1 (edited by bspeed 2020-04-29 04:35 PM)

Topic: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

So I am in the process of building a Lemons car out of a really crappy 1983 Camaro.  We have ditched the stock fuel tank for a bunch of reasons and I am looking at mounting a fuel cell in the car.

So my options are:
1) Mount a small fuel cell in the stock location.  This has a ton of issues due to the goofy size of the original tank.  Honestly not the best idea.
2) Mount a larger fuel cell in the floor pan low and behind the axle.  Generally I would be ok with this but the Lemons rules seem to disfavor locations too far rearward or too low.  Plus a larger fuel cell would put a lot of weight really far back in the car.  Kind of worried about the affect on handling, as if the 3rd gen camaro won't be crappy enough.
3) In looking at all of the room in the cabin behind the front seats it looks as if I can mount an FIA approved fuel cell behind the front seats and ahead of the axle and and ahead of the stock fuel tank location.  Advantages to this would be far less cutting, the fuel cell would be within the cage but not structural to it, the mass of the tank/fuel would be within the wheel base, fabrication would be substaintially cheaper and quicker.

So does anyone have experience in doing this?  In reading the rules I can't see why this would not pass tech, but maybe I missed something?

Thanks

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

How are you going to fill it?  What would you do to mitigate overflowed fuel from running down under the seat?

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3 (edited by DirtyDuc 2020-04-28 03:44 PM)

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

never mind. misread the original post.

That guy

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

cheseroo wrote:

How are you going to fill it?  What would you do to mitigate overflowed fuel from running down under the seat?

Just plan on running a hose from stock fill location regardless of where the fuel cell goes.  So no different in overflow from using the stock location.

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

Our fuel cell is located on the back seat deck (e30) and had no problems with tech.  We fabricated a new fuel fill location as the factory fill location would've been to low.  Venting hose has 3 "loops" with a bulkhead fitting below/behind the new fill.  We did have problems initially with fuel sloshing up and into the vent line and settling at the bottom of the first loop.  We corrected that by having the vent line go up about a foot from the cell and then back down to the "loops".  Beware that the filler cap assembly, hose, and angled fill fitting added a lot to the cost of the system.

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Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

Just FYI, the fourth gen. F body plastic tanks swap right in and give you an extra 1.5 gals.  The 3rd gen and the 4th gen F bodies share the same rear floor plan. It is all OEM stock stuff. fillers vents and everything swap out. We did it in ours.  Depending on your type of fuel system you just have to match pressures, pressure regulators, fuel pumps, return lines

great forum discussion https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/organiz … using.html

7 (edited by bspeed 2020-04-29 04:33 PM)

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

StunMan wrote:

Just FYI, the fourth gen. F body plastic tanks swap right in and give you an extra 1.5 gals.  The 3rd gen and the 4th gen F bodies share the same rear floor plan. It is all OEM stock stuff. fillers vents and everything swap out. We did it in ours.  Depending on your type of fuel system you just have to match pressures, pressure regulators, fuel pumps, return lines

great forum discussion https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/organiz … using.html


Thanks...good to know but we hope to be putting something in close to 20-24 gallons, as opposed to 16.  The more times we pull out the tape measure, and open a beer.....the more we think putting the fuel cell where the rear seat was is the simplest and safest solution.  We could even move the fuel fill to the window with a bracket and some time.....

Also given that the fuel tank/system shouldn't count toward our $500 limit...we might as well make this part work!

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

StunMan wrote:

Just FYI, the fourth gen. F body plastic tanks swap right in and give you an extra 1.5 gals.  The 3rd gen and the 4th gen F bodies share the same rear floor plan. It is all OEM stock stuff.

You're taking a chance that nobody at tech will know the difference, because that swap is against the rules. Rule 3.H does not refer to "OEM" as in "Hey, it's from the same Manufacturer" but "OE" as in Original Equipment for that car. If, for example, you've got a 1983 Camaro, the only OE fuel system is from a 1983 Camaro, not from something else that also happens to have been made by General Motors.

Now, if a tank from some other year of third-generation F-body is identical (not just close-ish, but identical) to the tank in the '83 model, or if an aftermarket replacement is identical to the original '83 tank, then nobody is going to object to that, but the very fact that your fourth-generation tank is different means, by definition, it is not OE for an '83.

The Lemons tech inspectors don't want to get into case-by-case determinations of what constitutes "the same rear floor plan" or any other such justifications for making a swap, nor will they make a sudden unsupported, potentially lawsuit-generating, and possibly insurance-voiding engineering decision on whether the design of the rest of the fourth-gen vs. third-gen car might make a difference in the safety of the two fuel tank designs, so the rule is simple: If you don't keep what's original equipment for that car, then you must use a proper fuel cell instead.

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Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

Thanks for the input folks.  To be safe and ensure it passes tech I think we have decided to cut the rear deck pan so we can put a fuel cell in the same location as the stock unit.  The only issue is to ensure we leave enough room for the differential pumpkin to travel up.

Re: Fuel cell location in 3rd gen Camaro

As a fellow Gen III F-body racer here.... I'd wack the entire rear floor out and install a nice cell. I think Lemons allows for 24 gallons SWEEEEEET. But the other "cheap league" only 2+ stock. So keep that in mind. Also regulation cells are $$$$$$ You can do other things to expand your fuel capacity.

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