Perrymip said:
Thanks for that tour. And, an excellent reason, so far as I'm concerned, to buy a house.
I was hoping you would gloss, for us uninitiated, what that in the trunk is all about.
Thanks for all the compliments, Guys. I wasn't sure how these photos would be received, but I should have known better.
Don is correct as usual, it's a fuel cell in the boot. Fuel cells are required by most, if not all, racing organizations. The only exception that I can think of is the Pre-war class in VSCCA.
A fuel cell is a tank that is filled with foam, like a foam-rubber type of material. This keeps the fuel from sloshing around in turns and while the car is accelerating a decelerating, allowing the pick-up to always get fuel. Also I think it helps prevent fire in case of a wreck. The fuel tanks of the A-10s I used to work on had foam in them, and that's what they said it was for.
The foam is encased in a tank, made of rubber, called a bladder. If the tank is hit in a wreck, the rubber is supposed to stay in one piece, preventing leaks.
The whole works is contained in a metal case. This particular cell is called a saver-cell made by ATL. ATL sold (sells?) you the foam, bladder, fittings, and plans to build your own case to save money. The PO made the case from galvanized steel. Red is the color denoting fuel, so I painted it red. And it looks cool.
The PO cut a hole in the boot floor and the cell goes down into the spare tyre compartment.
I made flex fuel lines using Aeroquip products. One line goes forward from the pick-up to a bulkhead fitting in a stainless steel firewall I made in between the boot and where the stock fuel tank would be. Then it goes to a filter, then an electric fuel pump, then to the engine compartment bulkhead along the gearbox cover on the passenger side.
The other flex line is a vent for the tank. It goes up then down to a bulkhead fitting in the wheelwell.
I made a firewall that goes where the stock millboard would go to isolate the boot from the rest of the car. It's made of aircraft stainless steel firewall material.
The yellow wire going from the cell to the boot floor is what we call a bonding strap in aviation. I keeps the cell and the rest of the car at the same voltage to prevent arcing between them.
Again, thanks for the compliments!