Fuel tank - Triumph Spitfire

Yes, I got a fuel tank for a bargain, € 10,- only. A small hole needs to be repaired at the filler neck. It does need some inside cleaning (rust) and an electric fuel pump for the injection engine. I will wait with modifications until I have the needed parts.

After some trimming with an angle grinder and some persuasion with a hammer it fits perfectly in the boot of the car. This will save time and money from making my own.

Roll-bar stays and fuel tank supports

For the roll-bar stays I have made a piece to divert the forces in case of an accident. The piece is made from angle iron 50 x 50 x 5 mm and it is fully welded onto the lower part of the chassis. This will provide ample strength. The back-stays are made to snugly fit onto the upper roll-bar and onto the load dividing piece.

Because the car needed to be flipped over for fully welding the stays, I took the opportunity to weld the fuel tank support strips as well. It was still unlclear which tank was going to fit in there, so I made the supports as big as possible.

Upper harness mounts

I have been working on the upper harness mounts some time now. The height of the mounts is very important. The minimum required height for SVA/IVA is 450mm above the seat reference point. This is exactly the height of the rear member where the mount are to be welded on. However, with the seats placed and the harness fitted, the harness seems to point upwards about 45 degrees. In case of a head on colission this can cause compression injuries to the spine. Also, it seams that for smaller people the harness interferes with the edge of the harness slot in the seat. Therefore I chose to raise the mount by 25mm.

Threaded bushes are made, dia 25mm length 60mm, thread M12.

The bushes are fully welded onto the member. In case of a colission, this creates a torque on the member. To prevent this, the construction is strenthened by another new member.

The raised harness mounts finished.