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Been googling for a bit now in hopes that this problem had been handled better by now but it doesn't seem that it has.
Long story short when I did my swap I built a homemade box around the stock pickup in the stock tank. It works fine above 1/2 tank but below that on long sweeping turns it cannot feed fuel well enough.
The tank has developed a leak somewhere on top so it needs to come down. I want to fix the problem during the process because dropping the tank is a huge pain in the ***.
My budget is about $250-300 tops. Is there still no tank option that works worth a crap, looks factory, and doesn't cost $1000-1400 like a Rick's tank?
I want to keep an external pump. So one option would be a new factory tank to cut into and do something with and trash my current one. This would cost around $200.
If no, then what about the Holley Hydramat? Has anyone had success with these things? The car is using a typical Walbro pump, stock pickup, and Corvette regulator. It's making 450-480rwhp so nothing crazy.
I used a B Body tank from a 95 Impala. Already baffled and EFI ready. Just used a Walbor pump and wiring kit from Racetronix for a B-Body. Made new straps.
May not have that custom look. But it has worked great for me over that last 11 years.
I wanted to try out the holley hydromat solution on my nova since I already had an external walbro and decent tank (so I thought).
I used holley pn 16-105 with some fittings to attach to the stock fuel sender line. I had it all ready to drop in and ended up having to buy a new tank once I got in there since there was some rust and I figured id rather not junk up the new holley part since it is basically a strainer as well.
The holley part is flexible but is difficult to fit through the stock sender hole while taking care not to rip it at all. Also it doesn’t lay flat on its own so you have to use some method of keeping the corners down like the magnets that holley sells for like $25. I bought some magnets with hooks from home depot for a few bucks and seemed to do the job but it’s a little tricky getting them positioned correctly through the sender hole with the sender halfway installed… I just used some long needle nose pliers and took my time.
I put in about 2 gallons of fuel in the tank and everything seemed to work as advertised…no fuel pressure loss or pump noise around corners…car is still being sorted out so can’t 100% say it’s perfect but all the feedback I’ve seen on summit and some of the 4x4 rock crawling sites sound pretty good.
Anyway just wanted to share about the hydromat option since I hadn’t seen anyone else post on this site about it… I don’t post much here anymore but your build was one of the ones that made me want to swap my chevelle years ago so hopefully this helps.
if you want to buy the fuel pump flange I believe it’s the same as the one that vaporworx (carl c. here and on the pro-touring site) sells separately and is used with the rick’s stainless tanks.
there are a few other options that work but they'd be in the 500+ range if you want me to rattle them off
if you want to buy the fuel pump flange I believe it’s the same as the one that vaporworx (carl c. here and on the pro-touring site) sells separately and is used with the rick’s stainless tanks.
there are a few other options that work but they'd be in the 500+ range if you want me to rattle them off
Another option is factory 4th gen ls1 fuel bucket. No baffle needed, no additional fuel pressure regulator. You will need to buy a mount or make one (see vetteworks.com).
Real world feedback- 4 years, 8,000 miles, down to 1/8 tank no issues, thousands of replacement parts at stores all over the country.
350SS beat me to the punch. If you have the ability to do some welding on your tank, I would highly recommend the direction that I went with the 5th gen pump. All in, I spent just over $200.
Unfortunately Reed, the 4th gen bucket is too tall even with cutting it down. The Chevelle tanks are about as tall as the 1st gen Camaro's so it would be a very similar tank modification. PM me if you have any questions.
Ryan, I agree the 5th gen bucket is the way to go but is more pricey. The 4th gen fbody IS tall and I had no idea the chevelle tank was shallow. I've never seen a 4th gen cut down but it could be done. Vetteworks makes it easy if you don't feel like fabbing it yourself.
I used a B Body tank from a 95 Impala. Already baffled and EFI ready. Just used a Walbor pump and wiring kit from Racetronix for a B-Body. Made new straps.
May not have that custom look. But it has worked great for me over that last 11 years.
BC
I have a friend who did that on his '69 Chevelle. While it does work great I am not a fan of how far the tank hangs below the rear sheetmetal of the car. I realize this is nitpicky and still thank you for your suggestion.
Originally Posted by 350SS
I wanted to try out the holley hydromat solution on my nova since I already had an external walbro and decent tank (so I thought).
I used holley pn 16-105 with some fittings to attach to the stock fuel sender line. I had it all ready to drop in and ended up having to buy a new tank once I got in there since there was some rust and I figured id rather not junk up the new holley part since it is basically a strainer as well.
The holley part is flexible but is difficult to fit through the stock sender hole while taking care not to rip it at all. Also it doesn’t lay flat on its own so you have to use some method of keeping the corners down like the magnets that holley sells for like $25. I bought some magnets with hooks from home depot for a few bucks and seemed to do the job but it’s a little tricky getting them positioned correctly through the sender hole with the sender halfway installed… I just used some long needle nose pliers and took my time.
I put in about 2 gallons of fuel in the tank and everything seemed to work as advertised…no fuel pressure loss or pump noise around corners…car is still being sorted out so can’t 100% say it’s perfect but all the feedback I’ve seen on summit and some of the 4x4 rock crawling sites sound pretty good.
Anyway just wanted to share about the hydromat option since I hadn’t seen anyone else post on this site about it… I don’t post much here anymore but your build was one of the ones that made me want to swap my chevelle years ago so hopefully this helps.
That is some great feedback. Please do post more if you get the car sorted enough to do some more driving. I've had my tank really low before and not noticed anything wrong. The problem arises on hard cornering and acceleration once it's below a certain point.
I'll also look more into the bucket ideas posted above but I just replaced the fuel pump a couple months ago thinking it had gone bad but problem ended up being a relay/wiring fault on the fuel pump power feed.
Why not get a Tanks inc tank and use a walbro 255 pump or a Aeromotive 340 intank pump?
I'm not taking the option off the table but its looking like:
$250 shipped for the tank
$220 for the pump kit
$35 for a sending unit
$505 (plus some additional shipping) and I would need to rework my fuel hardlines between the tank and regulator so some additional fittings and line would come into play.
This might be worth it in the long run but def not a budget friendly option from my current setup. This seems like it would be the way to go for someone who doesn't already have a complete fuel system in place.
I'll look up some reviews on that setup as I'm not familiar with the Tanks Inc stuff. I know the Spectra EFI tanks had horrid reviews and they used to be the only budget option.
Does anyone have experience with how the Tanks Inc stuff does under hard cornering?
Looking at the internal pics of the Tanks Inc tank they are not really different than my homemade setup.
I might just need to revise what I've already done, might have put too many holes in my baffle or something to that effect as the idea is fundamentally identical.
Ricks tanks also makes a cheaper option stamped steel tank ready to accept a 5th gen. fuel module for your car, you can source a 5th gen. camaro take off fuel module on the camaro forums from anywhere between $75-$125. Seems you are concerned about cornering, with that set up you can run it down to a 1/2 gallon of fuel.
Only one fuel line needed, (less chances of leaks) no external fuel filter. Sell your external pump and recoup a few bucks as well. Replacement fuel modules available at any auto parts store as well, you can't go wrong with o.e.m. engineered reliability.
Impala tank here too. $50 plus the Racetronix pump, easily under $250. Flawless for years to near empty.
Originally Posted by bczee
I used a B Body tank from a 95 Impala. Already baffled and EFI ready. Just used a Walbor pump and wiring kit from Racetronix for a B-Body. Made new straps.
BC
how did you 2 guys cover up the hole you have to make in the trunk for the height of the fuel pump opening ??? (Or did you guys just let it hang REALLY REALLY low ??)
Any pictures would be helpful.
I installed the B-body tank in mine with the Racetronix years ago but never finished it
However, I haven't welded that area closed again , which will require some fabrication AROUND it.
This is what I'm talking about......this is BEFORE the plumbing out of it obviously
similar idea to the hydramat except there is a valve that shuts when not submersed in liquid. these are what is used with the new rick's vaporworks setups.
you could run the pump supply line to a tee and run one pickup on each side of the tank at the low point...i think that would do the job. seem to have good feedback on rock crawler forums.
drawbacks... pickups are like 3" diameter so would have to cut the tank to get them in and also the line fitting on the pickup is only 5/16 but most of the time both would be working so it would be close to an equivalent 7/16 single line.
Maybe Carl from Vaporworx will chime in on this. I am on a very strict budget, but wanted to have the best in-tank pump setup that I could do for around $200 bucks, without cutting my trunk. My stock tank was physically in great shape and wanted to stick with an OEM designed fuel pump assembly. With the kit from Carl, it turns a stock 5th gen Camaro pump assembly into one fuel line, self regulated assembly. The fuel is returned internally which constantly keeps the fuel sump full. I bought my pump from a salvage yard on eBay for $59 shipped from a low mileage 6.2 Camaro. And for about another $125 bucks I believe you can upgrade to the corner pickups just like what was shown in a previous post.
Oh, and the stock fuel pump when converted to constant is the equivalent of a Walbro 255 pump.
ryeguy, i really like what you were able to put together. i've tried a similar route on another project but i can't ever get the tank welded up properly. part of the reason i wanted to give the hydramat a try...seems like the combination of galvanized and thin steel is challenging for a beginner with a mig like me...either crappy welds with pinholes everywhere or blowing through...yours looks awesome...any tricks to this?
just some more info for the OP from summit's feedback on the part i used:
"I have a street legal rockcrawling Jeep CJ (tons, lockers, 37's, etc). It has an aftermarket 15 gallon aluminum fuel cell that is sort of in the OEM location, under the rear floor. Running pump-in-tank on a turbocharged EFI 258/4.0 hybrid engine. I struggled for 2.5 years to find a solution to off camber/steep climb fuel starvation with anything less than a half tank. On the street, I was not able to go below 2/3's of the tank without starvation on mild turns. A side issue was that the fuel pump (aftermarket high volume) drew so much volume it was sucking the aftermarket self-closing fuel pickups (popular blue/black colored brand) closed, even with plenty of fuel in the tank. I eagerly awaited the Hydramat's release but balked at the price! Well, some side work loosened my wallet enough to bite the bullet. Needless to say, I was still quite skeptical. I just got back from wheeling Hatfield-Mckoy Bearwallow trails in West Virgina, and some other location an hour or so East of there. We ran for 10 hours the first day. I had no issues what so ever with 1/3 of a tank. The following day I chose to push the Hydramat even further. I went out with about a half thank (BIG no-no!) and wheeled for about 6 hours-- this included sections that caused driving over on the side of the Jeep, a really steep climb, and one steep and very off camber winch pull (it would have layed on it's side if not for the winch). That last pull was with less than 1/4 tank and not so much as a hiccup from the fuel system...."
just an fyi...not trying to push you in any direction, just want to provide information that has been helpful for me during my research on this.
08-22-2017, 02:07 PM
LS swapped Chevelle fuel tank options any better? 
