gbarmore

Swapping to EFI and looking at the option of installing an Aeromotive Phantom Stealth pump in the tank of my '80 but I am a bit nervous about it. Since this tank has had fuel in it for the last 36 years, am I at risk of blowing myself up if I throw a spark drilling the holes for the Phantom? Is there a way to clean the tank to make this safe?

Would prefer to avoid buying a new tank, but I am open to suggestions on that as well. From what I have seen no one sells an EFI tank for an 80, but I have seen others say a '78 - '81 tank is the same?

Thanks

'75

It takes 3 things to make a fire, heat, fuel and oxygen. You will make some heat while drilling, so the easiest of the 3 to take away is the oxygen. You can purge the tank with an inert gas such as welding gas CO2 from your wire welder. Or, I have seen people pipe exhaust from a running car into a fuel tank to purge the air also. I've seen them filled with water to remove all the fumes, though not the best method.

All that aside, doesn't the 82 sender pump unit fir the 78 tank?

myoriginal77

A long time ago when I worked in a car shop we used to get lacquer thinner in 15 gallon drums, when we emptied one we washed it out several times and then it sat for a few weeks. My boss wanted to cut the top off to make it a garbage can.
It passed the sniff test, it did not at all smell of thinner, I washed it out again.

He put the torch to the bung hole - kaboom -

Never forgot flame that came out -

We laughed our asses off - lucky to be alive -

Be careful,
Frank

drwet

There is a product on the market for exactly that purpose. Its basically an industrial strength degreaser. You can flush the tank out with it before drilling your hole. Unfortunately I don't know what its called but if you check around you should be able to come up with some.

gbarmore

I have heard that the '82 will fit the 78-82, but I'm unclear on the specs of the included pump. I need 58 PSI at the throttle body.... My guess is that that pump would have to be upgraded so not sure what problem the 82 sender solves. Then there is the issue of what lines to run from the hard lines out of the tank to the EFI.

We'll Frank, this is exactly why I posted this topic. Not ready to meet my maker just yet. Thanks for cementing the concept of 'can't be too cautious'.

gbarmore

Thanks drwet, I'll do some googling......

Kevin BC

I used the water fill method when I cut the hole in my tank. worked fine as I am still typing this message. Does not need to be filled to the absolute top of the tank and do not fill so your newly cut hole will be in the water. this will result in water between the bladder and the tank which could lead to rusting from the inside. Siphon the water out so again, no water between the bladder and tank. reach in with a towel to finish dry . I installed mine on the highest point of the tank using the logic that even though it is well sealed this would keep the new hole and fittings above level of fuel most of the time. I know this is not required, but that was my thinking. However this meant that I had to also purchase the "extension" kit as the depth was more than the standard kit and the pump would not reach the bottom. Installing lower could eliminate this.
Pic attached.

Street Rat

Fill the tank with water and drill away. I have done this many times.

kanvasman

You are still going to be working with an OLD tank. Had the same issue with my 78, got a leak in the bladder and then it found some rust and was junk. Buy a new 78-82 tank, probably about $200. Then get the fuel sending unit for an 82, that has the extra wire going into it for the fuel pump. I bought a GM pump for an 86 vette, it all fit into the opening with no fuss. Don't know what kind of fuel flow you need, if that pump will work for you or not. But I have had more than one guy tell me he wished he had a popular, easy to get pump in his car for when the day comes and the pump breaks down. Bottom line, but the new tank. My $.02, good luck.

TCracingCA

To perform the mod!!!

gbarmore

Thansk for the info Kevin. Wondering if you had any issues cutting the bladder in the tank? Did it cut clean with the hole saw or was there another method you used? I spoke with Aeromotive tech support yesterday and they told me that I may need to get some fuel resistant sealant to ensure that there is no leaking between the bladder and the tank itself. Did you see a need for that?

Kanvasman, appreciate the input. I need enough fuel flow to support 450 hp right now, but do want some overhead for future mods without having to drop the tank again. It will be critical to know what the flow of the '82 pump is as well as the PSI.

Anyone have the 82 pump specs handy??

kanvasman

82 pumps were only designed for the crossfire engine, really low psi, like 14-15lbs. the 86 TPI pumps are good for somewhere around 40psi, can't recall the exact number, but that would be what you would need, I think. That should give you plenty to play with later on .

Kevin BC

The bladder cuts easily and cleanly. It was thicker than I expected.
I did not put sealant between the tank and the bladder, but see that this could be a good idea. The bladder is smooth and the tank is smooth so it is a clean and tight pressure seal , but not a gasket or sealant quality seal. So maybe it was a good idea to put cut the hole on the high side of the tank.

MN80Vette

I installed a FAST EZ 1.0 EFI system in my '80 last year. I replaced my '80 sender with an '82 sender and a Walbro GSS340 pump. The GSS340 pumps 255 lph with plenty of pressure for my GM Performance 350 HO crate engine.



Let me know if you go that route. I can provide details of using of this option.