ALLOY fuel / petrol tanks ?

[THECARREAPER]

hello all, i am in the middle of the painful process of removing my rusty and suddenly leaking right side fuel tank ( 1989 Esprit SE) . i have been searching on this site and with Google, and i have read about using alloy tanks instead of steel.

my question is, where does one get an alloy tank(s) from, and what do they cost?

i am not even sure my tank can be repaired. apparently the right side window leaks, whereas the left side does not. (there is not a spot of corrosion on the left tank. )

i am in the USA, and spoke with the nice folks at JAE to order the fuel lines and some of the gaskets. they recommended a place in Pennsylvania to restore / reweld the tanks at $325 each plus shipping. they made it a point to discourage me from trying to buy new tanks, steel or alloy, but i suspect its a cost matter, or availability issue. they are always very helpful on the phone.

i am wondering if it would be better to just buy an alloy tank and be done with it, and also do the left side whilst i have the whole freaking car apart .... !

any help would be much appreciated.

thank you,

Michael

[dave excell]

Hi here

I have replaced both the tanks on my V8 with ones manufactured and supplied by Esprit Engineering.

They are located in Downton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.

They are well made and do not have any return edges, so are easier to fit than the originals.

I dont know the exact price but I belive they are arond

[Glyn Harper]

My pal made mine for me.. about the same price in the end, but it allowed me to make them more 'bespoke' with internal baffle foam.

We also made the tanks a tiny bit smaller as well to make them easier to fit.

They were about 4kg lighter as well.. EACH!

[THECARREAPER]

thank you, i had not thought about the weight difference. that would be a plus along with the corrosion resistance of alloy versus steel. the portion of my tank that i can see looks dreadful, i am not even sure it can be welded.

i hope to have the tank out sometime today.

[Glyn Harper]

If you do get alloy ones, make sure they are painted with aluminium etch primer. Even though aluminium doesn't rust, it does oxidise and go all white and powdery. Painting them will ensure they last as long as the car.

[THECARREAPER]

good advise on the alloy tanks, thank you.

i released the right tank today, i sure do hope i labeled everything correctly ! the left side tank has a very small pin hole in the top, now i am pondering removing it as well. i never saw or smelled any leaks form the left side, but after removing the wood cover and foam pad, i used a wire brush to clean the surface.

at least the right tank is out and on the ground!