Gas filler tube safety?

[jovial_cynic]

I think I posted this a while back, but nothing is showing up in the search... so maybe not.

 

The previous owner of my 71 510 replaced the gas tank with a fuel cell, and shaved down the entire car (no door handles, no gas filler tube), so that the only way to fill up the cell was through the rear window opening (he removed the rear glass), and down a tube that he had connected to the fuel cell. This is great if you don't want a rear window, but as I have plans to install mine, this is less than optimal.

 

I've already traded away the fuel cell, and I've got a stock gas tank in the car right now. The problem is that I don't have an ideal way of filling the tank.

 

At the moment, I just have some 3" rubber tubing that I've got clamped over the gas tank opening, and that tubing happens to sit right above my terribly unsafe battery situation (exposed battery, held down with bungee cords).

 

I have a few options:

 

1. Move the battery to the other side of the car, or put it in a box that's no longer exposed to gasoline as I try to fill up the tank.

 

2. Route the filler tube back out to the side wall of the car and cut/weld in a new spot for a proper filler tube.

 

3. Do something else creative/safe.

 

ideas?

[slodat]

I would return it to the stock style setup..

[]2eDeYe]

You could hide it behind the gas plate, steal a fold down, plate mount from a Nova or something.

[jovial_cynic]

2eDeYe;87993'']You could hide it behind the gas plate, steal a fold down, plate mount from a Nova or something.

 

What's a gas plate?

[datsunaholic]

I'm pretty sure he meant License Plate. Like a 60s-70s GM Product.

 

The problem there is the 510 stock tank is higher than the license plate (behind the back seat), unlike the old GMs where the tank was under the trunk floor.

 

I think you're down to 3 solutions: Cut the filler out of the rear roof pillar and replumb in the stock fill tube (and that requires replacing the now-gone vent grille to make it look right), doing the same but adding a fill door (which still has to be high enough to be above the tank) or retaining the trunk-fill situation which I don't think is safe. Lot more gas fumes trapped that way; the filler should always be outside the body seals.

Edited October 13, 2008 by datsunaholic

[jovial_cynic]

aha. Yeah - the filler tube on the tank also comes from the top of the tank, which puts it nearly at the height of the trunk lid.

 

I'm half tempted to put a filler opening on a flexible tube that opens up on the trunk lid itself, although just going to stock seems like the easiest option.

[]2eDeYe]

uhhhh...ya that one license plate thingy...

 

:P

[BarryA]

aha. Yeah - the filler tube on the tank also comes from the top of the tank, which puts it nearly at the height of the trunk lid.

 

I'm half tempted to put a filler opening on a flexible tube that opens up on the trunk lid itself, although just going to stock seems like the easiest option.

 

 

you could go with a an early 50's Caddy / 55-56 Chevy solution and mount the filler behind a hinged tail light assembly. Doing it right would involve building a sheet metal box behind the light for the filler to come up into and a hinge mechanism to allow the light unit to swing out of the way - lot of work, but you'd probably have the only one on the planet........

[jovial_cynic]

I'll have to take a look when I get home, but I'm concerned that the filler tube height at the tank might be higher than the tail-light, making it an uphill tube, which wouldn't work. I know that the tail light is at the height of the rear panel, but the gas filler tube might be higher up the rear quarter panel.

 

Also... that'd make for a long tube. The gas tank is level with the floor of the trunk, and scooted all the way back.

 

Anyhow, this does give me some ideas about other ways of doing it, though. Thanks for the input.

[datzenmike]

you could go with a an early 50's Caddy / 55-56 Chevy solution and mount the filler behind a hinged tail light assembly. Doing it right would involve building a sheet metal box behind the light for the filler to come up into and a hinge mechanism to allow the light unit to swing out of the way - lot of work, but you'd probably have the only one on the planet........

 

I had a '55 Chev and the filler door is on the rear drivers side just forward of the tail light. The '56 could very well be behind the tail light. The '57 was definitely behind the tail light. Had one of them too.

[]2eDeYe]

Yep '56 had it behind the light. One of those little reasons I like '56 the best...other than having one. :)

[datzenmike]

I used to take great pleasure in gassing up back when someone did it for you. The young kid would go from one side to the other looking for the filler. Try pulling the licence plate down. :D

[zed]

:lol: you guys are good

[hang_510]

The young kid would go from one side to the other looking for the filler. Try pulling the licence plate down. :D

 

i hated that :cursing:

 

 

only happened once though :lol:

[agentalpha]

I used to take great pleasure in gassing up back when someone did it for you. The young kid would go from one side to the other looking for the filler. Try pulling the licence plate down. :D

 

I would have found her. Third place to look.

 

You cats know where a '56 chevy's is?:D

[hang_510]

[oregondime]

or you could make a flap in the middle of the trunk, and bring the fill up hole to the center on the tank. box it in under the trunk so its safe, kind of like a c4 corvette. ive seen it done once.. but they used a cobra chrome circle flap (thing)

[fastdadd]

what about mounting a motorcycle style pop up cap on the top of the fender

 

 

http://www.jpcycles.com/productgroup.aspx?GID=F26D4408-ACD3-467F-B5D3-EF1C83EA0F92

[freaky510]

why not put it back where it was :eek::lol:as in the stock location

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Going back stock may be a hassle. What with trying to find all the stock parts & such. I saw a Civic @ Reso last year with this....

Cant be that hard to fab up.

[jovial_cynic]

Pacific coast Datsun - I do believe that's the way I'm going to go with this.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Kool, & not sayin youd have to cut out a trunk section. You could simply weld or bolt in a piece in the corner of the trunk & the gas filler neck could attach to that.

[slodat]

The stock stuff isn't that hard to come by.

[yellowdatsun]

A friend of mine's gas door was welded shut from the PO as well. He just had a local guy fab up a filler neck inside the trunk. Just pop the trunk to fill up. Easy to do. You may want to investigate routing a vent somewhere outside the body.

[yellowdatsun]

Or, get an aftermarket filler cap assembly from somewhere and use that. Something like this: