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Has anybody ever fitted a 1974 fuel tank in an earlier 140? I'm away from my cars and can't have a look if the trunk sheetmetal shape is very different.
The reason for this (probably silly) idea is simple. My 1973 tank is badly rusted at the seam and leaks. I tried a tank from a 1968 parts car, but the sender is different, so I don't have a working gauge. I've got a good 1974 tank from my rally car when I removed it to fit a fuel cell.
If the sheet metal is the same profile, I can easily plate over where the old tank hole is, cut out the required shape at the (car's) front of the trunk. The fuel plumbing should be trivial, although routing the filler pipes mightn't be. The key is that sheet metal profile.
Thoughts?
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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There is a factory recall on 1973-4 fuel tanks. I got one in 2006 for the Orange Alert a 1974 145e, but that was in the united states.
The brazed drain boss cracked and leaked, so I got the Volvo dealer to replace it. It took a couple weeks.
It barely ran, needing that grenade thing for the K-jet.
They did not seem happy.
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MPergiel, Walker, MI
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Your car is a 73? You have a good sender, but the tank is rusted out?
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Correct. Over the years a bit of water has collected in the well around the tanks seam and it's pretty weepy in places.
John
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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Cut the top off yours and solder it to the bottom of the good early one.
Cut 1" down the side from the top, cut the early one 1/4" from the top, tin the areas that lap + a little further to give you a place to allow the solder to run in easier. I'd try sanding and tinning any spots inside the tank if needed, BUT,I'm not sure how that would go on the original lead coating.(I don't know if there is a lead coat inside, I've never looked and suspect Volvo might have done better). If you do this method, you could jack the top up higher for a bigger capacity if you make different cuts and extend the float arm.
Alternately, if the strengthing ribs on the top are the same, you could cut a hole around the sender section, making sure that you have 1/2" overlap for solder.
If you have to buy a tank somewhere, get an injection tank, they have a 1/2 inch pickup with a strainer. I used one in my car, the 1/2" pickup supplied my electric Carter, the 5/16" return, I used to feed the mechanical pump. The return on the E tank dips deeply in to the fuel and was no problem when running down the highway with the electric pump off.
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Thanks,
That's pretty much what I thought I'd end up doing. I rather like the idea of raising the top for more capacity.
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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How often do you fill the trunk?
If your spare tank does not fit, It might be cheaper and certainly safer to put a fuel cell in the 140 :)
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A fuel cell is an interesting idea. I mainly use the car on casual road rallies, so it doesn't get used a lot, but when it does, I would fill it a couple of times a day. The only snag with a fuel cell is connecting it to the filler. In Australia we need to have the filler vent and spill to the outside
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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John,
There are fuel cells that have necks at the cell that accept large diameter fuel hose to connect to an exterior fuel filler.
You will have to figure out how to connect it up, but it shouldn't be that hard to do.
If you do have to customize something, make sure your fuel filler hose is rated for fuel and here's why.
About 30 years ago, my brother converted his 1973 Chevy Suburban to a 1 ton dual wheel rear end. To accommodate the custom rear fenders, the fuel filler had to be relocated and the mods were done by a friend. He used a piece of big rig radiator hose and not fuel hose and we didn't notice until it started leaking from a hole due to fuel eating through the hose several years later.
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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com
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Eric, that's good advice. I had a similar problem with this car about 5 years ago. I'd replaced the flexible hose to the carbs (it's got webers) 6 years earlier, with fuel rated hose. I started it up, smelled fuel and switched off immediately. But not before something ignited the fuel that had leaked under the hood. Having an electric fuel pump meant there was more loose fuel than if the pump wax still mechanical.
I immediately hit the fire with an extinguisher and no major damage done - just a few burnt wires and a lot of soot in the engine bay.
A mechanic pal told me the ethanol in modern fuels can attack the hoses, make them brittle or crack. I now have it in the diary to replace those hoses every 4 years. Probably overkill, but cheap insurance.
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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Simplest solution might be to find the correct sender for the early tank. If interested, I may have one, but I'd need to confirm that it measures electrically as being fully functional. Let me know if interested.
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I don't know if there is a 'correct' sender for the earlier tank. The one in it works, but the resistance is wrong. I'm away from home now (I'm in America) but from memory, the earlier tank sender was something like 0-90 ohms and the later something like 30-230 ohms. The early one made for a narrow band of reading on the gauge, in the 1/3 full area. Useless in practice.
If you've got an early gauge with the larger resistance range, I'd be interested. The earlier sender fitting into the tank is smaller than the later one.
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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Hello John,
Sorry I didn't see your reply sooner. I will check the resistance range on the one I have when I got home later today. When are you in the states until? If you do end up wanting the one I have, it'd probably be a lot better to get it to you while you're here instead of me shipping it from the US to Australia. Yes, the one I have is for the smaller hole.
Thanks,
Stan
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Hi Stan,
We fly out next Wednesday, 28 Feb, so if it's the right one I'd need to get it by Tuesday 27 Feb.
Thanks for looking.
John
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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John,
Well, its taken me a while, but I think I finally figured out why this won't work. I was assuming you're use of the phrase "earlier 140" in your original post referred to your 140. But after rereading, I see it refers to before 1974, which is the year of the other tank you have to use. So, I'm pretty sure the car you need to replace the tank on is a 1973, which means it has the later instrument cluster and a different fuel gauge from the earlier 140s. Based on that, unfortunately, you're absolutely correct, there is no correct sender. To use the 1968 tank, you'd need the flange from the 1st version sender and the "guts" from a 3rd version sender, though I'd be extremely surprised if it'd actually be possible to successfully put such a thing together. That, or swap out the dash so you could have the earlier instrument cluster, which I'm fairly certain is not a realistic option.
Sorry. Best of luck coming up with a workable solution and I hope you enjoy your stay while here in the US!
Stan
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Stan,
I agree with your conclusion, unfortunately. I'm thinking of cutting the flange section out of my old, rusty 1973 tank and welding it into the good 1968/9 tank. But finding someone to get rid of all the gas fumes might be a challenge. I'll wor something out!
As always, holidaying here has been great. Probably the worst snow season I can remember in 30 years of coming here, but the groomers do a fantastic job of disguising that and giving us plenty of good skiing.
John
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JohnH, Sydney, Australia
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Rinse out the tank with water. I have soldered a hole on the top of a 74 model tank. My first 164 was a 74, the boot floor was bowed downwards towards the top of the tank which formed a pinch point. A large stone got tossed up over the top of the tank, slid over the front/high part of the tank and it got wedged inbetween the lower part of the tank top, and the bottom of the bowed boot floor. I stuck a short cad plated 1/2" bolt in to the hole, 1/2 fill of water after rinsing it out and stuck some MIG gas in. Chuck a bottle of metho in afterwards to rinse out the water.
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