"wall" behind seats
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 30
Likes: 1
"wall" behind seats
I just put Kirkie seats in my 2000 frc Corvette. Swap out from my track car to this C5 street/track car. I will be using them with three point stock belts till the end of this years track season. Over the winter the roll cage will go in so that I can swap out and install the six point harnesses into the C5. The Kirkie's are supposed to be mounted in the upper rear to the car for stability of the seat back in the event of a crash. Normally I would mount to a harness/seat bar on the roll cage, but the roll cage isn't in yet. I have the mounting brackets. My question is behind the seat is a bulkhead or wall that has the gas tank behind it so I am concerned about drilling into this vertical panel to mount the supporting brackets. Does anyone know how close the tank is to the sheet metal wall behind the lower part of the back of the seats? Would it be safe in the upper vertical section, or perhaps on the horizontal lip on the top that leads back to the cargo area?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,258
Likes: 543
From: Appleton WI
Not sure how much clearance there is. The fuel tank cross-over pipe is in the vicinity as well. I believe it is in the ridge you can see from inside the car.
Best bet is to get under the car and see for yourself.
Best bet is to get under the car and see for yourself.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
Both tanks take up pretty much that entire volume just behing the bulkhead. Do not drill into it without either dropping the tanks or verifying you won't hit the tank with your bit. When I installed an amp behind the pasenger seat, I slid a metal rule btween that wall and the tank from the outside and there was no clearance between the tanks and that wall on my C5. I ended up using industrial strength 3M double-sided tape and Liquid Nails to attach the base board to it. The upper rib is probably clear but you still need to be careful drilling.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 30
Likes: 1
Thanks, I am about to go out and put the car on the lift for a pre track safety inspection, I will take a look, I have a feeling I will wait till winter when I build the roll cage and the roof, gas tanks and much more will be out then.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 30
Likes: 1
Drilling near fuel tanks
Patches, nice job by the way. thanks for sharing the photos. Before I went to the track this weekend I did have the C5 on the lift and there is room at the top above the cross over hoses/pipes. Enough care would have to be taken that I opted out for now and will handle this with a seat/harness bar(s) when I build the roll cage this winter. As many of you know this is not a place to drill, screw or bolt without extreme care to avoid the fuel tank and it related parts and plumbing.
