C5 fuel tanks into 1st gen

[CamaroAJ]

has anyone ever seen C5 or C6 fuel tanks in a first gen camaro? since there isn't anything close to stock on my '69 camaro i figured why not look into it since i have the room to put it in and they are pretty cheep.

pros:
proven design on road tracks to run low levels of fuel.
moves weight in front of the rear wheels.
easy to get replacement parts if something were to happen on the road
lightweight
protected better than in the stock location

cons:
packaging, would need to build a sealed from the passenger compartment firewall thats still serviceable top or bottom.

ok so i can only think of one drawback.

[MrQuick]

the tanks are designed for the vette body, sure they might fit somewhere but then why not just have a tank built to fit the corvette tank module then its about time vesus effort = what reward? Not too much benefit over any of the tanks out there.

We thought about building a tank to sit right under the package tray but after going over the numbers it was not worth losing some center of gravity height over.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/C6dualgastanks-1.jpg
Vince

[Ollie8974]

Modify the stock tank with a LS1 fuel pump module
http://www.vetteworksonline.com/ls1_conversion_fuel.htm

[Z06vet]

I have an F-body pump assembly if you are interested in doing the conversion.
Scott

[CamaroAJ]

time vesus effort = what reward? Not too much benefit over any of the tanks out there.

We thought about building a tank to sit right under the package tray but after going over the numbers it was not worth losing some center of gravity height over.

benefit for me would be a proven tank for under $150.

your right about a tank under the package tray messing up the numbers. i was thinking more along the lines of just behind the seats, so roughly a foot and a half lower and about three feet forward of the package tray. that would put the tanks lower than stock and in front of the rear axle.

i've had many of these tanks out so i have a rough measurements on them. it would be very easy to make them mount and fit safe, the tricky part it to make them also easy to service.

[CamaroAJ]

I have an F-body pump assembly if you are interested in doing the conversion.
Scott

got one from the donor car, thanks though.

[CarlC]

If mounting them behind the front seats is a consideration a method to have them mount external to the cabin is a should be used. The last thing you want is a bunch of fuel that could leak into the cabin.

[CamaroAJ]

the floor pans would be modified in such a way that if a tank did leak it would be out the bottom. my only issue that i am thinking of a way to over come is getting the tanks in and out of the car. i could build a fully welded top and then cut the floor pans out betwen the DSE sub frame connectors, and a inch or so front and rear of the tanks. then do what GM does with the tank and use the bottom shield to hold the tanks up and in place.

its a lot of work to do but its fun for me and i would still have less money in it than buying a tank. more measuring will need to be done but it will need to wait until the seats are mounted and the rear suspension is in.

[XLexusTech]

what about exhaust>> if i understand your idea correctlty

[CamaroAJ]

what about it? it would run the normal way it does now just the mufflers can be mounted where the stock tank once was.

[MrQuick]

AJ, which pump has the sender...or is it the transfer pump to the main pump/sender module?

I suppose if you can get them cheap it would be good to use. But I think you can do better with the shape.

[CamaroAJ]

Vince, there is a sender in each tank. the left tank is the primary tank and the right tank is the secondary. the jet/venturi design pulls fuel from both tanks at the same time so the car is kept balanced.

here is a pretty good bit of info on the fuel system http://www.c5help.com/fueltank.htm

[MrQuick]

thanks buddy, great site. lots of good information.

[CamaroAJ]

no problem.

also i got to thinking, the fuel is used in one tank before the other. i was thinking of a mod we did to another tank. we drilled the bottom side of both tanks and ran a connecting jumper between them. had to do that when we installed frame mounted fuel pumps for the twin turbo engine.

[MrQuick]

but what did you guys use for a transfer tube and what sealer to use on abs?

[Mike Norris]

Vince, there is a sender in each tank. the left tank is the primary tank and the right tank is the secondary. the jet/venturi design pulls fuel from both tanks at the same time so the car is kept balanced.

Unfortunately, this is not true and about the only draw back to the system as far as balance goes. Fuel is contantly pumped from the RS tank to the LS until there is no fuel left to occupy the RS tank.

Here is a line from the link you posted mentioning this also. "The jet pump is able to move enough fuel to ensure that all of the fuel in the right tank is consumed before the level in the left tank begins to drop."

Now you could add a bottom crossover as you mentioned to equalize things and still keep the venturi working. You could not do this in a C5 vette as it would set codes for the level senders not being happy.

Hope this helps.

Mike Norris

[Bryce]

What if you had a drive shaft failure? Sounds like a cool idea tho!

[John Wright]

Those tanks look really small...how much will they hold?

[CamaroAJ]

but what did you guys use for a transfer tube and what sealer to use on abs?

we used the bulkhead AN fittings with the nylon washers and 12AN hose. it never leaked and that was with E100 fuel.


Unfortunately, this is not true and about the only draw back to the system as far as balance goes. Fuel is contantly pumped from the RS tank to the LS until there is no fuel left to occupy the RS tank.

Now you could add a bottom crossover as you mentioned to equalize things and still keep the venturi working. You could not do this in a C5 vette as it would set codes for the level senders not being happy.


i corrected myself in another post. the mod we did was in a C6Z, IIRC we were setting codes because of the transfer rate and it shutting off the fuel gauge. i can't remember what we did to fix that issue but i know we got it taken care of.

in my car i could modify the fuel level sender to work with the '01 camaro system i'm running. something like hooking the cards in series and one card would be full to half tank and the other would be half tank to empty tank. that would be pretty easy to do really.


What if you had a drive shaft failure? Sounds like a cool idea tho!
it was in a C6Z so the torque tube would contain the drive shaft. not sure it would work if i got them to fit in my car.


Those tanks look really small...how much will they hold?

18g total.

[CarlC]

You could swap the tanks right-to-left. The balance would get better as fuel is used up in the LH tank. You could use the weight of the gasoline to balance the car with you in the drivers seat. It would simplify things since only the venturi transfer line would be necessary.

[John Wright]

18g isn't too bad, they look alot smaller than that in the pic above...LOL

[CamaroAJ]

You could swap the tanks right-to-left. The balance would get better as fuel is used up in the LH tank. You could use the weight of the gasoline to balance the car with you in the drivers seat. It would simplify things since only the venturi transfer line would be necessary.

just need to find a cool way to fill the tanks and i'd be set.

[Rhino]

Cobra style fuel filler behind the C-pillar? The only down side is that it's quite a ways away from the tanks.
Similar to this... but further toward the rear of the car, and further down on the flat area of the quarter.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/sucp_0703_01_z1969_chevy_camaro_z28drive-1.jpg

Otherwise, if you don't mind a non functioning quarter window, you could always graft in a slick appearing fuel door under the opening. (This unit is off a Miata)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Depending on where you put it, the quarters would be flat enough that it wouldn't require a ton of effort to rework.

[CarlC]

Depends on the OAH at the tank filler neck and your pain threshold for body mods. You're going to want a steep slope on the filler tube or else the gas pump will keep kicking off.

[CamaroAJ]

if i'm willing enough to cut up the inside of a car to try fuel tanks that it seems nobody else has done yet then i'm good with the body mods lol.

i would think the filler needs to be at least 10" above the tanks, thats about how high the vette's filler is. rear 1/4 windows must be kept in working order. i'm not sure i'm ready to give those up yet. i am thinking about it though and making the side gills functional as rear brake ducts.