Fuel Cell

[Scott Rodrigues]

I have a Series 4 and am considering putting a fuel cell in the car for safety. I'm not sure what the condition of my twin tanks are but they are old and I'm spotting rust on the tanks and figuring the cost of fixing them up vs the cost of a cell. Is this a good idea or am I just flat out crazy and should just restore my tanks?

On a related note, has anyone figured out a good way to lock out the gas cap? I've considered rerouting the gas filler to inside the trunk but idk how that would work or if I'm doing too much work, so... yeah. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[260Alpine]

It has been done. You can use a fitting and hose to the stock cap. I'm going to use a 65 Mustang 16 gallon tank like Joel (Procraft) has done.

 

[65beam]

Considering you're in California I would guess less than $200.00 to clean and coat. The last I had done here in Ohio was $70.00.

 

[Bill Blue]

I think your concerns are misplaced. Sure the tanks are old and getting rusty, the whole freakin car is old and getting rusty. Real issues are:
Trunk space, we do a lot of traveling in our Series 5 and would hate to give up any luggage room.
Capacity. The tanks hold 13 gallons. How big is the cell?
Gasoline odors. The twin tanks can be very difficult to make odor tight.
Safety. The twin tanks make Pintos look like a paragon of safety engineerin

Fixing the tanks is one of the places where a DIYer can do a professional grade job. The last I looked, the POR tank lining kit cost less than a hundred dollars and gives excellent results. My POR lined tanks have been in service for twelve years and are still looking good. Lots of work though.

How do you intend to use the car? Which solution best fits your intended use?

Bill

 

[PROCRAFT]

The last tanks I did we're 75 bucks to dip and a 100+ each to coat. I also used Eastwoods stuff on a pair is a pain in the ass to do. As Jim said I used a Mustang tank from Tanks Inc 17 gallon, (F. I. Has a tray in the bottom)seemed a lot more cost effective.

 

[Warren]

Out of curiosity what do you use as a filler neck? Have a Falcon with the same tank and its hard to fill with a neck. If the bumper gets overridden in a lower impact rear collision there would be a similar spillage. I agree the Stang tank is a better than stock option. Since the majority of my trips are local I thought of a smaller day tank. The small tank would be a cylindrical 3 to 5 gallon unit placed right up where the firewall should be . Original tanks could remain for those longer trips. Have you bent up a firewall panel? be nice for sound blocking as well.