Forums » Classic Cars » Sexy Red Box
  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 1, 2009 7:36 p.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    Only this will excite racers.

    http://www.124racer.com/gallery/09/1001/index.html

  • aeronca65t

    Oct. 1, 2009 9:25 p.m. aeronca65t HalfDork

    Haha. I just got one for my Austin. It's sitting on my kitchen floor right now.

    My neighbour came in yesterday and saw it and said, "What the hell it that?!?"

    Enjoy Every Sandwich ~ W.Z.

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 1, 2009 9:29 p.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    My mother said that tonight. My wife asked me if I was happy with my birthday gift.

    Now I will decide how to install it.

    I'm still debating about caging the bottom end of the cell in.

    I know I will make a frame and swap the bolts on the cell for longer ones.

    A.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • Oct. 2, 2009 9:05 a.m. spitfirebill Dork

    Me likey!

  • Tom Heath

    Oct. 2, 2009 9:26 a.m. Tom Heath Marketing / Club Coordinator

    I'm excited.

    I tried drag racing, but kept blowing the apex for turn 2...

  • Gary

    Oct. 2, 2009 12:34 p.m. Gary Reader

    I was going to post this as a new topic, but since Andre has already started this one, it's as good a place as any to bring it up: The old gas tank in my '68 Spitfire is pretty gummed up inside, so one of my winter projects is to either repair it or replace it with a new repro tank. But neither of those 2 solutions would change the fact that the tank would still be right behind my back, a scary design feature of the Spitfire. So I'm considering a fuel cell as another possible solution. It would mean more cost and more labor, but peace of mind is a good justification. Is anybody out there using a fuel cell on a street vehicle?

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 2, 2009 12:43 p.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    I guess you could put one in the Spit, but then you really do loose your trunk space.

    I wonder how much ATL would bill you to make a custom job that fits into the stock location?

    A.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • Gary

    Oct. 2, 2009 12:52 p.m. Gary Reader

    Good point. There're a lot of Spitfire race cars around, so maybe ATL or one of the other manufacturers has already done it.

  • cyncrvr

    Oct. 2, 2009 10:15 p.m. cyncrvr New Reader

    That looks good enough to use as an end table. It's too nice to fill with fuel.

  • aeronca65t

    Oct. 3, 2009 4:27 a.m. aeronca65t HalfDork

    If you're just looking for a cell for a street car (and it doesn't have to be race-teched), Jegs sells many types and sizes, down to 5 or 8 gallon units. The "Jaz" brand is decent as is their in-house Jegs brand. Prices are reasonalbe. I'd stick to the types inside a steel or aluminum can.

    ~Click Here~ to see some of them.

    When I fitted my 8 gallon ATL cell to my race-Spridget, I ended up cutting the trunk floor out. The cell sticks about half way down below the old trunk floor and has a pretty robust extruded aluminum frame around it. When I trial-fitted it on top of the trunk floor it seemed too high. It was too low when I tried to mount in under the trunk floor. I see a lot of Spridgets set up similar to mine.

    You can get an idea of my setup from the two pictures below:

    Enjoy Every Sandwich ~ W.Z.

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 3, 2009 7:02 a.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    I have a feeling I will do similar.

    50/50 thing. Very much like stock but centered.

    We're allowed 6" off the deck, but that might cause trailer loading issues and I've been warned on the FIAT the cell might make accessing the diff harder.

    I will start by removing the fuel tank and prepping the floor area.

    The FIAT is pretty beefy thanks to the bumper supports. So I have a good base to start from.

    A.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 3, 2009 7:10 a.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 3, 2009 7:14 a.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    Racer MGB.

    Simple install. Also like how they dual pick up from the cell into the filter and then into 1 pump.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • aeronca65t

    Oct. 3, 2009 9:34 a.m. aeronca65t HalfDork

    The size of that Covette cell reminds me of another reason to race small cars. When I ran NJMP two weeks ago, I used less than 14 gallons for the two days that I ran. This makes sense to me since my car averages about 5 or 6 gallons per hour (at racing speeds) and I ran 7 sessions (at 20 to 30 minutes each). A friend of mine used more than 14 gallons in just ONE session in his '67 Corvette. Race gas costs us $9.00 per gallon.

    Sorry I'm not doing the conversion to $CDN and liters but you get the basic idea.......it costs a LOT just to put fuel in a V8 race car.

    I ran a 3-Hour enduro a few years ago at The Glen. The guy that won had an old NASCAR Craftsman truck. He burned over $500 worth of gas in that race.

    Enjoy Every Sandwich ~ W.Z.

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 3, 2009 9:44 a.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    Yep. Smaller is better.

    A.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • OFracing

    Oct. 5, 2009 7:17 p.m. OFracing New Reader

    Andre, I put a full cage around my cell. One of the vintage groups I run with puts all the cars on track at the same time, kind of like a couple of 24 hour races do today. The group 1 cars only race group 1 etc but there are some much faster and heavier cars out with me. I wanted as much protection as possible and with the back end of a Spitfire not too substantial, I put a cage around the cell and tied it into my main cage.

    Not only does it protect my cell and fuel pump but my butt as well.

    mike

    63 Spitfire

  • André Rousseau

    Oct. 6, 2009 6:50 a.m. André Rousseau HalfDork

    Nice work.

    Surprised you did not lower the cell down.

    A.

    1968 Triumph GT6 Mk1

  • OFracing

    Oct. 7, 2009 11:25 a.m. OFracing New Reader

    I kept in in the trunk mostly for aesthetic reasons but I had some safety concerns as well. As an engineer I see the value of keeping the weight low. With the car so close to the ground already, it seems to me like asking for trouble placing the gas tank in such an exposed position, even if it is a fuel cell. I know production cars, even Jeeps, have plastic tanks in a similar position but they tend to spend more time on the road and have less contact with other cars.

    mike

    63 Spitfire

You'll need to log in to post.

Lime Rock Park
CMS Ad Dept
Saferacer

Yes or No

What’s your favorite British sports car?

Triumph

45%

MG

13%

Austin Healey

19%

Aston Martin

3%

Jensen / Jensen Healey

3%

TVR

13%

Morgan

3%

Check back soon for the next poll. View all polls