Petrol Tank Levelling???

[Old Dave]

I mentioned in my post "Fuel gauge resistance" a few days ago that I had removed the petrol tank for replacement.

A thin rubber "gasket" (a couple of millimetres) was at the side mountings as I expect is original or common practice.

If you view the photo you will see that the gasket has been doubled up around one of the holes, and given the slotted section, probably as an after thought.

Inspection with a small spirit-level suggests the brackets on the car are not that level (and annoyingly in the opposite direction).

Can it be this critical to a couple of mil?   The new tank mounting brackets will be 3 mm aluminium so not much give I guess.

Has anyone had to "level" a tank in this way?     

[Chris KC]

That looks like scraps of old ribbed rubber floor mat...

I'm no expert at mounting fuel tanks but I should have thought levelling was largely academic from a practical point of view, though there might be a cosmetic argument if it's way off.

More likely someone was trying to introduce compliance into the tank mountings to protect against rupture due to road shocks etc. There are probably neater ways of doing this. I don't reckon tank mount brackets on most Sevens are all that rigid anyway.

[John Cornforth]

Hi

The factory used rubber "dogbone" mounts. I don't imagine it was for anti vibration reasons, maybe just to allow for tolerances.

The only reasons I can think of for more deliberate "levelling" is either to better align the filler neck or to allow for some twist in the chassis.

Once the car is in motion the fuel sloshes all over the place, so pointless trying to get that level.

[Old Dave]

Thanks all - I will just cut some 3 mm rubber mat to provide a bit of cushioning and hope I don't need to adjust at all.