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June 20, 2012 at 7:01 am #234188
The Assembly Manual gives instructions on how to modify the gas tank so you can close the hood. I’ve cut the piece out and now will “attempt” to weld the top of the filler neck back onto the tank. I’ve purged the tank as best as I can and will fill er up with water before I weld. That should help prevent any lingering fumes from igniting. Oh! I’ll also be outside in the middle of the back yard with fire extinguisher and cell phone at the ready.
Don’t try this at home kids!Pictures of the before and after to follow when completed.Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 20, 2012 at 7:22 am #250879Allen, I really don’t know how you are mounting your tank but let me tell you my latest turn in my wire wheel story. After completing cleaning the wheels I went to put my spare in the “trunk” and (wouldn’t you know) it doesn’t fit. The damn thing doesn’t fit!! The center spindle on the wires is about 1″ too tall and it holds the hood up. My spare is supposed to sit atop the gas tank which, in my MiGi, is mounted longitudinally up front. At Carlisle, I admired the extra under hood room that those kits with the tanks that sat crosswise just forward of the “firewall” had. Guess I’m gonna tear my tank out and investigate if I can mount it 2″ lower than it is. Else I’m going to have to install my spare on the engine cover and do away with my somewhat slick continental cover and possibly my luggage rack.
June 20, 2012 at 7:32 am #250880Roy,
My tank mounts just in front of the front firewall. I sits in a box that drops into a cutout in the front portion of the body tub. But the 63 tank that I’m using has a 3-inch or so filler neck. I have to remove at least an inch and a half. I cut it down to the boss on the tank and kept the top inch with cap to weld back on. Should fit fine. I could have purchase a new tank but I would have to do the same with a new tank so figured I’d save myself the cash to purchase other necessitiesd.Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 20, 2012 at 12:57 pm #250881Allen,
I have the CMC/fiberfab vw kit. It has the pre 68 tank with the shortened filler like you are doing. I am not sure how much they cut away, but when I tried to put a new gas cap on it the hood hit. I had to rob the gasket out of the new cap and put in the old. If they would have cut another 3/8 – 1/2″ off it wouldnt have hurt. Pretty close in there between the filler and hood.June 20, 2012 at 7:32 pm #250882Well as I posted earlier, here’s a few photos of the gas tank after I welded the filler neck back on. The height now from the top of the tank to the top of the gas cap is 2 13/16-inches.
Gas TankGas tank after welding on shortened filler neck.Gas tank filler neck heightAllen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 20, 2012 at 8:44 pm #250883Nice job, Allen.
Roy: yeah, you’ll want to hang that spare out back. Going to take some fabrication though.
June 20, 2012 at 9:18 pm #250884Ed, I’ve been eyeballin’ it. Need one splined wire wheel adapter to do my plan. Either side will work since I have 2 extra spinners, one left and one right.
Allen. You’re a lot better welder than I am.June 20, 2012 at 11:13 pm #250885Roy…thanks for the nice words.
Mike…the next time you fill up, could you measure the distance from the tank flange to the top of the gas cap? Hopefully I cut enough off of mine. The assembly manual really doesn’t give a measurement. Its jus tsays to shorten it.Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 21, 2012 at 7:56 am #250886Allen,Nice job on the welding – I wish you were closer and I could have you help welding my new project.I am welding in pans right now and doing other chassis repairs and my welding is bad.I tried to get by on the cheap w/ a Harbor Freight 110 mig welder and it is not working to well.What type of welder are you using? I am thinking about sucking it up and getting a 220Lincoln mig 180 from Home Depot but at at 700.00 to 800.00 it is a bit steep.Sorry to Hi-jackJune 21, 2012 at 8:26 am #250887Allen,
I agree the cmc manual is not much help. It says “as short as possible”. I went out this A.M. and measured mine. With no cap on from top of tank to top of filler neck was 1″. When I needed a new gas cap gasket I ordered a new cap. I swear it was almost 3 times as thick as the OEM cap. It hit the underside of the hood. I had to just get the gasket for my old cap. This may have been something in the original build of the car causing the cap to hit, but there isnt much room between the cap and the hood.June 21, 2012 at 9:09 am #250888Schu,
im not trying to hijack this thread, but I have the Harbor Freight Mig 151 that is a 220volt welder that will use gas or flux core and it does a decent job with either lincoln or hobart flux core wire. If you are using the Harbor freight wire that came with your welder, toss it and try a name brand wire. I also have a lincoln AC220 amp welder that if you are careful and use a 1/16 6013 rod will do a decent job on thin metal.June 21, 2012 at 11:02 am #250889Schu ??? I have a MIG welder from Sears. Its a straight wire feed welder. The one for the gas tank was borrowed from my buddy. 220V MIG with Argon Gas.
Mike ??? Looking at my photo, the distance from the lip on the tank to the top of the gas cap is 2 13/16-inches. I guess I need to shorten it up some more. Dang!!!Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 21, 2012 at 2:08 pm #250890Allen, mine was taken with no cap on. I think you will need to shorten more. Maybe someone else with a CMC/Fiberfab can measure to verify.
June 21, 2012 at 8:37 pm #250891Schu, I have a Lincoln stick welder (220 volts) here if you want to borrow. I bought it to do stuff & have as yet done nothing with it. Come up for a cruise and I’ll beer ya. Or maybe I’ll bring it down to you at bugout. Thinking of flat-towing her down this time, though it pains me to say that.
June 21, 2012 at 9:47 pm #250892Looking at the assembly manual there is a small part of the illustration that shows the top of the filler neck down with 1/4-inch next to it. Looks like some more shortening is in order. Oh well, like Ed says “TD Replicas: unmatched fun-per-$ ratio”.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 22, 2012 at 7:56 pm #250893Okay…removed the filler neck and cut some more. From top of tank next to filler neck to the top of the gas cap is 3/4-inch. At least that’s the dry fit stack up. Will weld tomorrow, clean up the rest of the tank and paint it Sunday. New photos when completed.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 25, 2012 at 7:26 pm #250894Okay. The 2nd filler neck shortening has been completed. I think 7/8-inch will be good. Here are the photos.
Filler Neck Mod #2Fliier Neck Mod #2 Measurementnewkitman2012-06-25 19:30:40
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackJune 30, 2012 at 9:25 pm #250895Had to quit. 9:25 and its only 103. Geez how I wish I had a garage. And the water temp in the pool is 92. Dang it!
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack -
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