Custom Gas Tank - room for gas heater ducting

After having my eberspacher in and out of a box for the past year and a half I have finally decided to get it in the car. This past week I bench tested the unit. The little engine purrs. NOt to mention the amount of heat it puts out! Excited to get it in the car. Ive decided to put it under the front hood forward of the gas tank. Should work well. The only real problem I see is running the duct between the gas tank and the side of the car. There is not enough room to go next to it or up and over it (with the hood closed). Im thinking the corner of the gas tank could be modified to allow the supply duct to run by. How would i go about this? Who do you call?

paul

what kind of gas heater?

How do you plan to supply fuel (as it will be mounted below the gas tank)?

BEAUTIFUL job on that by the way!

angela

Paul, these guys will probably do that for you:

http://autofabcart.net/

I've had stuff made from scratch there, and they do excellent work. Linda will probably answer the number listed on the site -- 410.796.8777.

Ask for Rob, who will probably want you to drive the car by so he can see what you want him to do. They'll be hazy on their estimate unless they eyeball it.

They're on US Rte. 1, almost to Laurel if you're coming in from BallmerHon. The shop is located a little more than a mile up, left side, as you head toward DC from the MD-100 exit.

Mango, clean install -- as usual. Do you ever half-ass ANYTHING?

Mango, your car (craftsmanship) is so impressive in every aspect...

The heater is a BN2. My battery and amp are in the nose of the car. I can't install it there. Mango, where did you get the thru wall fittings. Also, did you reduce the diameter of the supply duct to 2"? As always, beautiful work. I'm really trying to get that "factory" install look.

Cory, Now that I think about it building a tank would not be cost effective. Not to mention once I get the duct past the corner of the tank the hood hinges are still a problem. A smaller diameter duct would work. The other option is to run the supply out the side of the trunk turn it and route it in the wheel well the turn it back in behind the dash. This may be the cleanest as you would see minimal ducting under the hood. Unfortunately it would also reduce the air temp due to the ducts exposure to outside air. It may not be that big of a deal... I can't keep my hand directly in front of the supply air for very long due to the temp.

Maybe they can fab up some kind of duct box for me. I Need to think this through.

Maybe there is space on the passenger side of the tank where the steering column is on the other side.

Paul, I can help with the sheet-metal work, if you want.

My garage is plenty big enough, and I need to bend some metal for Dale's cooler any my jalopy anyway.

Paul-

Mine's under the dash on the passenger side. Is there room for yours there?

I think you would see the exhaust sticking down. I havent had someone hold it up there while I stand back and look. Looks like you have a newer model judging bt the controls.

the firewall through ports are generic sheet metal (aluminum), rivets and rubber gasket. fabbed up.

the heater out is dryer ducting. i made my own reducer from the 4" to 2.25" tube you see by the gas tank.

all that stuff can be bought at home depost

i might caution you about having the gas heater below the gas fluid level. i instyalled mine, then the next morning, came out to the garage to a garage floor of gas after the tank syphoned out the gas heater injector. all cleaned up fine, but man - lesson learned.

i am not using my gas tank as a souce of fuel for the heater. i have a seperate reservior. mine was a B2, but i belive a BN2 is similar.

I think Barry Hudson moved his battery to in front of the passenger's front wheel. There appears to be lots of room there and going with a smaller Optima gel battery would make the install easier. That would free up part of the nose area plus the weight provides greater balance. Amp could go above gas tank or under dash.

for whats its worth... a quick video


paul

sweet looking heater. i ended up running mine under the inner fender to solve that problem of duct crushing. the heat vastly outweighs the heat loss of cold air. i did consider running a bit of insulation around it, but once it fired up - i decided i didnt need to.

i gotta say though - I'd be a little nervous mounting the battery and amp that close to the fuel pump and heater.

How close is too close for the fuel pump? I have limited options. IF you ran your duct through the fender, what is the aluminum hose you can see wrappring around the fuel tank in your picture? I may scrap the entire project, pack up and move back home to Florida. Winter sucks.

Paul he goes outta the battery box this way and back up into the trunk to the alum. pipe you see next to the tank. Pretty Slick!

http://picasaweb.google.com/113141911318945529670/Month21?authkey=Gv1sRgCL_GlpqmruiyZA#5455334109997326162

Mango sed:
"I might caution you about having the gas heater below the gas fluid level. I installed mine, then the next morning, came out to the garage to a garage floor of gas after the tank syphoned out the gas heater injector. all cleaned up fine, but man - lesson learned."

Your heater is still down below. How did you get by the siphoning problem?

~WB

Bill -

"i am not using my gas tank as a souce of fuel for the heater. i have a separate reservoir. "


Paul -

i have my fuel pump mounted to my front beam (on vibration isolators)

Mango,

Looking through your photos I noticed the 'out' from your fuel pump is pointing down. Everything I have read says for it to be pointing in the up direction. I wonder if that has anything to do with the syphoning issue?

the following image is from a type 3. the spare heater I have came out of a type 3, I have all the same brackets. I was going to mount everything the same way. Thought it would look pretty sharp. Keep everything nice and dry as well. I have a gas tank up front already with the amp and battery, im wondering how much i need to be worried.