About a year ago, The Panel Shop, in Stratford, CT, was forming a new
fuel tank for a TC. The two partners commented that the car's owner had
not been able to locate a tank, and they were building one for less than
he would have paid could he find one. They are ex RR and Bentley
coachbuilders and use an English wheel to make all sorts of fenders,
doors and other parts. Undergoing rebuilding were a Bentley shooting
brake, a 1930-something MG, an MGB and an XK-E that was having a fuel
cell installed. They were building new bodies for 50 C-3 Cunninghams,
commissioned by Briggs Cunningham Jr.
If anyone is interested in following this lead, let me know and I'll
dig up address and telephone numbers for them.
Bob
On Thu, 13 Jan 2000 11:25:32 EST CFritz7001@aol.com writes:
> There has been a lot of recent correspondence re. two related
> problems
> with T-type fuel tanks: Rusting out and/or developing layers of
> crud. I
> can't help but wonder if anyone has considered gutting the fuel tank
>
> completely, then installing a modern "fuel-cell" within the shell
> that's
> left? There are several outfits that make up custom-sized / shaped
> fuel
> cells for racing cars. These cells amount to a multi-layered
> bladder made of
> coated fabric, which is often filled with an open-celled "foam" to
> keep the
> fuel from sloshing about. Seems to me that one of these cell-makers
> might be
> persuaded to develop and produce ones which would fit within T-type
> tanks. I
> could be wrong, but I think that the TA, TB, and TC models could all
> use the
> same unit, and the TD & TF might also share a second style. (It
> might even
> be that a "0ne-style-fits-all" could suffice.)
> Seems to me that, since original-style replacement tanks cost as
> much as
> $850 (Moss for a TC) and are somewhat scarce, a custom-made fuel
> cell should
> be a viable and even affordable alternative.
> This approach would still preserve the original appearance of
> the car,
> but give the benefits of a non-rustable tank, which is impervious to
> attack
> by fuel additives, PLUS being much less likely to be penetrated in
> case of an
> accident. The only down side I can think of right now is that one
> MIGHT have
> to do without the fuel-level warning setup, which may not be that
> much of a
> loss at that.
> Another thought just occurred to me: How about mounting a more
> or less
> stock fuel cell in the space beneath the luggage compartment,
> leaving the
> original tank in place for cosmetic reasons, but not using it for
> fuel? A
> filler neck could then be connected through the rear of the body and
> the
> front of the existing tank, connecting to the original fuel-tank
> inlet.
> Right now, I'm too preoccupied with planning a trip to England
> with my
> TC to look into this idea myself. If this idea has any merit, is
> there
> someone out there who would "take up the cudgels" and do some
> investigating?
> Any volunteers?
> Regards to all,
> Carl Fritz
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