Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I bought a new Old stock tank off fleabay, with outlet at the bottom. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of its origin?
I have cleaned its inside and sealed it and have obtained connecting fittings, but am just curious about it!

Is there any sign that a top outlet was there & has been sealed.

If not presumable it was some sort of prototype.

With the outlet that low is it not likely to get sludge in the outlet pipe?

All of the 6 Elans I've owned had the outlet at the top of the tank.

V

Hi Bill,no there is no sign of the normal outlet pipe at the top. Sludge and muck in the tank is a bit of a concern,so will just have to try it and see what happens,and keep a good eye on the inline filter.
The fixing studs are also different,in that they are mounted in such a way that they actually raise the tank a fraction above the boot floor,thus hopefully keeping the base dry,in at least slightly circulating air.
The top and sides are also pressed to add some stiffness.
Obviously quite a bit of thought has gone into the construction of this tank and it would be interesting to know who made it!

Ray S4fhc

Ray,

My old fuel tank (1968 S4)has a drain plug at the bottom. Could this have been adapted on your tank, or have I not understood your post.

Richard Hawkins

Richard,
No, this new tank has a drain plug in the normal position,nicely strengthened. There is no sign at all of the normal outlet,and the side outlet is tapped for a normal plumbing fitting.
The fuel gauge aperture is in the correct place,size and tapped for the screws.
I suppose I shall just try connecting it up via this lower outlet, and see if there are any problems.
All very curious.

Ray s4fhc

A couple more pictures

Hi Ray,
May be I haven't thought it through but I wouldn't use a tank with out let at the bottom. If / when the out let hose perishes it could be a big leak.

Regards
Steve

Hi Steve,
Yes, that is a bit of a nagging thought for me too. I think I shall just have to force myself into a regular replacement routine for the fuel pipes. I have a Facet electric pump mounted near to the tank with new rubber pipes connecting,so at least all is readily accessible.
I'm really at a loss to understand why it was designed that way,as most other details seem to be obvious improvements.

Ray S4fhc

Since, presumably, your tank is dry and never yet contained petrol, you could screw a plug in that outlet and then drill a hole in the top, in the conventional place, and insert an L shaped piece of 10mm copper pipe as a new outlet and solder it in.

patrics wrote:Hi Ray,
May be I haven't thought it through but I wouldn't use a tank with out let at the bottom. If / when the out let hose perishes it could be a big leak.

Regards
Steve

you dont want to drive a plus 2 then

cheers
Rohan

Didn't realise that +2 was like that - I do have one for rebuild I think that is something I would change!

Changing hoses on a regular basis might not be so easy as the tank will probably never be empty enough to get around to it

Regards
Steve

Just run your 10mm copper from your outlet, vertically, on the outside of the tank, there`s plenty of room there. In fact that`s a good spot for your electric fuel pump too.
Jim

Just what I had in mind Jim.
Mind you,I would expect the rubber pipe to start seeping before it failed catastrophically.
Ray s4fhc