32 replies to this topic

[mike.]

Just after a bit of reference off somebodys car really. Somebody with the 7.5 gallon fuel tank.

I've had half a boot floor welded in my mini, and the old bit of floor has been chucked out with the fuel tank strap mounting point on it. So now I've got no mounting for the fuel tank in the boot.

Here my boot floor at the mo, plenty of room for a bracket:



But once the fuel tanks in, I can't see how the retaining bolt is going to mount unless it goes through the hole in the fuel tank lip and into a bracket behind it?



Is that how it works? A long bolt goes through the strap, through the hole in the tank and into a bracket behind the lip? Just wondering if somebody can check it for me on there car or get some photos of the bracket placement if possible

Also is my fuel tank positioned correctly?

This is how it sits in the boot:



Can't get it in any further because it fouls on the bootlid cable mount:



I've found this on minispares: Link

Made for mounting R/H tanks. I was thinking I could make something simple, just a right angled bracket with a gusset to stop it just bending back when the bolt is tightened and just rivet it to the boot floor in the right place. I've got some 2mm steel which would be ideal for it so i'm not planning on buying the correct bracket.

Cheers for any help

[R1minimagic]

The tank looks to be in roughly the correct position, the bolt DOES NOT go through the hole in the tank, easy to get fooled by that! I will take a pic for you.

[R1minimagic]

Here you go

[mike.]

Cheers I see now.

So the bolt goes through just under the tank lip.

Just need to make up a bracket now...

Roughly how high off the bootfloor is the captive nut for this bolt? Just so I know how big to make the bracket.

[R1minimagic]

Bolt centre is 40mm off the boot floor

[mike.]

Perfect, cheers for taking time to do that.

[R1minimagic]

Ahh see you are in Manchester, where abouts?

I have a couple i am breaking for spares, one has smashed in back end so i could take that bracket off (once i figure out how to get the fuel tank out!!!)

[mike.]

Yeah i'm in Sale.

Would be ideal if you could get it off without damaging it too badly. I think they're welded to the boot floor but not sure.

I can make one fairly easily but i'd still need to get a nut welded into it.

[sonikk4]

Rather than trying to fabricate one buy one off Somerford Mini's
REPAN018 ANCHOR BRACKET, fuel tank mounting 1 1976 on. £6.41 inc vat.

[mike.]

Ahhh Cheers, I always forget about somerford - They have EVERY panel it seems.

I've made a bracket up with a hole at 40mm from the boot floor and a few holes in the base of it to either bolt or rivet it through the boot floor.

Its more than strong enough with the thickness of plate and the gusset bit i've made and it seams to line up ok with the tank strap.

Just need to get a decent size nut tacked onto the back of it now. I could put a rivnut through the hole, but the biggest rivnut my gun will do is M6 and with the weight of a full tank of fuel, I think the threads would strip out of the rivnut after a few fast bumpy corners. They're only aluminium and the threads strip out of them fairly easily, they're only really any good for attaching bits and bobs to.





If I get it in place and it doesn't work i'll just get the bracket from somerford I think.

[sonikk4]

To be really honest with and i'm not having a go at your fabrication skills its all about safety. As you have said if things give way with a full tank of fuel and god forbid you have an accident then what will you do. Also if you try to claim and the assessor sees that bracket they will more than likely refuse to pay.

I would buy the bracket and fit that as at least you will safe in the knowledge it will be safe and sound.

[mike.]

How does the standard bracket fit to the boot floor though? I can't weld basically, I should learn as I seem to constantly have little bits to weld...

What if I bolt the gusset piece on instead of the little rivets?

The main piece is made of 2mm plate and the little gusset bit is made of 1.2mm plate. I've put it in a vice and smacked it with a lump hammer and I couldn't get it to bend and with bolts instead of the aluminium rivets it'd be stronger still.

Edited by mike., 28 July 2011 - 07:50 PM.

[sonikk4]

The nut and bolt method would be better than aluminium rivets.

The biggest problem other than the strength issues would be dissimilar corrosion between the rivets and the bracketry.

To be fair rivets used in the right way can be very strong but and here,s the $64,000 dollar question will they support the tank in the event of an accident??

Now you can get Monel Cherry Rivets (they are steel) which are a very strong blind rivet which we use a lot in the Aviation industry and can be bought through Ebay. But again here is the question are they strong enough for where you want to use them. I think the answer would be yes but would have to be at least 3/16ths dia and then you would need the right tooling to pull them so in this case not worth it unless of course you work at an airport.

Use the bolt method but is there anybody you know that could weld the right bracket in place or weld yours up?? I think you really need to consider this.

[mike.]

Yeah I know what you mean. Only reason I used rivets was because they're neat and the bracket will never need to be taken apart. But I did think about the corrosion differences and the softness of aluminium rivets.

I've put some M6 bolts through it now with washers and locking nuts on them. I've also made a spacer plate to effectively countersink the bolt head on the underside of the bracket, so it can be bolted on flush.

I could probably get the bracket welded up somewhere, I'm sure if a bodyshop has got the time they'll do a couple of minutes welding for me. I was planning on taking it somewhere to get a nut tacked onto the back of it anyway, as it needs a captive nut on the back. But I can't really get anyone round to weld the bracket to the floor for me...

I've got 3 6mm holes in the base of the bracket and was planning on bolting it through the boot floor and either using some big washers under the bootfloor or making another plate to spread the load under the boot floor when I bolt it on. Like I say, where it'll bolt through in the boot has just been replaced so its good solid metal thats it being bolted to as well.

I'll put some thought into it though and see how it goes. I might be able to bolt it in for now and to get the car through the MOT and back on the road, and then I can drive it somewhere and have the bracket welded down to the floor. It's just I don't know anybody who welds, especially not somebody who could come and do it at my house.

Edited by mike., 29 July 2011 - 03:12 PM.

[mike.]

Bringing this back up again...

I've now got the proper bracket from somerford, however its not come with the nut like it shows in the diagrams....

I seem the remember the nut being held in place with a little clip on bracket that clipped onto the strap bracket - Is that right?

Because if so i'll just source one of those and clip it on, rather than getting a nut tacked onto the bracket.