Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 to a camper van

[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the fuel inlet flush against the side of the van, drill holes for the mounting screws. The best way I could come up with making the fuel inlet "level" was to use the groove that runs along the side of the van as a guide. Measure from the middle point of the groove to the screw hole on each side.


Use sheet metal screws to hold the fuel inlet in place.

Here's the cutout size.




Test fit the fuel hose onto the fuel inlet. Use a T-Bevel to get the angle of the hose.


The hose is at an angle of 65 degrees




For a formed hose with a 45 degree angle and the tank fuel inlet at 30 degrees this measurement should be at 75 degrees. The hose will have to be raised to mate the fuel inlet to the fuel tank. Since the hose is flexible this won't be a problem, except for this.


The top of the hose is already close to the cutout edge. Don't want the hose to rub so I'll enlarge the cutout

Brought back the saber saw to enlarge the hole but there wasn't enough room to do a clean job of it. Finished up by using a hacksaw blade holder. Saw upward on the outer edges of the hole.


Use a hammer to beat the edge upward.




Here's the screws I'll use to attach the fuel inlet to the side of the van. They are Phillips head, stainless steel 10-24 machine screws. Picked them up at Lowe's.




Now that I know the screw holes are at the correct size, time for some rustproofing. Tape off the fuel inlet hole. Check that the face plate will cover the rustproofed area.


I use a product called Rust Bullet.






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[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the rustproofing done, attach the fuel inlet.
To waterproof around the edge of the fuel inlet I'm using GE Silicone II Clear Gutter/Flashing. Be sure to use Silicone "II" and not "I". Silicone II caulk is what's called a "neutral cure" silicone, which means no acids are released during the curing process. The acid kind will cause the metal to rust.

Have some paint thinner and rags on hand to help with clean up. Also have whatever tools you'll need to tighten the screws with you. Don't want to be rummaging around for tools after you've started with the silicone.

Apply a bead of silicone to the outside of the hole. I'm not being shy about applying it. You can always wipe off the excess.


Do the same to fuel inlet back plate.


Mate the fuel inlet to the side of the van. Press hard.


The Silicone II has a tooling time of 6 to 8 minutes. "Tooling time" is the amount of time you have to work, smooth, tool or otherwise manipulate the silicone caulk once it's applied.

Because of the tooling time factor I didn't bother cleaning anything up but went right ahead and inserted the screws into place. It's going to get messy but nothing that can't be taken care of later.


From inside the rocker panel you can see that the silicone has nicely filled the gap around the edge of the fuel inlet.


Put the nuts on the stainless steel screws and tighten them down. I'm using two nuts and a lock washer on each screw to secure them in place.


Take the paint thinner and rags and start cleaning up. This is the "after" picture. Had to do a little extra work to get the screw holes and screw heads clean of the excess silicone.


At this point I finally got around to measuring the actual width of the rocker panel just below the floor level. If you remember from my earlier posting where I clamped the T-square to the side of the van and used the tape measure to plot out the side of the van I estimated this to be 6.17". From this direct measurement it's around 5-7/8". All things considered I'd say I got that one pretty close.


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[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the fuel inlet mounted on the van, time to get the final measurements and order the fuel tank.

There is one thing I hadn't mentioned before and that was the capacity of the tank I was planning on getting. The available length for the tank, shown in the drawing I posted before (click to enlarge), would be up to 47 inches.


I'd previously decided on a 8 inch diameter tank. According to the Coyote Gear web site a 44" long tank is the largest they make that would fit in the space. A tank that size will hold 10 gallons.

So I could install a tank up to 10 gallons in size but how big do I really need? I'll be using a Webasto Airtop 2000 as my heater. The Webasto web page for Airtop 2000 lists fuel consumption as 0.12 - 0.24 liters per hour. That converts to 0.03 - 0.06 gallons per hour. If you take the average of the two you get .045 g/h. Multiply that by 24 hours and you get 1.08 gallons per day. That of course is assuming you're running the heater 24 hours each day.

So using a 1 gallon a day as a rough guideline consider how I plan to use the van. My main use will be for camping. Actually it's how I've already been using the van since I bought it. Most of my camping trips are 3 to 4 days. So add an extra day for good measure and you get a 5 gallon fuel tank. Since the fuel inlet will be at a 30 degree angle the tank can't be filled to the top. So go ahead and order a 6 gallon tank to make up for that lost volume at the top of the tank.

I'd always get to this point in my calculations and then look at the Coyote Gear price list and start this internal monologue.

"Hey look, the 7 gallon tank is the exact same price as a 6 gallon tank. What the heck. Might as well order the 7 gallon. It's a free extra gallon"
"Well the 8 gallon tank is only $20 more than the 7 gallon tank. $20 isn't that much. I might as well get the 8 gallon."
"But you know the 9 gallon tank is only $10 more than 8 gallon tank. $10 is even less than $20. I need to get that bigger tank."
"If I'm getting a bigger tank I might as well get the biggest tank that can fit. Yeah, I need that 10 gallon tank! And now I have an excuse to order the internal baffles!!!!"

At this point I'd start grunting like Tim Allen and yelling "More Power!!!" and the cats would scatter. Eventually I'd calm down and realize that I won't need that much fuel and that it would just be extra weight. Then a couple of days later I'd look over my calculations and it would start all over again.

The last decisions were about what extras I wanted on the tank. I went for two 1/4" NPT female bungs. One bung comes standard with each tank. One bung for the fuel outlet hose and the other for the tank vent. I also ordered a Sending Unit Mounting Platform. This is where the sending unit for the fuel gauge will go.

By the way I just checked the Coyote Gear web site while writing this up and found out that they now offer 1/8" bungs and Sending Unit Mounting Platforms already configured. Two things I'd have ordered if they had been available. And I could have gotten a bigger tank for just a few more dollars.

After taking some more measurements under the van here's the drawing for the tank that I came up with. It's the same one I emailed to Coyote Gear.


They emailed me back with a question about the filler neck since I didn't want a gas cap. I explained that it would attached to a 1-1/2" ID fuel hose and that was it. It cost $228

Price breakdown:
Description Unit price Qty Amount
8x30 Base Tank with Brackets $149.00 1 $149.00
3" Diameter Sending unit Platform $26.00 1 $26.00
Extra 1/4NPT (2) Total $14.00 1 $14.00
Custom Filler Pipe 1.5 x 1.5 $20.00 1 $20.00
Subtotal $209.00
Shipping and handling $19.00
Total $228.00 USD

A week and a half later it was delivered.


As you can see they did an excellent job of packing.

It's just how I ordered it.




It comes with these two powder coated mounting brackets.


Almost looks too nice to hide under the van.


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[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

Time for some test fittings of components.
Here's the view under the van with the correct fuel hose attached to the fuel inlet. This is the one with the 45 degree angle.


The hose must be raised to this angle to mate with the fuel tank inlet.


The hose will have to be cut to fit. To get it right I'll install the brackets first so I'll know just where the tank will be positioned. Use the rear most of the two underfloor supports as a mounting point for one of the brackets. This photo, like several others, was taken with me on my back looking straight up. Hopefully it's not too confusing.


Use the bracket as a guide and drill holes for two 5/16" bolts


Bolt up the bracket.


The second bracket will take some extra work. If you look at the above photos you can see there is a ridge that runs under the van at a right angle to the underfloor supports. It's about 1-1/8" high.


I was looking around the basement for something to make a bracket mount out of when I noticed some leftovers from the sofa-bed construction. These pieces of perforated square tube stock.


The underfloor support is around 2-3/4" high.


Since the tube stock is 1 inch square some cutting and trimming is in order. The short sections will be used to raise the longer section so it can straddle the underfloor ridge.


This is how it will be assembled. The bottom piece on each side was trimmed to be 3/4" high. The mount height now matches the height of the underfloor support the first bracket is attached to.


The holes on the tank bracket didn't match up with the holes in the square tube stock. Had to drill the stock to match the bracket.


Tape the sections together and use that to mark out the drill holes.


Drill the two new holes for the second bracket. Unbolt the first bracket and rustproof both sets of new holes.


Assemble the mounting pieces. Since I was working upside down I had to use the masking tape to hold the left hand pieces in place while I bolted on the other pieces.


Here's how the top of the bolts look from inside the van. Up to now I was finger tightening the nuts on the bolts but I'll need some help to really tighten them down.


Use the same Silicone II sealant I used before. Apply it under both the washer and bolt head to stop water infiltration from underneath.


For the next step I'll be under the van and someone needs to be in the van. When it comes to holding a wrench the cats are worthless. They always use the same lame excuse about not having an opposable thumbs. Luckily I have a friendly neighbor who's always ready to help out if needed. Problem is he's not the most mechanically inclined so a little extra prep work is in order. Before starting I labeled the two bolts "1" and "2". I told him I'd yell out a number then he'd put the wrench on that numbered bolt and yell the number back.


So after a shouted series of "1..1", "2...2", "1..1", "2...2", we got everything tightened down. By the way my aforementioned neighbor is a college professor who teaches philosophy. His smarts lie in a different direction.


A couple of notes. The two short sections of square tube stock that I trimmed down to 3/4" inch high should be placed so the cut edge is against the underside of the floor. If the cut edge was placed the other direction, against another piece of square stock, as the bolts were tightened the edges might spread and it would slip over the second piece.

Since the square stock had to be drilled to align with the bracket holes there is a spacing difference between it's left and right edge. Be sure to mark it so you know which is which and use accordingly. Found this one out the hard way.


Tested the new mounting by grabbing hold of it and seeing if I could get the van rocking without it feeling loose. I could and it didn't.


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[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the mounts for the tanks done I'll be adding a grounding wire. The wire will connect the fuel inlet to the fuel tank so they will both be at the same electrical potential. This is to prevent any electrical sparks when filling the tank.

The connection to the fuel tank was made by crimping a ring terminal to one end of a 12 gauge wire and tightening it to one of the fuel inlet mounting screws.


I'll make the connection to the tank by adding a grounding strap to the mounting bracket. The tank will be in connect with the strap when bolted into place. I was going to make the grounding strap out of copper until I did a little research on galvanic corrosion. The problem is that according to the anodic index, copper has a value of .35 V and the tank aluminum is .90 V. This is a difference of greater then the recommended value of 0.25 V which could lead to excess corrosion. I'll make the grounding strap out of aluminum instead.

Looking around for some aluminum I noticed this roll of flashing I had laying around.


Cut out a length of the flashing and drill it to match a mounting bolt.




Tape one end of the strap to hold it into place.


Mount the bracket into place and use one bolt to secure the other end of the grounding wire between the grounding strap and the bracket.


To check that I have a good electrical connection take a voltmeter and put it on it's resistance setting. Place one probe against the grounding strap.


Place the other probe against the fuel inlet.


Then check the reading on the voltmeter. In this application the lower the number the better. The resistance value is 0.4 ohm so it's a good connection.


By the way, those are my legs but that's not my tail.

Bob starting acting a little strange that day after the lunch break.


I'm afraid she's been getting into the catnip. Hope I won't need to do an intervention with her, again.

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[WVvan]

Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the brackets installed, fit the fuel tank into place.


First thing I realized was that I had no way to tell if the tank was perfectly upright. Remove the tank and use the combination square to mark it so I'll be able to identify the dead center bottom while lying under it.




Re-mount the tank and check the alignment of the tank inlet with the cutout for the fuel inlet. Looks like I might be around an inch off but not to worry. That's why the fuel hose that will connect the two is made from rubber.


Remove the tank and fit the fuel hose onto the inlet.


Want to cut the hose so it's bend is just at the end of the tank inlet. The inlet is 1-3/4" long.


Measure back that far from the bend and cut the hose. Hint: Put a new blade in your utility knife before you start cutting. Will cut easier and cleaner.


Slide the cut end onto the tank inlet and check it's fit.


Mount the tank and attach the hose to the fuel inlet on the side of the van.


I couldn't get an exact measurement of the how much shorter I wanted the fuel hose but I eyeballed it at around 1-1/2".

Remember to be conservative since you can always cut off extra but can't add more if you over estimate. Cut the hose.


Got it right with the first cut. Perfect fit.


Laying under the van looking up at the fuel tank I had one of those deja vu moments. Then I remembered where I'd seen this before.


It was a from a few weeks before when the B-17 Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey" was in the area.




I had a similar view when looking up into the bomb bay.


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[WVvan]

Thanks Vic. Sometimes I do feel a little overwhelmed. Then I look at all I've already accomplished and that helps.

[WVvan]

Past two weekends:
Some place in the woods. With the van, who needs a campground?


West Virginia in the foreground and Virginia in the distance.


Heater Fuel Tank continued:

With the fuel hose trimmed to the proper length, need to attach it to the fuel inlet and seal up the hole in the rocker panel with a cover plate.

The problem is that with the fuel tank in place there isn't enough room to get my hand up between the tank and the rocker panel. I'll need to locate where the fuel hose is positioned so when I install the cover plate I can duplicate that position without the tank being in place.


I'll use the combination square.


Keeping the bubble level place the ruler against one side of the hose then mark on the rocker panel. Do the same to the other side.


That locates left and right. To measure the other direction I placed the end of the ruler against the bottom center of the fuel hose. I measured it with the tank but removed it for this picture so it's easier to see.


With the ruler against the hose, slide the square head up against the bottom edge of the van while keeping the bubble level. Then lock the head into place.


Using the measurement create a template from my old friend poster board.


I use a catalog as cutting board when trimming poster board.


Test fit of the template. Notice the two two pencil marks below the template on the rocker panel that mark the left and right location of the fuel hose.


Use the combination square to re-position the fuel hose and check if the poster board template is the right size.


After the test fitting I decided to increase the size of the actual cover plate.
I'll make the cover plate from this steel plate.


It's the left over inspection plate from the rear of my old washing machine. Gone but not forgotten. The inspection plate metal is just the right thickness for this type of application.


Use the jigsaw to cut out the plate. Use my workshop garbage can to support the plate as I cut since it's the right size and better yet the metal shavings won't have to be swept up later.


When using the jigsaw it will sometimes leave behind a sharp cornice of leftover metal. I always use a file to clean off the sharp edge before doing anything else. If not, there will be blood.


Transfer the location of the hole from the template to the cover plate.


Find the center of the circle and mark it with a punch.


The center punch helps keep the hole saw from wandering. Drill out the hole for the fuel hose.


Since the cover plate will be up against the hose, I filed down the edges of the hole till it's smooth enough that I can safely run my fingers along it.


Test fit the cover plate. The ground wire also fits through the fuel hose hole.


Move the hose into position and mark the edges of the cover plate.


Ready to seal up the rocker panel. Use a screw clamp and wrench to attach the fuel hose to the fuel inlet.


Will use sheet metal screws to hold the cover plate to the side of the rocker panel. Start with #8 screws. Can always move up to #10s if needed.


Pre-drill the holes for the screws.


Test fit the plate, screws, hose and fuel tank.


Here's the silicone sealant I've been using.


Place the sealant around the perimeter of the cut out.


Screw the cover plate into place. Use more sealant around the edge of the plate and all around the fuel hose. The more sealant the better. Let the sealant set up.


Doing all this work under the van I found that the fuel tank works as a good head rest.


As usual, I wasn't working alone.


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[WVvan]

Back to work.

Fuel tank installation continued:
This write up isn't in chronological order so some of the pictures might look out of order. I think it makes more sense this way.

With the fuel inlet completed next up is to prep the tank. I'll need to to add a fuel standpipe, a vacuum vent and fuel level sending unit. Start with the sending unit.
It's a "VDO Gauges 226001 - VDO Fuel Tank Senders". Currently $26.95 at Summit Racing where I bought it.



The sending unit will be mounted on this platform part of the tank.


To drill through the tank I'm going to use this hole saw.


It's the same one I used to drill through the side of the van for the fuel inlet. At the time I wondered if I was going to need it again. Turns out it's the perfect size for this too.

Start with a pilot hole at the center of the mounting platform.


Then use the hole saw but keep the drill at a slow speed.


Done.


Use a curved file to clean up and smooth out the edge of the hole. Then follow that up with some sandpaper.


Here's the view down into the tank through the new hole. Fair amount of metal filings.


After several rinses at the utility sink it comes out looking clean.


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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:
To attach the sending unit to the mounting platform I'm going to to drill and then tap five holes on the platform. Tapping the hole will create threads that will hold machine screws. The screws then hold the sending unit in place. Here's the wiki page about taps and dies.

Since I'll only get one chance to get this right I better practice before drilling into the tank platform. I'll use the left over metal from the circle just cut out along with one other essential tool.


That tool would be "Pocket Ref" by Thomas J Glover. A small paperback with an amazing collection of information. While typing this up I went to find a link for the book (Amazon link-4th edition) and see that the 4th edition has just come out. Since I was using the 3rd edition I just ordered the new one. So this write up has now just cost me $12.05 (including shipping). I'll keep the 3rd edition in the van.

I'm going to use #10 machine screws since they are the largest ones that will fit through the sending unit's cover plate. I have both #10-24 and #10-32.


The second number refers to the number of threads per inch. The #10-32 is called a fine thread. I'll be tapping a hole into thin aluminum which doesn't have much holding power so I'll be using the #10-24 screws (coarse threads). There are less threads per inch but the threads are thicker so should grip better.

Open up the Pocket Ref and find the section on tap and dies. On the left side find the screw #10. There are entries for both 32 and 24 threads/inch. Look at the entry for 24. Under the heading "Drill" you'll see the number "#25".


The number "#25" is the drill bit gauge. My drill bits, and most probably yours, aren't sized by gauge but by fractions of an inch (or metric) so need to do a conversion. Find the pages for conversions.


There is no direct conversion for a #25 drill bit to any one I have on hand. Want to use the next closest size that is smaller so look up the chart to 9/64 which is a drill bit I have.

Before drilling use a punch to create an indention so the drill end won't wander.


The hole that will be tapped should be as straight as can be managed. To help out I'm using my combination square.


Remove the ruler and use just the head as a guide to align the drill bit.


Set the bit right into the ruler groove and check from all sides. Then slide the square head back and slowly start drilling keeping the upright angle.


Here's the tap and die set I'll be using which I recently inherited. Dies are the round objects along the top of the set. They are used to add, or fix, threads on a screw. Below and holding one of the dies is the die wrench. Below that are series of taps. And at the bottom a tap wrench.


I'll be using the tap wrench and a tapered tap that is marked for #10-24.


Assemble the tap and lubricate it before using. I'm using the stuff you find at the bottom of a can of Vienna Sausages to lubricate the tap.


Just Kidding!
Look in the Pocket Ref.


The recommended lubricant for the threading of aluminum is "Soluble Oil, Kerosene & Lard Oil". Lard Oil? I don't know what it is but bet there's some of it at the bottom of a Vienna Sausage can. Maybe I wasn't so far off the first time.

I'm really using the Vienna Sausage can to hold some kerosene.

Use the square head to align the tap.


When it looks good start rotating the tap wrench.


Apply a steady pressure and most importantly keep the tap going straight. Once you get the tap going you're supposed to rotate it in reverse every couple of turns to break off "the chip". With something this thin that didn't seem to be much of a problem.


Back out the tap and check the work by threading in a machine screw. Check out the alignment.


Looks dead straight to me. By the way, you're looking at the first hole I've ever tapped. I checked with my Dad about which kind of threads to use in aluminum shortly before he died but most of the other info for this I got by reading.

Something else I read. After using a tap you should "Clean the swarf from your flutes". Here's a picture of one of my flutes covered in swarf.


Don't know about you but I can't say that out loud without adopting a bad Swedish accent. From now on when asked where I've been or what I've been doing the answer will be, "Been cleaning the swarf from my flutes."

One more thing to check. Tighten the screw in all the way then keep tightening until I strip out the threads I've just cut. This way when it comes time to attach the sending unit I'll have a good idea of how far to safely torque the screws.


Tap three more holes and strip them out for practice.


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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

I now have some practice with threading holes into thin aluminum but before starting on the tank I'll have to figure out how to place the cover plate for the fuel sending unit. Here is the sending unit. Notice the round plastic float attached to the brass rod.


That float extends off to the side of the sending unit. Looking at this diagram of the fuel tank.


The platform for the sending unit is at the right end of the tank so I have to be sure to install the sending unit so the float extends to the left.

This sending unit is made to be used in tanks with a diameter of from 6 to 23 inches. It has to be adjusted to match my 8" diameter tank. First step was to disassemble the different pieces.


In the picture you can see the cover plate with the main rail. Laying above it is the extension rail and above that is the black rectangular sending body.

Here is the measurement diagram in the instructions. This shows how to position the sending body and the length of the float arm


Need to find the dimension "A". Measure the depth of the tank from the sending unit platform. 8 - 1/2" deep.


This is supposed to be an 8" deep tank so the platform should be 1/2" high. Double check.


Here is the table that corresponds to the diagram. The "A" measurement is 8.00 so that gives 4.00" for "B" and 4.90" for "C".


The "B" setting is how far down to place the sending body. Have to add 1/2" to the "B" dimension to account for the raised platform. The extension rail won't be needed so mount the sending body to the main rail. On the sending body, measure to the anchor point for the float arm.


Next the "C" setting. This is how long to make the float arm. The table shows 4.9" which using "The Pocket Ref" translates to near 4-7/8". The instructions have you add one inch to that length for the anchor point. Measure and then mark the correct length with tape.


Cut the float arm and then mount to the sending body. The float must be to the right of the sending body.


See if it fits.


It does, just.

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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

With the sending unit correctly orientated on the tank, carefully mark the cover plate hole locations.

Using the exact same techniques that I used with the practice cutout, drill perpendicular holes into the tank platform.


Then tap them.


Test fit the new holes with screws.


After the drilling and tapping of the aluminum there is this small debris leftover on the underside of the surface. It can be seen in this picture of the underside of the practice cutout. I guess you'd call those leftover bits "hanging swarf". Good name for a comic book villain.


Need to remove all the hanging swarf before continuing so none will get into the fuel later. Use sandpaper on the underside of the platform till all the swarf is knocked free.


Take the tank to the utility sink and keep rinsing out until there is no more debris inside the tank.


Install the sending unit along with it's rubber gasket and screw it all into place.


Seeing how this is the first one of these I've ever done I thought a test was in order. Stood the tank on the end and then poured in enough water to totally immerse the sending unit. Checked for leaks. Found one.


It's a weeper right at one screw head. While the tank is in use the cover plate won't be immersed so this small leak might not be a problem but I didn't want to take a chance. Removed the leaking screw from the hole and waited till everything dried out. Then coated the hole and the screw in gasket sealant.


Wait until the sealant is tacky then put the screw back into place.


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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

With the sending unit installed some info about how it works.
In this picture you can see the float attached to the sending body. Within the sending body is a variable resister. As the float rises and falls in the tank with the liquid level it changes the resistance value. The wires from the sending body connect to the two terminals on the top of the cover plate.


Here is the box the sending unit came in.


The check mark next to "10-180 ohms" shows the upper and lower limits on this particular sending unit model.

The resistance value should be 10 ohms with the tank empty and 180 ohms with the tank full. You can buy stock fuel gauges that correspond with these values. I'm going to go a different route for a fuel gauge so I need to take some measurements.

Move the fuel tank over to washing machine next to the utility sink. Hook up the probes from my voltmeter to the electrical connections on the top of the sending unit cover plate.


With the tank empty the sending unit returns a value of 8.8 ohms.


Since the fuel inlet is on the side I'd roll the tank over to pour in water. Used a milk jug as my gallon measure.


By the way, the top of the washer looks like it does because it's next to the utility sink so paint brushes and such get placed there while waiting to be cleaned. I like to think of it as my on little piece of abstract art.

After adding each gallon of water I'd roll the tank back and straighten it up with a level.


So I added one gallon of water at a time and took a new reading with each one.

Here's the results.
Gals - Ohms
1 - 30
2 - 67
3 - 101
4 - 125
5 - 143

Once I poured in 5 gallons and leveled up the tank the water was just even with the bottom edge of the fuel inlet.


Dumped the water into the washer and moved the tank back to the workbench. Added a couple ring terminals and shrink tubing to a dual length of wire. Attached this to the cover plate terminals. With a resistance reading there is no positive or negative so don't have to worry about which wire is which.


You can tell that the gasket sealant is still a little tacky.

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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

Now that the sending unit is finished I have to add two more items to the fuel tank before it will ready to install. Need a way to draw fuel out of the tank. There are ready made fuel standpipes that screw into the tank but I think they are overpriced. These heaters are a specialized device and there are no outside manufacturers making replacement parts or installation hardware. Without competition the manufactures can charge whatever they want. My major complaint. Time for DIY.

Here's the parts I'll be using to make my own fuel standpipe.


Plastic fuel line. It's 4mm OD and 2mm ID.


Flexible Copper tubing. 1/4" OD.


1/4" x 1/8" Hex head bushing and steel brake line.


The bungs at the top of the fuel tank have a diameter of 1/4". Need to reduce the size down. Use Teflon tape on the hex head bushing.


Install the bushing onto the tank.


My original idea was to use steel brake line as the standpipe since the end fittings match the inside (1/8") of the hex head bushing. On reflection I wasn't sure how the coated steel of the brake line would react to being continually submerged in kerosene so I moved to plan "B".

Use copper tubing as the standpipe into the tank. The heater installation instructions warn that air bubbles could form within fuel lines larger than 4mm. These bubbles could then block fuel flow. So I'll take the 2mm ID plastic fuel line and slide it into the copper tubing. The plastic fuel line fits nicely into 1/4" OD copper tubing.

I'll still use the brake line fitting but it needs to be drilled out before the copper tubing will fit through. Start by drilling a hole in a block of wood. Screw the fitting into the hole.


Set up the drill press. Use clamps to hold and center the fitting. There's not much room for error so took my time with this step.


I've written before about using my drill press on metal but I forgot this step. There are a set of pulleys on the top of the drill press used to adjust the speed.
When drilling metal I change it from the fastest setting.


To the slowest setting.


Drill out the fitting.


Drilled fitting on the left.


The copper tubing now slides through the fitting.


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[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

Cut off a section of copper tubing.


Straighten it out by hand then to check my work I laid it on the flat edge of a metal level. Rolling it back and forth showed where it still needed work.


This copper tube will hold the plastic fuel line inside the fuel tank. Once installed I want the bottom of the tube to be one centimeter from the bottom of the fuel tank. Probably a bunch of different ways to accomplish that. Here's the one I used.

With the 1/4" bushing already installed put Teflon tape on the drilled out brake fitting and tighten it down inside the bushing. Then slide the copper tubing through the fitting until it reaches the bottom of the tank.


Using the vernier caliper measure the distance from the top of the brake fitting to the top of the bushing.


Use a inside caliper to measure the distance from the top of the tube to the top of the brake fitting.


Remove the tube and the fitting from the tank. Lay them down on a piece of cardboard and mark down the measurement from the inside caliper. Also mark the bottom edge of the fitting.


Slide the fitting down the tube then mix up two part epoxy. Using the marks from the cardboard as a guide, spread the epoxy on the tube where the fitting goes.


Again using the marks, slide the fitting through the epoxy back to it's starting position.


Double check the position with the inside calipers. Wait for the epoxy to set up.


Using a tube cutter, remove 1 centimeter from the bottom of the tube. No particular reason why I decided on 1 centimeter. It just seem about right.


Screw the now epoxied together fitting and copper tube back into the tank. Use the vernier caliper to check that I've tightened it back to it previous position. The fuel tank will installed on the drive's side of the van while the heater will be on the passenger side. Bend the outside end of the tube so it will point, once the tank is installed under the van, towards the passenger side.


Remove the tube and fitting from the tank. Slide the plastic fuel line through the curved piece of the tube to check that I didn't create any restrictions with the bending.


One last thing. Need to secure the fuel line so it won't slide out of the copper tube. The fuel line came as a kit with 2 short rubber hose pieces and clamps. The hose will fit over the fuel line but it's ID is too small to fit over the copper tube. Use a drill on one end of the hose. Enlarge it enough so it fits over the tubing.


Install the rubber hose and screw clamps. Slide the plastic fuel line back into the copper tube till it's end is even with the bottom of the tube.


Then tighten the screw clamps to hold everything in place.


Before I screw the tubing back into the tank I'll install a vent line in the other bung.

continued -

[WVvan]

Fuel tank installation continued:

A note about tank venting. I'm not adding a pressure vent. As I'm adding fuel to the tank I'm hoping that if it do it slowly enough the displaced air will exit via the inlet hose. Also since the gas tank won't be filled to the top there should always be room for warm weather expansion. I will be adding a vacuum vent. This is needed because as fuel is withdrawn from the tank it needs to be replaced with air.

This is the motorcycle vacuum vent.


Us it with some plastic hose, a piece of brake line and brake line fitting.


Install the 1/4" bushing for this bung on the tank.


Trim the brake line with a tube cutter. Here you can see the difference between cutting the brake line with a hack saw (left) and a tube cutter.


Use epoxy to glue the brake line to the fitting.


Putting it all together. The barbs on the bottom of the vacuum vent hold the hose tight enough so a clamp isn't needed. Use a clamp to hold the hose onto the brake line.


Install on the tank.


Here's what the tank looks like with everything installed.




continued -

[WVvan]

This isn't strictly part of the fuel tank project but it needs to be done before the tank is installed.

The battery bank will sit on the drivers side of the van but I'll need to run electrical wiring to the passenger side. I thought of different ways of doing this like running the wires above the rear doors or along the edge of the raised floor directly behind the front seats. Here's what I decided on.

This is 3/4" ID liquid tight flexible conduit. I got it at Lowe's. At $0.73 a foot it's not too expensive.


Here is a rough idea of the location where I'll run the conduit under the van. At each end of the conduit will be fittings that go through the van floor.


A more direct path would be to run it under this part of the van but as you can see it's already a little crowded. All these hoses and connections are to the van's gas tank.


This is how that same area looks viewed from the passenger side of the van. Directly in the front of the picture is the exhaust shield. Next is the gas tank and protruding from the top of the tank you can see fuel lines and electrical connections. The fuel pump is inside the tank below that point.


You can see in the pictures that the underfloor bracing on each side and the gas tank and exhaust shield on the bottom forms a kind of cable tray. Since it's too crowded here I'll move to the right, towards the front of the van, between the next set of floor braces.

It's less cluttered here. The gas tank has a raised section with a connector on the top. That's where the vent line attaches.


The conduit is flexible but very stiff so I fed it through from the passenger side since there is more room to work.


Looking from the drivers side, the raised section of the gas tank and the vent hose is front and left with the conduit above and to the right . Be the way, this is the view the camera has since it will fit up in there but it's not like you could get you head into that space.


Here is where the conduit emerges from between the braces. It's in the space above the fuel tank inlet. This is why the conduit must be installed before the fuel tank. There wouldn't be room to work otherwise. You might notice the tape on the end of the fuel inlet. After finishing the fuel hose installation I sealed this end of the fuel inlet with tape since it would be awhile before the tank was installed.


This is the 90 degree fitting that will connect the conduit to and through the van floor. It is threaded on each end. The threads with the wide spacing is screwed into the conduit. The end closest to the hole saw will fit through the van floor. The hole saw size is 1-1/8".


The hole saw installed on it's arbor. To the upper right of the picture you can see the plastic nut and rubber o-ring for the conduit fitting.


Screw the fitting onto the conduit and figure out the best place to install it.


I want to check how this location looks from inside the van. To transfer the location from under the van to the inside take a measurement from one of the bolts on the fuel tank bracket.


Inside the van measure from the top of that same bolt then drill.






Screw the fitting into place. I'd have sealed around the hole with silicone but it was below freezing. I should be able to seal it when the weather improves.




Moving back to the passenger side of the van. Here is the approximate path for the conduit but it's obvious it's too low.


I made some measurements before buying the conduit. Decide on a 9 foot length knowing that it was longer than needed. Now is the time to start trimming. Use a hacksaw on the conduit to shorten it.


Then do a test fit. Checking both length and placement. This picture is looking straight up from under the van. This is the section of the van floor between the rear wheel, to the right, and the side step well. Notice the small cutout with plug on the floor to the right of the conduit end. This will be my measuring point when I transfer the conduit location to the inside of the van.


The pieces cut off the conduit get smaller as I zero in on the best length.


Measure and drill the hole for the fitting.


I'm using a straight fitting on this side of the van. Here's how it looks with the fitting screwed onto the conduit end. There's rubber washer that seals against the conduit.


Push the fitting through the floor and screw on the o-ring and plastic nut.


This doesn't complete the installation of the conduit since there are still a couple things to do beside using silicone to seal around the cut holes. As it is now the conduit is laying on the top of the exhaust shield. I will be adding a metal bracket that raises the conduit off the shield. I'm not doing it now because the conduit will have to share space with the intake and exhaust hosing from the Webasto heater since they will all be in the same general area. Until the heater is installed I'm not sure how it will all lay out. I've included enough slack in the conduit so it can be moved around within this space. The van won't be going on any trips until this is all done so the exhaust shielding melting the conduit won't be an issue.

Even though it was plenty cold on this day I did have some supervision but he spent most of his time perched on the steps.


From this location Tiger can watch all the critters (squirrels and birds) on the various bird feeders without being noticed.

Costs for this:
Lowe's
3/4” Liquid Tight Flexible Conduit – 9'@$0.73' - $6.57
3/4” LTF Conduit 90Degree Fittings - $2.76
3/4” Flex Conduit Straight Fit - $2.49
Lenox 8 Piece Hole Saw Set - $39.98

[WVvan]

Merry Christmas to All!
From Hal and Tiger (Bob's inside keeping warm).




And the geekiest Christmas gift ever. The U.S.S. Enterprise Pizza Cutter. Too cool for words.

[WVvan]

Ummmmmm. Homemade "space" pizza. It's outta this world.



I'm not making this up. I went to the store yesterday to buy the ingredients for a pizza to try out my new Enterprise cutter. The last name of the cashier who checked me out was "Kirk".

Fuel tank installation continued:

I'm going to install the fuel tank onto the van. I did this earlier in the month when it was just cold and dark (no snow yet).


First off, what could have been a big mistake. Here is a picture from back in September when I was constructing a mounting point for one of the tank brackets. It's made to straddle that underfloor ridge. I plum forgot all about that ridge when I was preping the fuel tank. I'll come back to it.


Getting the tank onto the van was a bear. I could have used another set of hands. Because of the difficulty there aren't as many pictures as usual. The mounting difficulty was with the metal straps that wrap around the tank.


They are like big springs that fit very snug around the tank. Along with the difficulty in trying to hold them closed so you can get a bolt screwed through the end is that there isn't much room to work between the side of the van and the tank.


My solution was to use a jack stand to raise the holding strap up against the bottom of the tank. This gave me enough slack to get the bolt through the holes and a nut started. In this picture you can see I have the tank attached and the jack stand I used is just visible at the bottom.


At the same time as I was getting the straps bolted together I also had to make sure the rubber fuel inlet hose was getting properly seated on the tank inlet. Wanted the hose to go all the way down the tank inlet until it was against the fuel tank. Notice two things in this picture. You can see a metal ring around the hose where it meets the tank. That is the screw clamp I'll use to tighten the hose onto the fuel tank inlet. At the top right of the picture you can just see the 90 degree fitting and the flex conduit I installed earlier.


I actually remembered to put the screw clamp on the hose before installing the tank. Finding that I'd installed the tank without the clamp is the kind of bonehead mistake I usually make.

There wasn't enough room between the tank and van to get my hand up in there to tighten the screw clamp. I used a long ratcheting screwdriver that has the six sided interchangeable bits. By added an extension with a flat bit to the screwdriver I was able to reach the screw clamp from beyond the end of the fuel tank. Keeping the end of a screwdriver that long steady enough to tighten the screw clamp took a ton of patience.


Tightening the bolts on the holding straps caused the tank to raise closer to the bottom of the van. So at the same time I was checking the rubber hose on the fuel inlet I was also checking the top of the tank, I couldn't see anything up there so I was working by touch. That's when I realized my mistake in not account for the underfloor ridge. In this picture you can see that the blue vacuum vent will miss the ridge but looking through the hole in the square tubing below the vent you can just see the arc of the copper fuel line. It will pass directly under the ridge. The tank hasn't been leveled out yet


I was able to reach up and make a couple corrective bends to the copper tubing so that it would clear the bottom of the ridge as I raised the tank. I later checked the plastic fuel line and it wasn't constricted by the bending. Here is how it looked with the tank fully raised.


I lucked out with the ridge. Of course if it had been in the way I could have made adjustments but that would have meant dropping the tank.

That finished that night's work.


I want to protect the plastic fuel line. I'll be using split loom conduit.


Split loom conduit or tubing is a corrugated plastic tube the has a slit down it's entire length. It's used for organizing and protecting electrical wiring. The slit on the side allows wires to enter or exit the conduit at places other than the ends. It also helps with the insertion of wires since you don't have to shove or pull them through the length of the conduit.


The fuel line isn't wiring but the split loom will give it a protective cover.


Found the easiest way to get the fuel line into the split loom was to bend the loom 90 degrees and press the fuel line against the bend. The fuel line would slip into the loom. Then just worked my way down the loom until I ran out of fuel line. Cut the loom at the point.


The Webasto heater will sit on the passenger side of the van so I need to get the loom covered fuel line across the underside of the van. I used the same "cable tray" that I ran the liquid tight conduit through.


Since the loom isn't stiff I couldn't feed it straight across the underside of the van. This picture is the view looking up between the gas tank and the exhaust shield. I kept shoving the loom through from the driver's side until it could see it in this gap.


Pull all the loom through that gap.


Listen to Tiger tell me how he would have done a better job of it.


Push the split loom up and over the exhaust shield to the passenger side of the van.


That brings the fuel tank installation up to date. When I install a bracket to raise the liquid tight conduit off the exhaust shield I'll do the same for the fuel line inside the split loom. The next step will be to install the Webasto heater. With the current cold, wind and snow that's not going to happen right away. At the moment the weather forecast has Saturday in the 50's. We'll see.

I've got a couple more projects on the van to write about so I'll start covering one of them in my next posting.

[WVvan]

In several previous posts I'd made passing reference to my rustproofing. Here's a quick post on the subject.

I've not made it a secret that Hal had some rust problems when acquired.


I've posted before about patching holes. When it comes to simple surface rust I've been using a rustproofing product called Rust Bullet. This company makes different products but I've only used the Automotive Formula which is silver in color.

The company website makes all kinds of claims. The only one I can personally verify is that once it gets on anything, you'll have a hell of a time getting it off. Especially skin. Anything that sticks like this stuff does must be doing something right.

I think it does a good job. In case you use it here's some things I've learned.

Read and follow all instructions. This product is not quite like anything I've used before.

Before you begin painting have a can of Xylene, Toluene, or MEK on hand. You will need it.

If you're only going to use part of a can have some plastic wrap handy. Use the plastic wrap to both displace the air above the unused portion left in the can and stop the top of the can from contacting the lid when you go to re-seal the can.


Without the plastic wrap the lid will fuse to the top of the can. To open it again you'll have to peel the lid off with pliers.


Buy cheap brushes. You can get good enough brushes from Harbor Freight for $.099. Use them a couple times and throw them away. Beside the effect this product has the brushes, to try to get them totally clean you'll spend more money on the solvent that what the brush cost.




Cover you skin as much as possible. Did I mention this stuff is hard to get off.
I put on this old jersey when painting with Rust Bullet. I'll turn the collar up and wear a ball cap.


I also tape the jersey to my gloves so it won't ride up and expose the skin on my arms.


As soon as you're done painting find a mirror and see if you have any rust proofing on your face. You'll need the solvent to get it off but the trick is to do it Right Away. Don't let it sit. Same thing with your glasses. Don't let it sit.

Besides using it to treat surface rust I also use Rust Bullet whenever I cut through metal on the van to help prevent rust from forming on the newly exposed edge.




Who am I kidding. If you've been following this van conversion you know I've gone just hog wild with this stuff on the underside of the van.








Once I started treating the areas with surface rust I found that I liked the look of it. It also made working under the van a little less onerous. Considering all the time I spend in the Undervan every little bit helps.

I have no way to prove it but I'd bet that having the wheel wells and bottom of the van silver colored helps reflect some of the radiant road heat in the summer. Especially when you compare it to the flat black of most vehicle undercoating.