Thread: Followed Me Home II

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Thank you for your comments, Don. I recall your problems with the transmission, and hopefully I will not follow that path. Yes, the plastic gas tank will be mounted in the stock position with the fiberglass cover, and it will be functional. If I were to opt for a trunk mounted tank then the rear frame rails would be bobbed for a cleaner look from the back, but I'm opting to follow the old school method for the look and for more trunk space.

As I've said several times, we don't have any formal inspection (initial registration or annually) other than proof of origin of the frame, body, engine, tranny & differential. Based on my experience getting the '33 on the road, I don't expect that anyone will ever measure the headlight height, and I won't have bumpers for them to measure.

Well Rodger,

Just my humble opinion, but that gas tank in the stock position looks vulnerable to me, especially polypropylene without a real bumper. I suggest a call to "Dave" at Rock Valley in Illinois, phone 615-645-2271. I sent them a mock up of my gas tank made from card board folded up and they made me a beautiful stainless steel tank which fit perfectly in 14 gauge.
They sent me a picture of one of their tanks in only 16 gauge which had been hit and dented to half it's width without bursting so that gave me confidence in my 14 gauge tank. Possibly they could make a tank in 12 gauge if you want. My tank was about $600 five years ago and maybe '32 tanks are already in stock. Then you could put the plastic cover over it and have the trunk space with more safety; especially since you said you were previously rear-ended twice before.

Don Shilady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Hello Again Rodger,

I was shocked when I fished out the receipt for my stainless gas tank. What happened was I got urged to avoid a "Pinto Bomb" by folks on this Forum so I went ahead and paid the price. After my last post I found a steel '32 tank on the Bebops site which surely should be cheaper. However, it may not be as strong and can rust. You could rubber coat the inside of a steel tank but impact strength is still an issue. Well I have my stainless tank now although I forgot how expensive it was so use your own judgement.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Thank you for your concerns, Don. While "polyethylene tank" may conjure up a plastic milk jug mental picture for some folks, the Tanks, Incorporated unit is billed as a "High-Density Seamless Polyethylene - Heavy Wall Construction" and has been used on thousands of stock and hot rod builds through the years. You may not agree, but in my opinion this heavy wall, formed poly tank with internal tunnel/baffling is much less likely to split/rupture than a steel or stainless steel tank formed and welded, if both are subjected to a rear end collision. As for the "Pinto Bomb" paranoia, I believe that the main design issue with the Pinto was the filler neck location and the mount to the body, but the fact that brought the wrath down on Ford was the smoking gun internal memo where some bean counter assigned a finite value on a human life, and stated that changing the filler neck design on present and future cars would cost many times more than paying out on the projected number of fatalities that could be attributed to fuel tank issues. Ralph Nader killed the Corvair, which had evolved into a really nice little car; and the Ford bean counter killed the Pinto, which again, wasn't a bad little car and had a big following with the autocross crowd.

For me it all comes down to the "look" while also considering safety, and then secondarily maximizing trunk space for the "junk" needed on a trip for a couple. The traditional, low buck builds (just ask the 30 year old "experts" over on the HAMB ) kept the stock tank on the extended frame rails; while the "bad boy" hot rodder bobbed the frame rails, maybe rolled the pan to "finish" the back end even more, and found another place to mount the gas tank, often in the trunk. My roadster will be the former, tank mounted on the rails, stock filler neck which ties to nothing but the tank, and a single fuel line feeding a tried & true mechanical fuel pump. I think it will be just fine, but again, thank you for your concerns.

Roger your tank was probably designed to be in the trunk, but as a wise man once stated, "improvise, adapt, overcome" and that fits the bill here to a "T". The properties of polyethylene allows for a bit of flexibility that that you wouldn't find in abs or polycarbonate. My only concern is that, IMHO, I would construct some form of skid plate so that an errant rock couldn't damage the tank in the location you will have it placed in and leave you stranded. Just my 2cts. worth.

While all this concern about a stock style '32 tank is well intentioned, and the dangers conceivable, the number of potentially dangerous build features on a hot rod based on 80 year old technology is practically endless. No side beam protection, no roll over protection in a roadster, usually no collapsible steering column, and on and on.....

Each of those could be remediated, but to what end? The one guarantee of certain death is being born. I offer this old saw for consideration......................

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Roger your tank was probably designed to be in the trunk, but as a wise man once stated, "improvise, adapt, overcome" and that fits the bill here to a "T". The properties of polyethylene allows for a bit of flexibility that that you wouldn't find in abs or polycarbonate. My only concern is that, IMHO, I would construct some form of skid plate so that an errant rock couldn't damage the tank in the location you will have it placed in and leave you stranded. Just my 2cts. worth.

Ken, the tank wasn't designed to be in the trunk. It's designed specifically to be hung from the frame rails, with the fiberglass cover riding on top of the rails to give the appearance of the OEM tank, and using steel brackets for extra support. Here's the link of the specific tank - 1932 Ford Poly Fuel Tank with Fiberglass Cover, and they also offer two metal tanks, made to OEM dimensions (and sold by supplier's like BeBop's, Yogi's, Speedway, etc), for those who want that approach - http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/pa...=cat/cat81.htm
The picture shows the decorative cover on the tank, which covers up the design feature of a nominal 2"x12" hole/tunnel that runs vertically through the tank (you can see through, top to bottom) which forms an amazingly strong column support, plus virtually eliminates any side slosh in the tank; and the fact that the side tabs are in excess of 1/2" thick and solid. As for a rock, the tank is somewhere around 3/16" to 1/4" thick, so I'm not at all concerned with rocks, and would be more concerned if it were a sheet metal tank. I'll leave the skid plate on the Jeep.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

While all this concern about a stock style '32 tank is well intentioned, and the dangers conceivable, the number of potentially dangerous build features on a hot rod based on 80 year old technology is practically endless. No side beam protection, no roll over protection in a roadster, usually no collapsible steering column, and on and on.....

Each of those could be remediated, but to what end? The one guarantee of certain death is being born. I offer this old saw for consideration......................

So true, Unc'! Can you imagine a similar drawing of a Stroker McGurk's Deuce Roadster, with "options" to make it more compliant with all of the concerns of the day?

Thanks for all safety and convenience concerns, guys, but I'm feeling pretty good that Tanks, Inc covered the bases pretty good on this tank.

i prefer the tanks inc over anything else. due to spring shackles i could not use one in my 54 ford truck and settled for a tanks inc steel one. the poly tank is by far safer than any of them. it will crush without splitting open .

Wow 300 bucks is a lot for a tank! I'm now trying to remember what I paid for the Aluminum one between the rails($479.00 Yikes) on my 48 Ford from classic performance. Best not look back on what we've spent to date!

my tank was 215 . the poly tank was only 235 .

If these poly tanks were so dangerous, all these new cars and trucks wouldn't be manufactured them! Sorry Roger. Do you have any time line for driving the new ride?

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

....Do you have any time line for driving the new ride?

Nope, I've been fighting a sinus/upper respiratory bug for over a week, and it's kept me sidelined. I'm really just kind of plugging away slowly, because the build process if the part I love the most, but I may get into body & paint as it warms, and if so would hope to have it on the road before summer's end.... Besides, SharpMark may be coming from NZ, wanting to drive it to Ottawa in September.

I have always had to have the philosophy that when its your time its your time when riding in my roadster. If you worry about safety to much you usually will not end up driving a hot rod I think.
Kind of like the guy I know that died wrecking a car at 25 mph with an ambulance behind him, while the guy that wrecks and flips at 70 mph on a motorcycle lives to tell about it, it just don't make since sometimes, there are lots of hypothetical situations we just can't counter everything, so be careful and say your prayers at night and live life.....

Yeah, a hot rod and a diligent focus on all of the potential risks involved are pretty much divergent paths in my mind. If you're too worried about ultimate personal safety then you'll likely never get into the hot rod, and just think what you're missing!! Now that said, I'm a very safety conscious guy, with a focus on things like three point seat belts done right, attention to reasonable details for keeping body & frame together in an impact, etc, etc, but a hot rod is a beast that carries with it some level of risk, and one accepts the risk then he/she elects to ride or drive the hot rod.

Like Matthyj says, sometimes one must simply live life, and hopefully your prayers have paved the way for any problems that may spring up.....

Well good luck with it Roger. There's always something to keep ya busy and off projects any way. That's how it is for me most of the time lately.