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Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:24 pm

Ok. Its a lil more complicated than dippin a wooden dowel into your tank and seein where it is wet up to. ok on a spun alum or steel tank, take 2 90 degree fittings one side male threaded the other barbed. choose your size, maYBE 3/8" tap the tank kinda towards the top and near the bottom directly vertically from each other, use some kinda sealant, maybe jb weld on the threads before you screw them in. point the upper fitting barbed side down, the bottom fitting barbed side up. connect corresponding sized clear fuel resistant line and press onto your barbs, use a pinch clamp if you want or a hose clamp. may not even need it. i would do it between the driver and passenger seat so i can see it in the rearview or turn and see it. be sure to blow out the tank to get fillings out and trash. it can be placed on the curved part of the tank cuz the hose will follow the contour. im workin on a mmore complicated one that involves a dial guage and a tube w/ a float ball. i hate the look of a sending unit on a nice round tank. so i am workin on this. will send pics when done. shoot around ideas.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:28 pm

Thats how a lot of tanks are done. My baja's tank has two bungs tig welded into it with 90 degree fittings and a length of clear plastic hose.
I would not trust JB weld or sealer for that job.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:39 pm

what would u suggest. i know the alum is thin. how bout the float tube dial guage? any ideas? ive never seen this product for sale but i see a market for it. different length tubes for different sized tanks. 1 single bung on top of the tank for it to go in. simple is my moto.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:10 pm

The is a lot of solutions out there, think out side the box... Get away for VW-Dune buggy-Baja mind set and into performance or rock crawl, or drag racing....

GOOGLE search can be your friend...

Dale

Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:19 pm

I drain the tank, wash it out with soap and hot water. Heat the tank with a hot air gun until the entire tank is to hot to touch so there are no more fumes and tig weld in a couple of bungs. The fuel tank MUST be free of fumes or it will explode. I'm not telling you to do this but it was taught to me by more than one old time welder, body and radiator men i worked with. This is something you won't get a second chance. I use the stick for my rails fuel guage. The float tube like on the old lawnmowers is a good idea. Maybe you can adapt it to the existing fuel cap.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:24 pm

yea im always comin up w/ ideas. i may just run the clear sight tube for now and figure out a dial guage. may be my million $ IDEA!

Mon Jun 07, 2010 10:53 pm

JB Weld is NOT fuel resistant, but the two part marine grade epoxy putty is, it can also be drilled and tapped, but not too vigorously treated. The PC-11 and PC 7 putties are good choices also, but not quite as hard/resilient as the marine grade which is usually dark green w/white core. I have repaired both plastic and steel fuel tanks in boats with the marine grade putty, one of which was my own, and the repairs/modifications lasted for over ten years with no separation or leaks.

Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:08 am

What I got for my buggy was a spun aluminum gas tank with the VDO fuel sender built right into the top of the tank just like the gas tank fill is. It’s the same fuel sender they use in the polly racing fuel cells. I love it because I can be cruising around and always know how much fuel I have. I used to hate to have to find a stick and pray I have enough fuel to get back to the truck when I am up north. I got mine from Dons Sportbug in Perry, Mi.

Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:05 pm

The Easy fix... put in a tee where the fuel comes out of the bottom and run the clear hose up to the vent on top. If you don't have a vent on top, find a vent plug and put it in the end of the hose.

Tue Jun 08, 2010 6:42 pm

ZARJDR wrote: JB Weld is NOT fuel resistant, but the two part marine grade epoxy putty is.

To clarify, JB weld is fuel resistant when cured. I've been using it on carburators for securing the fuel nipples for many years and it is a permanent fix.

OTOH, if you want a product that cures while submerged in gasoline, JB makes a putty that does that as well.

If you're making a sight gauge like this, seal up the lower elbow with JB-weld and then drill a small orifice through the seal. This will damp the sloshing and make the fuel level easier to read while driving. If you really want to do it right, you should weld a boss to the tank for each of the elbows to screw into. Relying on the sheet metal will bring you grief eventually.

I actually prefer the Piper Cub style float-and-wire through the fuel cap. Simple and doesn't involve any holes through the tank.

Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:41 pm

so that is an airplane fuel guage? when the stick gets low time to land? i dont like the sending units on a round tank. if it was a racing fuel cell fine but not my rail. i plan on drillng and tapping, but also using a sealant. thats what i want suggestions on. i am mounting it between the seats and it is out of the way of any action so it should not see any abuse. what should i use and what should i not use? amyone wanna help me learn about front beam coil over conversions while were at it?

Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:02 pm

Too bad you couldn't take cues from the piper stick in the cap.... Build an electronic sender into the bottom of the fuel cap.

VDO has a tubular sending unit that would do the trick:

http://www.vdo.com/generator/www/com/en/vdo/main/p...er_en.html

Buy it here: http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/co...on_en.html

You could weld the top of the sender into the twist off gas cap, and run a clip on single wire to it.

Thu Jun 10, 2010 2:53 pm

DOOM buggy Florida wrote: so that is an airplane fuel guage? when the stick gets low time to land?

Yep, that's how Piper did it on the Cub with the tank located in the cowl. Most aircraft with wing tanks have electrical fuel gauges that are notoriously inaccurate due to the shape of the tanks. Round fuel tanks have similar issues.

Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:03 pm

i checked out the link for the tubular sender. cool but same prob/ big 3 inch hole in the top of a round shape and $. my redneck plumb job will work and i have further developed a dial guage. i wish i had a way to show a diagram so i can get help w/ ;linkage.... : IMAGINE. a fuel guage (F/E) ok that will have a ? 5/8" male threaded fitting. into that fitting and up to the guage you will have a tightly fit fuel resistant tube with several holes in it. the back of the guage will be opened for our purpose right now. down tthe tube wiill be a cable with a stainless ball (propper size/weight) and a float above it attached so they move together as a unit/ when the float goes up the ball goes up too. the ball is the weight to maintain tension on the float and bring it down as the fuel level lowers. followin me? now/ this cable we gotta hook it uo to operate the needle on the guage. i was thinikin a couple well placed pegs w/ small rollers on it would operate the needel. maybe a weak spring and some other arangement will work. ny ideas. you see where im going w/ this. it can be adapted to any fuel tank w/ the length of the tube and cable, also is totally mechanical and therefore should be problem free
. also only requires a 5/8"hole tapped or bung welded into your tank and you got a visual fuel dial. i like the idea. gonna make this happen. any problem solvers out there care to add.i have drawn this out already. now i gotta build it. the main idea will stay the same. the problem will be hooking up the cable to make the guage read right.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:26 am

I totally get where your going. Why not just use a stock VW cable fuel gauge? The throw is only about 1 1/2" Might save you a few headaches.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:45 am

Don't feel bad I have to pump my fuel out to know how much I have in it.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:15 pm

its for a spun aluminum tank. i dint wanna wire an elecctric sender toanother guage. i wanna turn my head or look in the rearview and see the guage. it WILL be done. im gonna gather some junk gauges and some pieces i need and see if i can rig it up. ive searched and searched and the closest thiing i have found is a guage for 55 gallon dru, and its likda like the aircraft one but doesnt use a dial indicator just float to top(full) bottom empty.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:54 pm

there is pipe dope that is made just for gasoline. i cant remember what it was called tho. there is a couple of diff brands of it. gas stations use it when replacing the hoses on the gas pumps.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:52 pm

Teflon pipe dope, buy it in the squeeze tube, lasts longer and easier to apply.

Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:30 am

i will figure out the tube part, but the linkage to accurately move the needle on the dial guage may be the hard part. i dont see y someone hasnt already done this. the same part can be easilly adapted to any depth tank by lengthening or shorting your down tube and float assembly