Comments on Robert's post: > 1. The high pressue line on the fuel pump is touching the > fiberglass underbody, and thus transmits the vibrations that > resonate throughout the car. I hear you, and I hear it; but this isn't the problem I'm trying to solve. My fuel pump is noisy like most everyone else's all the time, but I'm trying to cure a specific temperature/noise correlated problem. When the fuel gets hot, the pump becomes extremely noisy -- making all kinds of rude farting/gurgling noises. > 2. Gasoline gets hot, softens the pickup hose on the pump, and > negative pressure inside the hose causes it to collapse. Thus > the fuel pump is starved of liquid to lubricate it, and it begins to > whine. I hear you again, and again I eliminated this as a possible problem by 1) replacing my OEM fuel suction hose with the PJ Grady variety which is noticeably thicker, stiffer & heavier, but I still get the temperature related noisy fuel pump problem. 2) So next I stretched out a screen door spring and threaded it through the new hose. This didn't help at all. While the fuel is cool, the pump is pretty much silent; however, with extended abuse its base line noise has increased substantially. I think it is on it's way out, so I'm driving around now with a spare fuel pump & tools to change it out just in case. On a hot day after a trip across town, I put a thermometer in my tank and measured the temperature to be 118 degrees Fahrenheit. > Deflectors > for the front radiator are a waste of time, materials, and vehicle > weight. The prevent high flow exhaust from the front radiator, and > they can cause a pressure lock-up at speeds over 70MPH as I > have been told. I have looked into installing a deflector and can easily see the problems you mention. My suggestion is to construct a deflector that is shaped like a plow that would fit between the fiberglass underbody and the frame. This wouldn't restrict air movement as much as other designs. Since one of my radiator fans might be going bad (I can't tell if it is howling occasionally or if it is my fuel pump that is going bad) I might consider building a new radiator shroud to hold aftermarket radiator fans. It would have a shape that would duct the air away from the fuel tank. I'm thinking that putting the new fans in front of the radiator might work better. Comments on Sean's post: > Instead of producing a stainless tank to make room for insulation, etc. as > well as reducing the volume of the tank, have you considered installing a > fuel radiator on the return line? Summit Racing has a dual pass radiator > meant for this purpose. I have spotted this in their catalogue before and am seriously considering it. I'm thinking that maybe the best place for it would be in the frame near the fuel accumulator and be installed in the fuel return line. The one that Summit Racing has seems too small according to their photo. Maybe an oil cooling radiator could be made to work better. If done properly, I don't see how it could be any more or less dangerous than one made for fuel. Comments to Martin's post: > The stock tank is a superb material and was designed that way for crash-worthiness. I agree that it is a superb material since I bought a running gear that had been baking out in the sun for 3 or 4 years. The exposed OEM tank shows almost no signs of sun damage. Though, I don't think this would make the tank any more crash-worthy. I have seen a photo of a RHD conversion that used a metal tank. I'd like to know more about that as well as the one that Don @ DeLorean Motor Company came up with. Comments to Farrar's post: > A stainless fuel tank sounds wonderful. Have you considered aluminum? I think that aluminum would be a bad idea because it corrodes more. For the fuel pump, this isn't much of a problem, but the tank would be susceptible to water collecting at the bottom and also to condensation clinging to the top. In order to be practical, an aluminum tank would need to be coated. There are paints specifically made for this, but I would rather not have to fool with it. As for one material having better insulating properties than another, this is a weird situation with the fuel tank. Making a tank out of materials that conduct heat better than the OEM plastic will probably make it more apt to pick up heat from the coolant pipes and hot air from the radiator. My main concern at this point is not making the fuel pump more quiet in as much as keeping the fuel cooler for other reasons. 118F is just too hot for fuel. It taxes the evaporative control system. It allows the more volatile components to boil off sooner. It allows the oxygenated components to degrade quicker. If I were going to put my car in storage and wanted to do it with a minimum amount of fuel left in the tank, I wouldn't want to do it with fuel that had been previously cooked in there. (Not that I would store a car with fuel in it anyway.) My long term goal is to change out the frame with a stainless one. But first Pearce Design has to finish making it. I was supposed to have it two months ago, but then I tell them I'm not in any hurry. So I suppose now they aren't either. When I move everything over to the new frame, I'm going to experiment with installing an air deflector, fuel radiator, and possibly a stainless fuel tank. I was just looking over my junk frame today that still has the fuel tank inside. It wouldn't take a lot of volume from the tank to make room for 1/2" or so of foam refrigerant pipe insulation. Any volume that is consumed in this way could be made up for by making the tank longer in the front. The rubber pads there don't need to be that thick. There clearances on the sides maybe could be less, too. (But when I removed my tank before, I remember having to stand in the trunk and stomp it out.) When done, a new tank with room for insulation could have a larger capacity than the OEM. Food for thought. Walt Tampa, FL