisting G46 letter box.
Also not the best place for a petrol tank with no bumper, if you happen to have a rear ended colision when the driver behind get too close trying to figure out what you are driving.
Relocatingthe petrol tank also gives you more room to fit a flush flip lid filler into somewhere on the rear wing.
The standard scimitar hose is 2" or 51mm diameter
HM
Andrew hush suggest to me that the petrol tank be relocated.
The standard scimitar tank is huge 17 gallons ( 80 litres or over £100)
At 25mpg on a long run thats over 400 miles!
Better to put a smaller one in all that empty space between the driver and rear axle and have a decent size boot with the free space released by removing the existing tank, rather than the exiisting G46 letter box.
Also not the best place for a petrol tank with no bumper, if you happen to have a rear ended colision when the driver behind get too close trying to figure out what you are driving.
Relocatingthe petrol tank also gives you more room to fit a flush flip lid filler into somewhere on the rear wing.
The standard scimitar hose is 2" or 51mm diameter
HM
What an excellent idea AH, we do not have a petrol tank (rusted out) anyway and have been fretting with the boot aperture for the insertion of a spare wheel, which is impossible for our 5.5J x 15's plus tyres.
New rectangular tank at rear bulkhead, inherent safety for the old rear ender nice fuel filler detail on upper body and position spare wheel under the car in the old fuel tank location, sure that would all work, now where did I leave that tape measure.
Could also leave a small boot for the storage of a jack, cover, cloves and other bits and boibs
I've got paranoid about fuel compatibility these days.
I submerge a sample of hose in fuel (ideally in both unleaded and super-unleaded) for several days to see if it reacts. Some samples swell up within hours or even minutes!
Some hose is only fuel resistant on the inside. The problem there is that you only need a slight leak and the outside swells and the leak gets worse causing more swelling and so on.
I've got paranoid about fuel compatibility these days.
I submerge a sample of hose in fuel (ideally in both unleaded and super-unleaded) for several days to see if it reacts. Some samples swell up within hours or even minutes!
Some hose is only fuel resistant on the inside. The problem there is that you only need a slight leak and the outside swells and the leak gets worse causing more swelling and so on.
I built a Cobra 289 and it always had a fuel smell around the rear end but I never found a leak, I checked everything on numerous occasions, like you became paranoid about it, but resign myself to it being fuel vapour getting through the hose connecting the tank to the Aston filler and it was always swollen. Will not make the same mistake again.
I've got paranoid about fuel compatibility these days.
Understandably so. The increased amounts of ethanol in modern fuel (and set to increase in 2013) is causing problems, particularly on older cars. Don't just use any old hose. And, certainly don't use old hose.
I built a Cobra 289 and it always had a fuel smell around the rear end but I never found a leak, I checked everything on numerous occasions, like you became paranoid about it, but resign myself to it being fuel vapour getting through the hose connecting the tank to the Aston filler and it was always swollen. Will not make the same mistake again.
I too have experienced' the fuel smell around the rear end' but I put it down to curry and real ale!!
Great, now I am paranoid about fuel pipe. Is there a grade of pipe I should look for our do I have to buy a selection and try them all
In terms of fuel delivery hose, buying something from a main dealer is usually a safe bet and may be far cheaper than expected. My Morinis use 8mm pipe stubs and the correct hose size for this is 7mm. I bought a complete 10m reel from a VW dealer for about £15.
If you buy hose and it reacts, take or send it back and demand a refund. Report it to trading standards too. That's not to try and punish the supplier, many people never complain and the supplier simply doesn't know! They may have been selling it without problems and have just received a bad batch.
Filler hose is more of a problem. My preference is for as much distance as possible to consist of metal tubing with any flexible joints to be short 'cuffs'. If you can find such a cuff from a recent production vehicle, then it will most likely be compatible.
