gas filler tube issues

[BigShooter]

I have cut the rubber gas filler hose as instructed by FFR. It also appears that my kit did not come with the short aluminum filler extension tube, so I have several feet of a nice stainless pipe that I can cut to fit what I need.
Having fit the rubber hose on it doesn't appear to fit well, the 90 degree bend being too much, and the hose getting squashed against the aluminum side rear hatch piece.
I would love to see how others have made this work - either by following the FFR instructions, or re-engineering this somehow.
181444

[mikeinatlanta]

For my roadster, everything but the cap went into the dumpster. Ordered up hose as needed using the Gates book at Orielly and cutting out the parts I wanted. Ordered aluminum tube online and had beads rolled into it once the lengths were sorted. All but one clamp are Gates Pro-grip from McMaster.

[LateApex]

The hose does not fit well at all. If you manage to get the hose on the cap, it is crimped, and one cannot get a gas nozzle seated properly.

I thought about this for a bit, and in a brainstorming sessions with Rian (a local coupe builder), I landed on shimming the gas cap screws. The lower 2 screws I shimmed about 1/4", the middle screws about 1/8" and the top two screws enjoyed no shimming at all. This lifted the gas cap just a bit, and straightened out the hose about 3.5 degrees (if my math is right) That little bit relieved the pinch in the hose, and in filling my tank today (a lovely crisp Colorado March afternoon), it worked like a charm.

This is totally a hack. A better method would involve bending new sheet metal and then suffering with carpet cuts that don't fit. Better yet is laying in a slight bevel in the fiberglass gas cap recess to straighten out this problem, before painting and so forth.

You cannot see the slight difference in the angle of the cap with my hack. I needed to use some 8-32 SS machine screws and nylocs to secure the cap instead of the provided screws (for the extra length), but I have collected enough extra fasteners during my build to assemble the Titanic, and had the right items in my bins.

Hope this helps a bit.

Note that "the short filler extension tube" is what you cut off the longer piece of stock that mates with the gas tank.

Hackers 'R Us

[edwardb]

I clearanced the hatch side aluminum quite a bit to allow the right angle rubber filler hose to fit better. It's OK. I have to watch how fast I fill when pumping gas. Definitely not set it and forget it. But it's not a big deal. I modified the provided cover so it fit better and extended to the top of the hatch side. Plus made a couple of new pieces of carpet that fit after the mods. I agree it's an area that could stand some improvement.

[LateApex]

I found a 135 degree filler hose, which I am using, but the clearance with the kit aluminum is just wrong. I was surprised how hard it is to find fuel filler hose bits that might work in a kit. Everything is pre-fabbed for specific makes and models, Type 65 not included :-)

[BigShooter]

I found a 135 degree filler hose, which I am using, but the clearance with the kit aluminum is just wrong. I was surprised how hard it is to find fuel filler hose bits that might work in a kit. Everything is pre-fabbed for specific makes and models, Type 65 not included :-)

I might try this first - do you have a part number or manufacturer for the 135 degree hose?

thanks for the tip on the short extension piece...I was kindof wondering if that was the case....

[BigShooter]

I'm going to try the Gates flexible filler hose and see how that works.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/gates/belts-hoses-16454/hoses-25069/fuel-filler-hose---universal-26329/ce042dcb687c/gates-fuel-hose/gat0/23932

[Rian_Colorado]

As Bob (Late Apex) mentioned, he and I chatted and brain stormed some options on this. I agree that it's a weak design, or something that could have been better from FFR. It probably should have come from them much in the way that Paul describes (a larger cut into the side wall panel and larger "cover" inside the cabin.) Bob's fix sounds to have worked quite well too. His car is complete so limits his options a bit. I think I'm going to address this a little bit from both angles. I'm going to try to "raise" the le-mans cap mounting position, and tilt it slightly as well (Adding fiberglass/body filler). This changes the angle quite a bit. I've also cut into that side wall panel and "rounded" it as much as I can while still using the stock interior cover panel. I also managed to bend/form that piece just a bit to accommodate a lager arc of the tubing. Long story short, it works..... but like so many other things, needs a little extra work!

[john42]

I did this: https://breezeautomotive.com/shop/ezepak-fuel-efi-tm-for-mk-3-1-4-roadster-base-kit/

Made life very easy. You likely only need a few parts from that. Everything there can be individually ordered.