body and interior Rally tank

[GirtAllerton]

My mechanic & I took inspiration from the Alpina tank article and added range to the Inka bomber. He lengthed the sender 5" and added a 5" band to the original tank. Redcoated and center fill. What do you think? Looking at about 70ltrs.

More Pictures. The guy has mad skills.

Edited February 11, 2016 by steve k.

[markmac]

He does do nice work.  Very nice.  I snagged a real deal one off of Ebay a few years back, that one though has a "monza" filler cap.  Up in my attic waiting for that future project.

 

Link

 

http://www.alpinabmw2002.com/2013/05/alpina-2oo2-90-liter-fuel-tank.html

[GirtAllerton]

Your post and article is what lead us down that trail. Thanks!

[Simeon]

Nice work, I applaud him for being brave enough to go near a fuel tank with welding equipment (though I expect once it is cut in half that fumes are less of an issue).

[Mike Self]

Three caveats:

 

1.  Is the tank vented to the outside?  I wouldn't use the OEM charcoal cannister but run a vent hose to the outside like the early roundies.

 

2. Be very careful when filling your tank; gas fumes are heavier than air and you don't want 'em lurking in the trunk, waiting for a spark when you turn on your taillights or hit the brakes to explode.  Gas is scary stuff; fumes even more so.

 

3. Either fill in the old gas cap opening, or put a locking cap on it.  A friend nearly lost his race car at a refueling stop during an enduro race when those refueling didn't realize he had a fuel cell and dumped a gallon or so of gas through the filler neck, not realizing it wasn't connected to the gas tank--and the gas ran out the trunk floor and all over the hot exhaust!  I was the guy on the fire extinguisher--and fortunately didn't have to use it.  

 

Nice neat fabricating job--looks like a Turbo tank.

 

mike

[jrkoupe]

very very nice.....I woulda went w/  a thru the trunk filler.

Edited September 4, 2015 by jrkoupe

[oh2fly]

That looks a lot like our Alpina tii big tank. Nice work. Before anyone asks, no it isn't for sale.

[TobyB]

Brilliant!  Could you get foam into it?

 

t

[GirtAllerton]

Thanks Guys, to answers questions from the general audience. Yes the tank is vented from just below the cap to outside. Filling fumes are not an overly large concern. Hard to get gas in the explosive range. No worse than some of the leaky seams on our old tanks. I know I had fumes with my old setup. Hopefully that should improve. Plan is to use both my locking cap and a block off plate to prevent accidental use. I didn't want to go through the trunk because the car is rustfree Cali original paint but it could be added later. We could have also made an access port for foam or even a bladder but decided not to overly complicate the process as its not going to be tracked. Finally no not for sale. It would have been cheaper to buy the used tank listed not too long ago from Germany but the process and outcome were cool. Thanks for the feedback.

[Ian]

Nice!

[jgerock]

I'm staring at the 911- is it yours?

[GirtAllerton]

No used to own one when regular guys could afford them. Saw the light and started playing with the 02. Always thought they were cool. Work is being done at my friends Pcar shop. He used to work on BMWs back in the day.

[M3M3]

beautiful work.

 

but.

 

i would be far more concerned with gas fumes and raw gas loose in your trunk than you are.

 

i believe you are seriously underestimating the ability for the fumes to accumulate in the trunk.   yes, they may dissapate over time, but on fill up all 15 gallons of those fumes fill the trunk...which has an unsealed path to the passenger compartment.

 

then add that your battery, its connections, various light wiring and bulbs and a cheap UNSHIELDED power cut off switch in the trunk to provide a nice spark for the fumes.

 

boats have a required "bilge blower" to pull the fumes out of the low points in the hull.  perhaps you should consider something like that.  there are also marine grade cut off switches that are sealed.

 

just my opinion, it is your life/car.

 

did i say how nice that work on the tank was?

[markmac]

It isn't like gas tanks with fill ports like this are something new.  The Germans (Alpina in particular) were able to sell tanks like these to the public so they were TUV approved.  My limited knowledge and understanding of the TUV is that they are pretty strict.  You definitely would need to show more care when filling up for sure.  Most parts of the country don't have the lame ass vapor recover boots we have in most places here in California that make filling a tank like this difficult (and sometimes even a standard fuel tank quite honestly) which makes filling up your tank much easier.  Seems to me since it is "new" and perfectly sealed theoretically AND has provisions for venting that as long as you don't spray gas all over your trunk it shouldn't be an issue.  Maybe after you finish filling up you leave the boot open for a minute or two to let any left over fumes dissipate?  

 

Again, very nice job.

 

http://www.alpinabmw2002.com

[bob02]

Nice work! You'll have to pull over for a pee stop before you need to fill up with that bad boy!