Because there seems to have been some renewed interest of late in a front gas tank, I spent some time making a cardboard template of the shape, which I then transferred to Visio. Below is the shape with some basic measurements:
818 Front Gas Tank 1.jpg
The image below shows the shapes I used to calculate the volume:
818 Front Gas Tank 2.jpg
At 10" high (which is my plan), it now holds ~11.3 gallons. That's enough for 280-400 miles of street range, depending on actual MPG, of course (I used 25 as my low and 35 as my high).
Assuming a finished weight of 2000 pounds, and that the f/r weight distribution with the gas tank behind the seats is 42%/58%, I estimate this modification will put me at about 45%/55%.
For those that require more capacity, this shape could be as tall as 12.5" and still fit. At that height, the capacity would be ~14.2 gallons, and the weight distribution would about 47%/53%.
I'm hoping to be able to take some pics of the cardboard model in that space so everyone can better visualize.
Some additional details I'm planning for my tank:
- I can't remember what exactly it's called, but it's basically a dish to hold fuel near the pickup to prevent starvation. I plan to just drill some holes near the bottom of it rather than use fancy one-way valves.
- To keep costs low, I've decided to go with the OEM/FFR pickup, fuel pump, sending unit, etc. This contributed to my decision to make the tank 10" high (that's the height of the FFR tank for which all those aforementioned components were designed).
That's all I can think of for now. I'll post pics hopefully tomorrow. I'd really love to hear people's thoughts.