The Fuel Cell Rebuild Project
ABOVE: Installed and race ready. This is a sprint-race cell, because of it's 8-gallon capacity.
ABOVE: I bought an old, long out-of-date 8-gallon ATL fuel cell (approx 21 x 13 x 9.5 inches) from a friend for $100. The cell was so old
ATL no longer even made the "end-opening" case for it.
ABOVE: A previous owner had transferred the bladder markings to label tape and just stuck them to the outside end of the "can" as some
of the cool guys call it.
ABOVE: The original bladder was a folded, glued, or bonded affair, and was coming apart at the corners and edges.
ABOVE: The replacement "Sportsman" bladder was #MB108 and $350, very strongly molded, not glued and folded. Finding it to be molded,
it suprised me. ATL quotes this from their site:
Q How does ATL stack up against JAZ and RCI fuel cells?
A As of this writing, both JAZ and RCI sell only molded plastic tanks which carry no major approvals or certifications as fuel cells. Their tanks are
equipped with smaller access openings, making it difficult to service the safety foam, clean the tank, or add surge tanks, baffles, pumps and pickups.
Some of the tanks are sold very cheaply, but they do not include the can, foam, or recognized roll-over valve. Yes, these tanks do serve a purpose,
but they are never found in serious championship racing.
We have an RCI (SFI certified) 12-gallon cell in our LeMons SuperBug, which is a steel can with a molded bladder. ATL is specifically saying RCI only
offers molded plastic fuel tanks, which is not true. Sometimes certifications are political, and our RCI cell does not carry an FIA rating. That's why the
8-gallon ATL bladder cost more by itself than the 12-gallon RCI bladder and can. I honestly don't see how the ATL is any safer than the RCI.
We sanded and refinished (brake caliper red enamel) the old 8-gallon ATL can, had a graphics company reproduce the bladder markings in an exactl
copy of the ATL stencil font and applied them to the outside of the can.
ABOVE: A good strong mounting was accomplished with L-shaped steel supports bolted to the luggage compartment deck to form a bed into
which the can sets, and steel straps to secure the can to the bed. Dual fuel pumps finish off the installation.
ABOVE: The new ATL 8-gallon Sportsman can would fit was well in a Ghia as our old one. In fact, we have an elevated filler neck on our can
that allows us to have the fuel cap protrude just enough through our hood's Spyder-style refuel port to make it practical.
At Tech, we keep the bladder's dated receipt and certification papers with the car, as the only possible other way to know it is current would be to
pull it out of the can! The install passed Historic Sportscar Racing tech, no problem.
We built the system so it can be unbolted and transferred to our other Ghia when necessary.
FJC
