Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[J. Robinson]

Well, with my son's sedan pretty well finished except for a few details he can handle on his own, I am able to start working on the roadster again. The next step I have decided to undertake is mounting the fuel cell. I bought an aluminum RCI fuel cell on Ebay. It measures 16 1/2" square by 9" deep and holds ten gallons. It is a racing fuel cell complete with rollover valve, baffles, foam, and a fuel gauge sending unit.

I began by setting the cell on my motorcycle lift and jacking it up into position. I tried a couple of different heights and looked at the car from behind and from the side. I knew it would be partially visible from the rear; that wasn't the problem. I wanted to keep it high enough that it would be partly protected by the rear axle housing, but low enough that I would have a little room in the trunk for some basic road gear (small tool bag, tire plug kit, miniature 12-volt compressor, & rain suits).

Once the position was finalized, I lifted the cell out, but left the motorcycle lift in place to use as a guide. Next, I cold-bent two pieces of 3/16 x 2 flat stock to serve as the bottom supports. Notice in the pics, the front one had to be formed around the deeper front sump area of the cell. Using the old "cut & try" method, I finally got the supports to fit where I wanted them. I used a level across the frame and another, shorter one in the supports to get everything flat. I, of course, used the trusty measuring tape to get everything square, tacked-welded the ends, then used a combination square to get them flat in relation to each other. When I was satisfied, I welded the supports solid. The last pic shows the fuel cell sitting in place. Next, I need to strap it down...