FYI if you plan to run E85 at some point you'll need to get the inside of your steel tank coated. E85 is a great rust remover lol.

 

I've heard differently. Yes, it will eventually cause problems, but not for 10-20 years from now. I plan to just take the tank to a shop to weld the sump since it's thin gauge and needs to be completely leak proof. I'll see what they say about coating the interior.





I ran into another snag with the fuel rail. The plan is to up the input from 3/8" to 1/2"npt. So I bought a 1/2" tap, but didn't think about the huge pilot hole I'd need to drill for it. I need to locate a 23/32" bit, or take the rail to a machine shop.

3/8" is most likely large enough for 700hp, so I could have left it alone. But, like everything else, I wanted to go big and do it once.

 

Well I thought the same thing till I put my first tank of E85 in my 86 Celica's steel tank. It promptly cleaned off all the rust and crud on the inside and plugged my pump and fuel filter..loads of fun on the highway!! Took it to a shop and had the inside coated with an ethanol proof coating and zero problems since

 

Well, that has more to do with cleaning it than coating it.

 

E85 loves to trap moisture so if you have a properly working evap system you should be ok provided your tank is in good shape. The coating is a layer between E85 and steel so no rust, ever...

 

Evap system = more weight and ridiculous lines routed everywhere. That has to go.

 

Found a guy that will tap my rail for 1/2" for a case of Lone Star Light.





My welder wants me to go ahead and do the sump preparation myself, so all he has to do is weld. The drilling part was easy, but preparing the surface for welding is a PITA due to the tar-like coating. It doesn't scrape off easy. A wire wheel gets most of it, but burns and smears the last bit.





Not sure if sumping the tank is worth the hassle or not. The only alternative to match this setup would be to weld a fitting on the factory pump housing, using an in-tank Aeromotive 340lph, then an inline pump.

Now that I think about it, either way is a PITA.

 

 

Looks pretty good, but being an experienced welder I'm going to give you a heads up and let you know to clean that some more. I'd make the cleaned area at least 1" wide all the way around. Reason being is you definitely do not want any of that black coating material to get sucked into the weld puddle (which the way it sits now it will). If your welder is going to TIG the sump in for you, you without a doubt will want to clean that more. TIG is very tempermental with dirty metal - clenliness is your friend.



That's just my advice, I know you don't want to get this back with a poor weld job due to contamination...

 

I'm taking it to a trusted shop to do the welding and I know they know better. I didn't have a larger grinding wheel to clean it up better, or else I would have. I have a bench wheel, and a dremel. I needed something in the middle. lol