L body fuel system upgrade
Anyone have some ideas on mounting a fuel cell in an L body?
The time has come to retire the Walbro in-tank and stock lines/rail. I've got a few parts on the shelf already, like a S60 pump and -6 feed that I'll probably be using. I'll upgrade the rail, and then swap from a rail mounted AFPR to an Aeromotive AFPR also, as I can run AN fittings and braded line on everything.
So, I'm trying to decide what to do for a fuel tank. I'm not ready to go race only, so I don't want to go with a small 3gal cell up front. It would be convenient to drop something in the spare tire well, but I don't think it would pass tech without some sort of vented enclosure seperating the hatch area from the driver. I could cut out the spare tire well, and sheet over it, and then mount a cell underneath that area.
I also have a new stock tank on hand, but don't know if putting a sump on it will end up being too low. The S60 pump came out of another charger that just had the pump mounted externally, and then the inlet plumbed to a piece of rubber tubing laying on the bottom of the tank. Pumps are designed to push, not pull, so that is not something I want to duplicate.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
You can put it in the spare tire well if you have a firewall over it like I got :thumb:
EDIT: 5 gallon...
http://www.badassperformance.com/mri...specs/cell.jpg
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
I know that AM welded a piece to the tank on their talon which allowed them to run everything off of the stock tank. that seems like the way to go.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
what do you run for a firewall JT?
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Doesn't it it have a negative impact on traction to move the fuel tank from in front of the rear axle to behind it?
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
contraption22
Doesn't it it have a negative impact on traction to move the fuel tank from in front of the rear axle to behind it?
Yeah, which would be one argument for modifying the stock tank.
In JT's case though, his car is a pig no matter where that weight is... and 5 gallons at least weighs less than the 12.5(?) gal stock tank.
Is anyone running a S60 style pump on the stock tank? Without having a two pump set-up?
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Clay
what do you run for a firewall JT?
.030 aluminum or whatever the rules say... I'll find a pic.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skibbe
Is anyone running a S60 style pump on the stock tank? Without having a two pump set-up?
Im running a S60 pump with a carb'd tank. Works pretty good... as long as I have more than 1/4 tank of gas.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
contraption22
Im running a S60 pump with a carb'd tank. Works pretty good... as long as I have more than 1/4 tank of gas.
How is it set up to draw fuel from the tank? I assume its all downhill from the tank to the pump?
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skibbe
How is it set up to draw fuel from the tank? I assume its all downhill from the tank to the pump?
Nope,, actually the pump is above the tank. Its not an ideal situation, but it hasn't become a problem yet. I really have been meaning to swap in a TBI tank and turbo pump.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Maybe I'm worried about it too much. That's the same way this S60 pump was mounted when I pulled it.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
I kinda like the idea of the carbed pump with an external, but I suppose it would help if one could get the pump mounted in a lower position to try to get the siphoning effect. There are some really good external pumps out there that don't cost an arm and a leg. My friend found that when he was modding anything on his 67 Nova that if you wanted to reuse what you had it always ended up costing more to do it that way then starting from scratch. That may no apply here, but just a thought.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Ok, I'm going to order a weld-in sump from Competition Engineering through Summit. I already have a new L-body tank on hand, so now is the time to weld something to it.
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...cee-4041_w.jpg
Looks like I have a choice of 1/2" NPT and 3/8" NPT for the bungs, and will probably just go with the 1/2". -8 feed and -6 return should give plenty of fuel for my set-up.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skibbe
Is anyone running a S60 style pump on the stock tank? Without having a two pump set-up?
I have one in my Omni. I had to split the pickup assembly into two sections so I could get the pump through the hole. I put flare couplers on the tubes and reconnect them after the pump is inside. Been using it for about 10 years, never had a problem.:)
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skibbe
Ok, I'm going to order a weld-in sump from Competition Engineering through Summit. I already have a new L-body tank on hand, so now is the time to weld something to it.
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...cee-4041_w.jpg
Looks like I have a choice of 1/2" NPT and 3/8" NPT for the bungs, and will probably just go with the 1/2". -8 feed and -6 return should give plenty of fuel for my set-up.
A little tip... instead of cutting out the whole square or rectangle to put the sump in, mark the area and use a hole saw to cut a bunch of 1" holes in the area covered by the sump. It acts like a cheap baffle. Also be careful of the placement of the sump, as the rear axle beam is pretty close to the rear of the tank.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skibbe
Ok, I'm going to order a weld-in sump from Competition Engineering through Summit. I already have a new L-body tank on hand, so now is the time to weld something to it.
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...cee-4041_w.jpg
Looks like I have a choice of 1/2" NPT and 3/8" NPT for the bungs, and will probably just go with the 1/2". -8 feed and -6 return should give plenty of fuel for my set-up.
Nice sump... let me know when you need it welded in.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Well, the sump was cheap compared to the $300 of braided line and fittings I ordered to go with it.
Picked up a -8 inline Fuel Filter too. FWDperf is currently out of the fuel rails, but it will take me a little while to get everything else together first anyway.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
Ok, two years later...
Was playing with the sump today. I can get the fittings to clear the rear axle without any issues. Definitely not going to be able to get the pump lower or level with the sump very easily. Thinking about putting a bracket where the current external pump is (1986 two pump set-up currently...)
http://cgwrr.com/Mopar/86SCblue_files/sumptestfit.jpg
http://cgwrr.com/Mopar/86SCblue_files/sumptestfit2.jpg
Anyone think this will cause issues, either with pump priming on start up, or cavitation later? Does it defeat the purpose of the sump?
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
How low does that sump sit when the car is on the ground? Perhaps it's just the angle, but I would be worried about something ripping off the lines if I went over it. Obviously that could be avoided wit proper routing I suppose.
Re: L body fuel system upgrade
About 2" lower than a stock tank. ;-)