bsa tank but not single

[madmac]

Hi All BSA but not single related.
A new Quest has appeared, on the way to the west yorkshire camp earlier in the year my spitfire petrol tank decided to give up the battle against ethanol fuels even after using sealer it gave up, the seams were splitting in front of my eyes and a constant drip of petrol or whatever it is dripped on the engine and more worrying my leg
many thanks to all who helped stem the flow but in the end i gave up and borrowed a thunderbolt tank to get me home
well this leads me to my new quest
1. seal again ? don't think this is ever going to work satisfactory
2.buy indian tank ? possible Just under £300 with a few concerns of fit .
3. make one?? well have some steel sheet, have dolly and hammer, have welder ,have blind faith and read a book

Made a ply template of base
Next a bit of tank, first attempt was going to be two half sides but for a first attempt at steel forming this was a bit difficult so decided on three sections top and two sides

bottom and top

Had to make a tucking fork to shrink the metal as you can only stretch it so much then it gets thin
the idea is to make a tuck in the steel then work the metal in on itself with a hammer

tucking fork

picked up a cast iron wheel and a pillar block bearing which has a radius on it and made a frame
Then its all about wheeling back and forth trying to wheel out the tuck marks

wheel

top and two sides

well thats all for the moment lots to do

[Canberra]

Maybe it would look good on a B50? Keep on going please - you may have a market somewhere.
John

[roadplough]

Great stuff madmac, especially making the tools yourself.
I guess you must have to stand on the panel to use the tucking fork!

[beat]

looks good madmac.
I was using Alu 1.5 MM , it weights less in the hand and forms easier plus saves the painting
and still enjoying it....
beat

[madmac]

Hi all
had a couple of hours to tinker with tank tonight,though I would have a go at the star badges
The plan was to make a positive and a negative of the star out of steel and roll into the tank

pos and neg

Then place positive on the front of tank and the negative exactly behind on the inside ,Then under the roller and roll

star result

well thats all at the moment but well chuffed

The tank filler neck impression is next but this has me stumped at the moment

[HPbyStan]

You are one clever dude

[roadplough]

Very cool!

filler neck impression is next but this has me stumped at the moment

good to have a challenge

A cheap hydraulic [pipe bending] press and a few taper bearing rings?

[beat]

great work !!!!
beat

[madmac]

Thanks for the encouragement as I have been told at work it's not a challenge ,It's an opportunity to excel
Mac

[minetymenace]

Excel away

[madmac]

Hi All
well I should be working on the B25,but have to do something with this tank I've Been putting of the welding bit for too long

I left my options open with the three sections, by bringing the center section further over than necessary this gave me the option to cut top or side to fit

so I cut most of the center section away to fit

Now the fun begins welding up without burning holes

Decided not to form the indent for the filler as it works out to close to the welded section
well thats all I got done today hope Its of interest
Mac

[skippy]

It is very interesting thanks.

[madmac]

Hi all
been in the garage again managed to get the filler done,started with knocking the indent in

hole for the filler neck

bit more bashing around

This is still not deep enough, thought it would split or completely distort the tank

managed to weld the filler neck in place

Took some bashing but managed to weld in place, square as well

Now the job gets interesting trying to fit the two halfs, I made the bottom first so the welding leaves a lot to be desired
The fit wasn't to bad but at one point I was 1/2" short so had to cut out and extend

Short of top woops

Took a little fiddling but looks ok , made some bushes for the petrol taps and welded in made the same as originals 3/8"bsp could have gone straight for 1/4" but those bsa men did it for a reason who knows?

petrol tap bushes and trial fit of bottom

last job of the day trying to close the ends , I would just say what a pain not a straight edge to work to so more bashing later this week

This is going to test my patience

Bye for now MM

[beat]

[madmac]

Hi all managed to get some garage time in
between another cold and working calls over christmas
The end fillers did prove to be a pain so many changes of direction and running out of cereal boxes to make templates,so many unmarked bags of cereals in the cupboards

cereal box template

The center fixing tube next, drilling a hole into the top of the tank did not seem right some how, we'll measure twice and cut once thats the way to do it,worked out ok

hole in tank

also decided to stiffen the tank with some plates seen so many tanks split and this is going to be a heavy tank when full of fuel

stiffener

Now just need the two bolts at the front for the tank support and close it up,

bottom and top

Time to tidy garage as cant find Bracket to mark bolts <201MM

[packw]

Hi madmac,
Wonderful, inspirational stuff. You can probably now understand why the Indian-made tanks appear to cost so much.
I see you are from Tyne & Wear. I live in sunny South Shields and I'd love to see your tank in the flesh as it were.
Cheers
Bill

[madmac]

Hi Bill sent you pm
Ian

[Mark Cook]

I am so jealous of the things some of you all get up too, this has to be one of the most inspiring for me. I know time and funds make it hard to play, but I'm very impressed all the same.
I'm going to ask my Boss if I'm allowed to retire next year in the hope I'll have more personal time.
I've been reminded that I still have 3 years work to catch up on since fracturing my spine. Retirement seems like a good way of getting out of it

[minetymenace]

No rest for the wicked Mark

I was just thinking "I could do that", the only problem is, I couldn't.

[madmac]

Well funny you should say that Mark I've handed my notice in at work and going to retire in March for a bit more me time, I've heard It's recommended
Anyway got the tank finished

tank on bike

Had a sweat on when welding the bottom in, I really did not have a clue how I was going to weld it
The bottom of the tank has a bead all the way round so thought about welding inside to this,but this melts the outer shell or just weld straight down onto both skins

top of photo is the top and bottom skin joint

Bit of grinding squares this up but next time I would make the bottom flange overhang top skin

bottom of tank

Well I think thats it, well maybe a pressure test and then paint, will post a photo when done thanks for the encouragement MM

[Mark Cook]

Don't pressure test it, does not take much pressure to bugger one

[madmac]

Hi all
I was along admiring packw tribsa yesterday, a good job Bill I have to say , and he reminded me I need to update this thread so just a couple of photos of the bike and tank with fuel in the tank

It came out better than I hoped for the star impression is not quite right but Im happy
Now lots of cleaning as the bike is next to where I cut grind and spray, and I found out the hard way on my first ride to sweep up all the metal cuttings, who got a puncture

1967 spitfire

[Richard Hunt]

Very nice madmac

Rich

[HPbyStan]

That turned out really well !

[packw]

I would certainly second that.
madmac has done a great job. You might expect that he would have a palatial garage to accomplish such work, but believe me it is very tight.
The photos really do the tank justice. It looks great on the bike.
Cheers
Bill

[beat]

looks better than new BSA stuff

[malcward]

Bit late , but just seen this thread ,
Fantastic work , would you consider selling parts to make a tank up ,i.e. in kit form or would sell patterns to make one up from ?

Cheers
Malc