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Hey guys,
I’m looking for a gas tank and low pressure pump for a chumpcar. Tank needs to be the 63L with passenger and driver side holes.
Let me know if you have one available. I’m in Baltimore so keep that in mind. I know they sell on ebay for around $250 but if I can get something local that would be great.
Thanks,
Jason
443-306-3540
Used tanks tend to be beat up and have crap inside of them. I’d use this as an opportunity to put in the biggest new tank you can find. Get a used pump from Al “The Reverend” Taylor. Email him via the board here. His email address is something like wabmw25(at)aol(dot)com
Good thought Ranger. I just looked on ebay and I’m getting the idea that the larger tank (63L) doesn’t fit in the 2 door 318. That sounds silly. Shouldn’t they all fit in all of them since it’s an E30?
Fuel tanks can be surprisingly complicated and I don’t really know the details. Grassroots Mag ran into a struggle on this back in '08 or something. Get a hold of Jim Levie (JLevie), he can steer you right on this.
Old tanks have inevitably been abused by 2 post lifts so they’re “pushed in”. That’s a killer when you’re trying to get every liter out of it.
I have one of these used(barely) aftermarket tanks here for sale, 200 bucks in the philly area. its for a late model
I just bought a tank new at http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/ for $155.00 delivered. I used the code “activate20” to get the 20% discount. Don’t have the tank yet but thought I would throw it up here.
I wouldnt recommend using one of these in a race car, a lechump car or street car is fine but in a spec e30 it cant keep up and you will develop a starving issue after right hand turns, unless the tank is full.
I wouldnt recommend using one of these in a race car, a lechump car or street car is fine but in a spec e30 it cant keep up and you will develop a starving issue after right hand turns, unless the tank is full.[/quote]
I dunno, there’s lots of possible causes of our dreaded full starvation. It would be hasty to point a new tank and say “it’s going to hiccup”.
Personally, I’ve never beat the hiccuping problem, altho I have tried a bit. But the guys that have beat it often beat it by replacing the tank + misc “while you’re in there” parts…and they never really knew if the fix was replacing the tank or replacing the “while you’re in there”.
The “while you’re in there” parts usually consisted of making sure the vent lines are venting and the L/R connecting pipe had good flow. And there’s always the idea of the old IE surge tank that they used to sell. The folks that need to chime in are those that have actually beat the problem.
I wouldnt recommend using one of these in a race car, a lechump car or street car is fine but in a spec e30 it cant keep up and you will develop a starving issue after right hand turns, unless the tank is full.[/quote]
How come Andrew? Are these made differently than other tanks?
You won’t beat the low fuel starvation problem with any tank. The 55L tank has a ~3/8" id cross over tube and the 63L tank uses and internal siphon operated by fuel returning from the engine bay. Either works peachy keen on a street car where WOT under high cornering loads aren’t encountered. The solution for a race car is to use a 63L tank with a transfer pump on the left side that lifts fuel over the hump to where the high pressure pump is on the right side. With that you can run the tank down to almost dry before experiencing starvation.
I’ve my tank with a dual pump setup down to the point that it took 14 gallons to fill it (~2.5 left in the tank).
[quote=“jlevie” post=71143]You won’t beat the low fuel starvation problem with any tank. The 55L tank has a ~3/8" id cross over tube and the 63L tank uses and internal siphon operated by fuel returning from the engine bay. Either works peachy keen on a street car where WOT under high cornering loads aren’t encountered. The solution for a race car is to use a 63L tank with a transfer pump on the left side that lifts fuel over the hump to where the high pressure pump is on the right side. With that you can run the tank down to almost dry before experiencing starvation.
I’ve my tank with a dual pump setup down to the point that it took 14 gallons to fill it (~2.5 left in the tank).[/quote]
I would be curious to know exactly what you did for the second pump. Sounds like the only solution.
from our experience (first hand) the aftermarket tank cant keep up like a stock tank. its not the issue the stock tank has, it comes on much earlier and is more pronounced. you have to keep the tank well above half full for to work. we put a stock tank back in and the problem went away. I cant explain why the tank doesnt work but its obviously not built the same as a stock bmw tank.
Those cheap new tanks are chinese crap. I bought one from Parts bin and the steel line inside the tank that transfered the gas from drivers side to passenger was welded so poorly they burned a hole in it, thus no transfer. Then Parts Bin wouldn’t give me credit after I sent it back. I will stick with original tanks and have them cleaned, or put in a fuel cell.
The one I built used the OE high pressure pump in the right side and an early E30 transfer pump in the left side. Since the stock high pressure pump doesn’t have a return nipple I made an assembly that got mounted on the right side next to the pump flange to drop fuel into the pickup cup. I connected that to the transfer pump with 3/8" copper tubing.
The easier solution is to use a late model 318is high pressure pump as it has a return fitting. I would have done it that way had I known about that pump at the time.
To fit the transfer pump into the left side and have the output nipple pointing in the correct direction you have to file down one of the locking lugs. And you’ll probably need to space the tank down slightly to get the cross tube to clear.
That means that the siphon inside the tanks isn’t quite right. If you build up a two pump setup the siphon doesn’t matter, so the cheap tank is fine.
I’m going after Jim’s solution specifically. I’m getting the cheap tank and a 318is pump and will be racing it at Cresson near DFW next month. I’ll report back.
The one I built used the OE high pressure pump in the right side and an early E30 transfer pump in the left side. Since the stock high pressure pump doesn’t have a return nipple I made an assembly that got mounted on the right side next to the pump flange to drop fuel into the pickup cup. I connected that to the transfer pump with 3/8" copper tubing.
The easier solution is to use a late model 318is high pressure pump as it has a return fitting. I would have done it that way had I known about that pump at the time.
To fit the transfer pump into the left side and have the output nipple pointing in the correct direction you have to file down one of the locking lugs. And you’ll probably need to space the tank down slightly to get the cross tube to clear.
That means that the siphon inside the tanks isn’t quite right. If you build up a two pump setup the siphon doesn’t matter, so the cheap tank is fine.[/quote]
I also like the 318IS solution. Could I simply move the 325I fuel pump that I already have from passenger side over to the driver side and then feed the return located on the new 318IS pump?
Also, by doing this we will be removing the sending unit from the drivers side. Do I use the same sending unit as what is currently in the passenger side of the 325IS? What am I missing?
[quote=“Ryan_W” post=71187]I also like the 318IS solution. Could I simply move the 325I fuel pump that I already have from passenger side over to the driver side and then feed the return located on the new 318IS pump?
Also, by doing this we will be removing the sending unit from the drivers side. Do I use the same sending unit as what is currently in the passenger side of the 325IS? What am I missing?[/quote]
You will use two of the right side level sending units as they fit into the pump housings. But there’s a catch. The sensors have to be connected in series, but the right side sensor is meant to be at the end of the chain and is grounded. So you have to insulate the left side sensor housing from the pump assembly. Use a die grinder to enlarge the the opening in the pump flange and a drill to enlarge the holes in the sensor flange. A gasket between the flanges, insulating sleeves over the studs, and plastic washers underneath the nuts will isolate the sensor body from ground.
While you could use the existing high pressure pump in the left side, that is not a good idea. High pressure pumps don’t like to run dry and that will happen on the left side. A transfer pump is a simple centrifugal type and isn’t harmed by running dry.