Hi.
Having read this thread I feel that I should reply to some of the points raised with regards to Lotus Elan tanks that we make at Axminster Specialist Panels Ltd.. We have made close to 400 of these Lotus Elan tanks and these have been sent throughout the world. Within the last week we have sent a standard tank to Sweden and a race tank to Australia.
We have designed the internal baffles of our replacement tanks so that they are an improvement over the original steel tanks and superior to any other Elan tanks available. We have considerable experience in making race / road tanks which are used at the highest level.
We have a number of original steel tanks and have had access to many more. Lotus being Lotus there will always be discrepancies on a handful of tanks with slightly different features. An example of this is that I have known of only two original tanks that have the fuel sender securing points at a slightly different rotation to the rest The top fastening should be at 12 o'clock whilst the couple that I have mentioned have a gap at 12 o'clock.
With regards to the filler neck on the original tanks, they are all in the same position on the body of the tank but, sometimes are at a very slightly different angle (we are talking a couple of degrees at most). This is easily rectified within a few seconds by the customer when fitting one of our new tanks, and I often explain how to do this to customers prior to them receiving their tank. The reason for this is that the hole in the bodywork for the filler varies on most cars. They varied on original cars, repaired cars and cars fitted with new bodies.
There have been numerous customers that we have provided extra assistance to when they have a car that is not standard, ie modified or accident damaged etc, or they suspect this may be the case. An example of this is the placing of the x3 mounting points in different positions on the base of the tank to suit the customers individual car. We do have an aluminium template replicating the curved base of the tank which we are happy to send to customers if they are in doubt with regards to the locations of the holes in their boot floor. They would then mark this template with the required locations, send back the template and the tank will be made to match.
Steve. You have mentioned that there were two different tanks with different filler neck angles. Sorry, but you are incorrect. As mentioned, that filler neck angle can vary very slightly and there are not two set angles. Over the past few years I have seen you mention on this and other forums the tanks that you supply. I should politely mention that on at least three occasions, we have supplied replacement tanks (2x Elan tanks and x1 Europa tank) to customers in the US who were not happy with the quality of your tanks upon receiving them.
Please note that there is a company in the US that is selling fabricated Elan tanks and informing the customers that they are from our company, Axminster Specialist Panels Ltd. They are not our tanks and are of inferior quality. In addition, they are more expensive than our tanks including the shipping to the US.
We would happily compare these tanks to any others on the market.
We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction, often going above and beyond to ensure our customers are happy. Positive feedback on this and other forums etc constantly shows this. We have worked numerous evenings and weekends to supply tanks that are urgently required.
I hope this has clarified the points raised and if there are any questions please ask.
Thanks.
Andy Wiltshire
Axminster Specialist Panels Ltd.
http://axminsterspecialistpanels.com/