Turbo 240SX—Fuel Cell

The stock fuel tank dropped out of the car.

This is the start of the fuel cell installation. The problem with the stock tank is fuel starvation under heavy braking and cornering.

The new ATL "well cell" with 12 gallon capacity, 2" tank backups, and 3-door race surge tank with 100% race foam will be awesome for track use.

My favourite tool in the world... and I finally get to use it on my car!

We used the "Sledge of Love" to bang the spare tire well flat, so that we could start to build a race-spec fuel bladder steel shell.

The Sledge of Love's handy work... a somewhat flat floor.

The mild steel, per FIA Race Specifications, fuel bladder can.

We made it out of mild steel, rolled it into shape, welded it, then welded a floor onto it.

Fabricating the fuel can.

Deburring the fuel can.

It is ready to be mounted and welded into the car soon. This can will house the fuel cell, and the can will have a sealed lid that we can access to fill the cell with fuel.

8" fuel lines will run through the floor of the can and leave through the bottom of the car. This stops any chance of fuel entering the driver's cabin, in case of a rollover or crash, since the can is totally sealed and the bladder is sealed as well.

The aluminum lid on the top of the can. I chose a 2mm thick aluminum plate to give the lid some rigidity.

The fuel cell being test fit in the fuel can, with a few of the lines.

The fuel can and fuel cell, fully assembled.

The yellow foam is fuel cell foam left over. It will provide some anti-chafing to the fuel lines.

The front 2 lines are 8an, and are for fuel sending and return; the other line is for fuel venting, and is 6an.

The fuel can in the car. It is not completely circular, to allow the large send and return lines to pass in front of the fuel cell.

Since it's hand made, I made the lid to fit, so it's not an issue.

All of the hold-down tabs are double or triple-riveted in place.

The aluminum lid in place.

Since this must be a sealed container, I used large, stainless bolts with large wing nuts to hold the lid in place. I think it's a simple but strong design.

I took the liberty of swirl polishing the lid a bit, since it was very scratched up and dirty.

The braided, 8an fuel lines being routed and terminated under the car.

The terminated fuel lines.

Another angle on the fuel lines, showing the vent line.

There is a filter on the vent line, and a loop to prevent any debris from being sucked into the fuel cell.

The secondary fuel filter, located after the fuel pump but before the distribution block.

The fuel pump. Just before the fuel pump, you can see the first in-line fuel filter—the pre-filter—as these high-volume pumps cannot tolerate any gunk going through them.

You must use a pre-filter and an after filter as well.