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dlearl476
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Las Vegas, NV. USA
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 Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 1:56 pm Post subject: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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Hey all, I finally threw in the towel on my VW fuel tank (rust) and commissioned a local place that makes aluminum boat tanks to build a tank for my Beck Spyder.
I really want to use the OEM spigot/filter, but I've looked all morning for a weld able bung to no avail. Anyone know of a possible source? If I can't find one, I've got two options:
a) AN- fitting (which precludes the filter)
b) Use one of their 3/8 NPT fittings and turn down and thread a 3/8 NPT adapter/extension, which I'd rather not do because it means 1 more connection/possible leak, and it's doubtful the filter would fit inside it. |
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Dale M.
Samba Member
Joined: April 12, 2006
Posts: 20379
Location: Just a tiny bit west of Yosemite Valley
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| Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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https://www.google.com/search?q=aluminum+weld+in+b...p;ie=UTF-8
Dale
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“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns" - Thomas Jefferson.
"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ... |
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dlearl476
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Las Vegas, NV. USA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:11 pm Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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Yeah. I spent two hours googling today. No male M18X1.0 aluminum bungs that I found, hence the thread. |
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GS guy
Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2007
Posts: 968
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:13 am Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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I doubt you'll find the metric thread "weldable" fitting you're looking for to match the OEM tank outlet, especially in aluminum.
If you can find someone with a good lathe you could have one custom machined.
Otherwise, you might have to cut the bung out of your old tank and have it welded to a readily available steel fitting (NPT or AN), then have the compatible fitting (in aluminum) welded to your tank. Yea, one more place to leak, but if you've got to have the original VW style connection...
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS! |
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dlearl476
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Las Vegas, NV. USA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:09 am Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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Yeah, I think I'm just going to have to accept that it's not going to happen. The tank place uses 3/8" NPT aluminum bungs, so I'll just go from that to a 90° NPT-1/4" barb.
No filter, but I also won't have to deal with rust in an aluminum tank. I have a filter pre-electric pump and a Malossi filter king filter/regulator in the back, so I should be good.
I also thought of getting one of these to measure and see if there's enough material to get it turned down to 17.75 and thread it, but it would probably cost more than it's worth to do that. The 18x1.0 die is $18 by itself. |
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GS guy
Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2007
Posts: 968
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:40 am Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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https://www.emachineshop.com/parts/
Maybe worth checking into to get a quote? Male NPT to male 18x1.0 adapter fitting. Brass would be a good durable material to make something like this from. I'd probably start with 1/2NPT to give enough wall thickness to open up the ID to fit the filter screen.
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS! |
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slalombuggy
Samba Member
Joined: July 17, 2010
Posts: 9147
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:55 pm Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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As long as theres a filter between the tank and the pump having a screen is of no real value.
brad |
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dustymojave
Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007
Posts: 5802
Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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| Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 12:34 pm Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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| slalombuggy wrote: |
As long as theres a filter between the tank and the pump having a screen is of no real value.
brad |
Gotta agree with the man here. The stock pickup screen is a very coarse filter anyway.
Try looking into gas tank petcocks for motorcycle/ATV/UTV tanks. Or even for large lawn mowers.
My '58 bug has a screen with an aluminum ring at the base of it that fits under the aluminum cap that holds the reserve valve in the tank bung. That screen is big enough to cover the short brass reserve intake tube and the longer normal operation tube.
Maybe you could have them install a 3/8" fpt bung in the new tank. Then silver solder a stock tank screen into a brass fitting to screw into the bung and attach a hose to the outside of that. If you cannot solder a screen to the inner diameter of the brass fitting, then you could solder a section of tube into the bore of the brass fitting, then solder a screen onto that.
It seems pretty easy to me.
But then, I still think it's trying to solve a problem that really isn't much of a problem. When I finally took the reserve valve out of my '58 Baja in 2008 to rebuild the valve for the 1st time at well over 800,000 miles, there was virtually nothing on the outside of the screen.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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dlearl476
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Las Vegas, NV. USA
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:45 am Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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Yeah, I think it's overkill. With an aluminum tank, I won't have to worry about it anymore.
When I was first looking into it, I found an auto accessory site in the UK that had an AN-8 fitting that include a filter, but I neglected to bookmark it and now I can't find it. I kind of put it out of my mind because, unlike the OEM VW spigot, it would be flush with the bottom of the tank, allowing whatever settles to the bottom if the rank, i.e. water, to get into the fuel line. Which is my main worry about having a flush fitting with the Al tank. |
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dlearl476
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Las Vegas, NV. USA
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 5:17 am Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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| dustymojave wrote: |
| slalombuggy wrote: |
As long as theres a filter between the tank and the pump having a screen is of no real value.
brad |
Try looking into gas tank petcocks for motorcycle/ATV/UTV tanks. Or even for large lawn mowers.
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I was just thinking that this morning when I woke up. Did a little search and it turns out Harleys have 3/8"NPT fuel line bungs. It will be perfect. In the "On" position it will do exactly what I want: draw fuel from ~1" from the bottom of the tank. It will have the added bonus of having a reserve (if I can figure out how to make it accessible) and a shut off, if (when) I need to remove the tank to get access to the steering box and the master cylinders.
Proving once again, great minds think alike! 
Thanks, Richard |
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dustymojave
Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007
Posts: 5802
Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: Aluminum fuel tank-weld able M18X1.0 bung |
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You're welcome!
My '58 has the "knob" of the petcock facing the front firewall. There is a tubular lever that slips over the round "knob" using a cotter pin to transfer rotation to the knob. The lever has a bend about 70°. It's made of tube about 1/2" OD.
The lever or knob on the petcock could be cut down and fitted with a lever like in an early Bug.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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