The fuel cell is out

Today I was finally able to remove the old fuel cell.  The old fuel cell needed to be replaced because it was too old and more importantly, I want to reduce the size of the fuel cell and steal some of that space so that I can fit a longer-than-stock engine.  Even though the original engine was a V-8, it was only 22 inches long including all of the accessory drives!  For reference, a small block Chevy block is 21 3/4 inches, but that doesn't include the timing cover or any of the pulleys and accessories.  All of that stuff probably adds another six inches or more to the front of the engine.

My first choice is to use a Chevy LS engine.  The block is about as long as a SBC, and if I use an electric water pump, then I'll only need accessory drives for an alternator and the dry sump pump.  If I use the short harmonic balancer off of an LS4, then the accessories should only protrude into the fuel cell area about 4 inches.  I'm trying to avoid stretching the wheelbase because I don't want to change the look of the car or have to modify the bodywork.  I'm on the hunt for a scrap LS block and heads so that I can start checking fitment and maybe even start working on motor mounts.

Now back to the fuel cell.  The fuel cell is protected in the back of the tub behind this metal bulkhead.

The bulkhead is mainly held on with like 20 Allen-headed cap screws, but it won't come off unless you first remove the drive gear for the external fuel pump.  It's the part in the photo below that looks like a weatherman's hurricane symbol.

In my case, the drive was stuck on the shaft and no amount of PB Blaster and prying would free it so I resorted to grinding off the little wings and that allowed me to remove the bulkhead.

Then it was just a matter of disconnecting the inlet and vent fittings and the fuel cell basically slid out.  The inlet port area did give me a little trouble because after sliding back about two inches, that ring was catching on one of the tub-to-engine mounting studs.  But the fuel cell was just pliable enough that I was able to push it inward to clear and then it came out the rest of the way.

I learned how to powdercoat

Painting was progressing well on the suspension arms, but I realized that painting alone was not going to be right for everything.  Certain things were going to need to be plated like the threaded turnbuckles that adjust the ride height and some other fasteners.  But since I'm going to be leaving that job to the professionals, I needed something lower cost that I could use on things that needed more protection than just paint.  So I learned how to powdercoat!  I got the idea from my friend Jim who restored his old motorcycle and powdercoated a bunch of the parts at home.  I didn't want to have to buy all of my own equipment so instead I joined the local makers' space.  I had already taken a welding class at the makers' space and this seemed like the right time to become a member.  So I joined up and since then I've taken the powdercoating class and a 3-D CAD class.  For powdercoating, they provide the gun, a big oven for curing the parts and a sturdy rack for hanging parts during coating.  You just provide your own powders and away you go.

By far, the rear suspension lower mounting brackets were in the worst shape of any part on the car, really rusty.  So I removed them for sandblasting and you can see two before and two after.

I was really pleased with how well the brackets cleaned up, so then it was time to apply the powder.  Here are the brackets after powder application and waiting to go into the oven.

And here they are after curing.

 
I was shooting for a finish that looked like yellow cadmium plating.  The brackets didn't come out quite as shiny or as metallic as that, but I think they look great.  All of the rear suspension arms have been painted and the upper brackets are getting painted now.  The upper brackets have these deep recessed pockets that make them unsuitable for powdercoating.  So once I get the old fuel cell out and take some measurements off of the front and the rear of the bellhousing, then the rear suspension can go back together.