Tank for Tank
Saturday, February 23, 2008
After bench pressing the steel tank repeatedly into place, tweaking dimensions, and adding support tabs and bolts, the Scout now has a properly fit fuel tank. Through the process I've found that the vehicle is remarkably well designed and built. Everything is well spaced and nothing is crammed. However, this makes it extremely hard to find a place for a tank. There is no open expanse of space without a muffler, axle, or some crucial piece going right through the middle. The best place I found was between the drive shaft and the frame. After crawling under other cars, asking other car owners, and web research I found that you can put objects relatively close to the drive shaft. In this case it is a couple inches, and I will put in some plates on the extremities of the tank to protect it in case the shaft breaks loose.
I used a technique similar to wrapping a present for the ends of the tank. This technique allowed me to square the tank easily by aligning opposite triangles. It also cut down on the size of the initial footprint needed from the sheet metal and stiffens the tank by adding a structural double layer cross. The dimensions ended up being 8"x8"x36"; roughly 10 gallons.
I'll add a final picture of the tank after its been fully welded, the heater and fittings are installed, and its been sprayed with an industrial tough enamel. For the tank heater I'm installing a stainless steel corrugated hose that stretches to one end and back.
Labels: Diesel Scout, Tank, WVO conversion
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