Okay, some of you may have seen this thread when I went ahead with my aluminum fuel tank for my car. There was quite a response on that thread of people interested in buying them and my vendor (the guy who makes the tank) said he would be happy to make them for sale. He owns and operates Sunrise Marine Tanks in Venice FL and has been a vendor for some products that my own business sells for about 5 years now so we discussed him building a tank for my car a while ago and this is where we are now.
Tanks will be made upon order, for now I think the turnaround should be under a week but bare with us because if we need to order aluminum product it may be a couple extra days.
For all the information on the tank, please see the link to my post in general as there is a lot of information there and I want to keep this thread clean.
The basics are: we will build you a new aluminum fuel tank, pressure tested and free of leaks with a provision for your sending unit to attach with a new securing ring that will screw into the tank instead of the twist ring. Stock sending unit and O-ring will fit just fine.
The price for these tanks is $300 plus shipping, Tony will ship directly to you wherever you choose. Shipping will be on a case by case basis for now until we determine a fair price so it is easier for the buyer.
EDIT FOR NEW INFO: The tank design has been finalized to fit any year Fiero with the only mod needed being either lengthening the tank straps or creating some other way to hold the tank up.
We can also change fill and vent tube locations to your spec as well as change anything to do with the hole for the sending unit and pump. We have done stock location tanks as well as tanks with a marine sending unit and fittings at the back of the tank for an external pump. The only cost added for these will be for the parts.
I have also had lots of requests for different size/shape tanks for other locations in the car. We can make any tank you need with provided dimensions, in the future I may create a tank for front location and possibly an overflow tank, but until I get to taking my own measurements and test fitting them, your dimensions will be required and I cant guarantee what will and wont fit, only that we will make the tank to the supplied size and shape.
-Joe
[This message has been edited by joesfiero (edited 11-27-2011).]
Sounds awesome Joe.. I was planning on doing the lambo lounge w/ side tanks... but if this works out, I may just go with what you are getting made. If I can get the $$$ I will let u know immediately... a bit poor right now.
I agree, all will come in due time. For now I want to get these out and I can improve upon the design and some add ons as we get feedback from customers.
I already have some ideas, offering straps, overflow tanks, and mounting ears. As feedback comes in, I will run ideas by Tony and see what we can make up.
FWIW I spoke with my friend Jimmy, and we will work on offering these tanks through his business http://fierofiberglass.com/ in the near future for better accessibility and vendor reputation.
Also, small customizations are welcomed. If you want something a little different on your tank, or want a custom piece, let me know and we will work it out with Tony. I already had someone interested in making a remote tank in the front compartment. We can get a price after we get dimensions from the customer.
I can improve upon the design and some add ons as we get feedback from customers.
I already have some ideas, offering straps, overflow tanks, and mounting ears. As feedback comes in, I will run ideas by Tony and see what we can make up.
-Joe
This may deter ppl from buying your Gen-1 style tank; as most would prefer a better, updated model...
[This message has been edited by ALJR (edited 03-24-2011).]
Also, small customizations are welcomed. If you want something a little different on your tank, or want a custom piece, let me know and we will work it out with Tony.
This may deter ppl from buying your Gen-1 style tank; as most would prefer a better, updated model...
There is nothing wrong with this design tank. In fact I think this is a really good design tank, it just takes someone with mechanical ability to design an attachment because the stock straps wont work. The other design tank, the one that will be coming in the future if there is enough interest will be smaller, thus less capacity than this tank but wont require much modification to attach it. The design of this tank probably wont change much if any, it does fit in the hole and has as large a capacity you can get while still fitting. The second design tank will take some working and ideas to be good enough though.
The most popular mod people have been asking me about is welding fittings for a remote pump, this is no problem and should not add much to the cost, I will ask Tony what he will charge for this mod. Keep in mind though that the fittings, like AN fittings can get expensive though.
There is nothing wrong with this design tank. In fact I think this is a really good design tank, it just takes someone with mechanical ability to design an attachment because the stock straps wont work. The other design tank, the one that will be coming in the future if there is enough interest will be smaller, thus less capacity than this tank but wont require much modification to attach it. The design of this tank probably wont change much if any, it does fit in the hole and has as large a capacity you can get while still fitting. The second design tank will take some working and ideas to be good enough though.
The most popular mod people have been asking me about is welding fittings for a remote pump, this is no problem and should not add much to the cost, I will ask Tony what he will charge for this mod. Keep in mind though that the fittings, like AN fittings can get expensive though.
-Joe
No mechanical ability needed. Just mimic the stock straps with some cheap aluminum strips. Maybe put some adhesive weatherstrip foam on top so it doesn't rattle (like the pads on the stock tank).
btw, is there a sump or any baffling in this tank?
With the larger width of this tank you cant use a strap like attachment because there is no room on the sides of the tank. The attachment would most likely need to be something to the floor pan of the car at the front and back. Mine is held up with only the cross brace and it was a very tight fit. I dont think the tank can go anywhere as it is but I will probably make up a front and rear mount eventually.
The tank baffles mimic stock, there is an aluminum plate welded just in front and behind the stock pump area so the fuel doesnt rush one way or another on accel or decel. There is still room for the fuel to move just not as fast.
Let me try and gather funds and see if I have any sort of time to play around with fittings anytime soon. If both are successful (or hell, just one and I'll make the other work), then I will definitely be PMing you.
The design for the tanks for now will be just like my tank only longer in the front. I have yet to check the capacity of the tank but this design will be larger so it only makes sense to just check one of the first two to be made. Everything will still fit like mine does, I just have a gap from the front of my tank to the structure of the car so this will fill in the gap.
These tanks are made of 5052 aluminum so they are safe and ready for E85 fuel.
I'm with Guru. Capacity is the highest priority. Without knowing that I'm sitting on the sidelines. And, looking at the side-by-side views presented, it appears that the aluminum tank is narrower than the stock tank. Could it be an illusion?
Okay, I will talk to Tony about making a tank or two before we sell these just so I can get the capacity. If someone wants to order one now feel free to do it, it will only help us get the capacity sooner than if I have Tony make one on his own dime.
And the new tank is definitely wider than stock. At least at the bottom, it is about an inch wider hence the no room for straps on the side of the tank. The top is hard to determine because of how curved the old tank is compared to the squared edges of the aluminum tank, but the squared edges also mean more capacity as well, or at least air space.
So what happens when you are in a serious accident and the tank gets punctured?. How is your liability insurance?
Nothing different than if you were in a serious accident with a stock tank.
FWIW, I dont know the legalities of it but if someone would like to share feel free. We are not selling these tanks through Tony's business, they are being sold through the mall, in a car forum, based in The Netherlands.
I am trying to offer a unique product, its no different than the hundreds of other members here that offer a product for the community. I am not making any money off of these tanks, I am purely the middleman between Tony's experience building tanks and the Fiero community that can benefit from this product offered. If its really that big of a deal to have all kinds of liability insurance and worry about people suing me or Tony than this we can quietly shut down this thread and I can just enjoy my tank as a one of a kind piece for what it offers me.
I just want to bring this tank to the market for the benefit of everyone here. Please if you have some concerns about business practice than PM me and if you know something I dont know and want to enlighten me than I am all ears. Otherwise this thread is reserved for the sale of this product and future products I may be able to offer as I design them.
Draw me the dimensions. I'll make a model of it in SolidWorks, and tell you the total internal volume. If you want an air gap at the top, let me know and I'll include it. This should take me 5 minutes to do.
Okay, I appreciate it. I will see what Tony has for dimensions, we are going to offer the tank that I have in my car at first, but with an extended front end so I will have to modify his original plans a bit. I will try to get a hold of him tomorrow and see what he has.
I am interrested but I need to see a picture of the 1st style tank under a Fiero to see how much it sticks out. If it sticks out past the body, then I will go with the stockish tank.
How much would shipping be either to my house or to a nearby shipping hub for Sacramento, CA 95832?
I hope to get my car up in the air this weekend so I can take a pic. I had a few reasons for asking 2 people to help me be guinea pigs for a discounted price; to give ideas on mounting the tank, make the tanks for sale so we could get the capacity figured out, and get an idea for shipping costs. Tony ships a lot of the tanks he makes already so he is equipped to do so, but these tanks are much smaller than the average tank he makes so we can only guess until we can get a tank or two made up and ready to ship. The first post in this thread describes how shipping would work for the first two.
Do you at least have some kind of a ballpartk figure? $100 would be fine for me for shipping but $300 would be out of the question. How much does he charge for larger tanks?
What are you doing to lower the fuel pump to the bottom of the tank? If the stock sending unit is used there will be a lot of wasted capacity and probably not a huge gain in useable capacity...
~Tyler
Edit: while solidworks will give an accurate fill volume it cannot give a useable volume. The only way to do that is; fill up then drive til you run out of fuel and fill up again, noting the amount on second fill up. Get this done and if its a nice increase over stock '87+ I will buy one.
[This message has been edited by GT-X (edited 04-08-2011).]
What are you doing to lower the fuel pump to the bottom of the tank? If the stock sending unit is used there will be a lot of wasted capacity and probably not a huge gain in useable capacity...
~Tyler
The stock sending unit is used, if you choose to do so. The tank is the same (roughly) height as the stock tank from top to bottom where the sending unit is placed. The capacity comes from the fact that the old tank has rounded edges where mine are squared, my tank is much wider than the stock tank while still fitting in the stock location, and my vent tube is moved up to the top of the tank instead of 3" down. I know it was put there on purpose for fuel expansion which is why I am working on an expansion tank, and whenever someone contacts me to purchase a tank I will give them the choice of where they want the vent tube.
Do you at least have some kind of a ballpartk figure? $100 would be fine for me for shipping but $300 would be out of the question. How much does he charge for larger tanks?
We have a tank in the making. It is expected to be done by mid next week, the final length of the tank will be 51" (mine is 48") to fit comfortably in the hole with as much capacity as possible.
I have a potential buyer for the tank already so once the capacity is figured out and anyone wants to buy a tank it will still be about a week for production. We plan to build them 2 at a time because its easier for Tony but if just one is sold at a time we wont make the customer wait.
We should be ready to announce final capacity soon, we have another tank made but were making some small changes before calling it good. I have had offers to calculate volume and I appreciate them but forum members are going to want actual exact capacity rather than a calculated potential capacity. One member has offered to purchase the first tank made and even offered to pay in advance for it which I declined because I only had an estimated time of completion which has already come and gone and he is being very patient while we perfect the design. After this we should be able to get them made pretty quickly.
I'm glad to see your persistence in refining the tank and I appreciate your staying current with communication. I often travel to San Diego County from southern Arizona in my stock '88 Formula, a 460 mile trip. I fill up in Yuma, a little more than half way (260 miles). When my v8 is running I may not make it to Yuma. The supposed 11.2 gallon tank is dry at 10.6. A tank with greater capacity would be quite nice.
Well the first tank for sale is made and sold. Apologies for the whole deal taking so long, but the bOttom line is it's done, Tony has a jig made to reproduce the tanks much quicker and I think well have a good product, I'm still enjoying mine 3 months later with no problems. I look forward to feedback from the first buyer though before I will be satisfied with what we have.
For the details on the new tank, it holds just shy of 13 gallons. With the vent tube at the very top of the tank there should be no problem being able to fill it with 12 1/2 usable gallons or so, though it is definitely recommended to use this tank on 87-88s with the expansion tank. We can move the vent tube lower if the buyer wishes.
Shipping to the first customer only cost $35. He is on the east coast though so fairly close to me in Florida so I would expect more for western states, though it is still much less than I had expected.
Joe, I am very interested in buying a new tank from you. My wife just bought an '88 coupe with a Duke in it. It is in really good condition and it has T-tops so she really enjoyes it. The previous owner had some engine trouble with it and in his process of trouble shooting the problems he exchanged the original tank with an '86 tank. It works but it is too small. We fixed the engine, it had a busted push rod and some others that were bent. Now I have the opportunity to have it changed out to a 2.8 with an automatic trans and while the engine is out I bought a 4T60 for it so that will be installed too. Now I will buy one of your tanks and install it in my '88 GT with a 3800 SC III so I can have the extra fuel range. Then my tank will go into hers so she can have a larger tank too. Good all around. How do we handle the transfer of money? And is this the final size already. I would need the tank in about a couple of weeks if that will work out for you.
I need a tank for our racing 24 hours of lemons how much of the fuel get to the pump is more important than capacity. Our larger tank seems to crap out anfd then only need 7 gallons to fill it we even periscoped the vent in the tank.
2 have sold, I lengthened the tank in the front another 3" from my tank. Haven't heard from either buyer whether the tank fits or not. The shorter tank like mine fits because it's in my car. I can make a tank either length, you just run the risk of having to modify a little if the longer doesn't fit right.
The tanks are 300 plus shipping, shipping to the east coast a month or so ago was 35, pm me for an actual shipping quote with your zip.
