XRBrati Underway....

[DAReese]

Needed to power-wash from the inside out before laying the wiring harness in - fortunately we had one day of above-freezing temps before the snow arrived....

I am sure it is the angle, but it looks to me like the middle is higher than the ends. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I am sure it is the angle, but it looks to me like the middle is higher than the ends. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

The skirts are off it, so no optical illusion - indeed there's more ground clearance between the wheels in these pics. They should be back on by the trip to Carlisle, but they're on the "non-essential" list, so not a priority right now.

[CV12Steve]

That's the best looking XRBrati anyone's posted on here!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

That's the best looking XRBrati anyone's posted on here!

Yep, and it's also the worst!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

One hurdle cleared yesterday - got the battery installed - no smoke - and was able to turn the engine over with the Scorpio key on the first try! Checked all fuses, and amazed to find that none had popped!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Too much time spent on getting the fuel tank plumbing sorted out, but finally done.



That's a Lexus upper section, re-sectioned and welded to just be a straight pipe with barbed 1 3/8" outlet, Saab 9000 fuel-filler elbow, "stock" bottom pipe, cut and then lengthened by 3" to just be a straight pipe.....


And yes, the vent hose needs to be longer. I just sorta hooked it up for the pic. I just need to decide how to Tee in a small vent line for what would have been the charcoal canister vent. I'm assuming I need this to allow for expansion/contraction, yes? Can/should I put a check-valve on it?

[Ray]

A check valve will limit either expansion... or contraction.

[Camaro5690]

A check valve will limit either expansion... or contraction.

If you limit contraction, would the pump still be able to run? Wouldn't it create vacuum in the tank until it no longer had the power to run?

[wicked93gs]

Whats with the filler neck? Why cant you use the stocker? As I remember it doesnt take up much room in what is now the bed in your case, even with the larger than necessary plastic holder thing. As for the vent....if its sealed by the gas cap is it really venting anything? Its been a long time since I had a charcoal canister hooked up on any of my cars, but they are connected to engine vacuum if I remember correctly. I would think a vent flowing free to the atmosphere by way of a draft tube would work better..just hang a hose down to the level of the bottom of the tank and the vacuum created under the car just by driving down the road should vent it fine...and while moving at least no dangerous fumes would build up. The best solution would be to do it exactly that way...but relocate the charcoal canister underneath the back of the car somewhere and plumbbot between the vent and the draft tube, solves everything very neatly in a very OEMish way

[John Brennan]

As for the vent....if its sealed by the gas cap is it really venting anything? Its been a long time since I had a charcoal canister hooked up on any of my cars, but they are connected to engine vacuum if I remember correctly. I would think a vent flowing free to the atmosphere by way of a draft tube would work better..just hang a hose down to the level of the bottom of the tank and the vacuum created under the car just by driving down the road should vent it fine...and while moving at least no dangerous fumes would build up. The best solution would be to do it exactly that way...but relocate the charcoal canister underneath the back of the car somewhere and plumbbot between the vent and the draft tube, solves everything very neatly in a very OEMish way

It's not hooked directly up to engine vacuum, strictly speaking, but to the airbox, so there is a small amount of suction pulling the fumes from the tank when the engine is running, which are then burnt in the A/F mixture. Of course, smog checks or the lack thereof vary widely from one place to another, but I would count on them getting more, rather than less strict, so keeping the charcoal canister if it's still there is probably a good idea.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Whats with the filler neck? Why cant you use the stocker?

I've only partially covered the opening in the floor (about 40% of it), so the stock 2" pipe would now come up right about in the middle of the inner bed wall. As a result, I need to do two things - move the inlet out about an inch and make it smaller.

The 1/2" vent hose/pipe you see is strictly for re-fueling purposes. It's not needed with the 2" filler pipe as there's ample space for the vapors in the tank to push out past the fuel during the re-fueling process. With a smaller 1.375" pipe, there's not enough space for that and so a separate vent is needed, but the vapors are recaptured just down-stream of the cap fitment. So essentially it's a closed vent in the states where the fuel dispensers are required to have a rubber neck around the nozzle.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

A check valve will limit either expansion... or contraction.

If you limit contraction, would the pump still be able to run? Wouldn't it create vacuum in the tank until it no longer had the power to run?

Right, that's what I was thinking - it really needs to be able to both expand and contract. It essentially needs to be a tiny vapor leak. A work-around could be a fuel cap that doesn't seal too well.

[John Brennan]

A check valve will limit either expansion... or contraction.

If you limit contraction, would the pump still be able to run? Wouldn't it create vacuum in the tank until it no longer had the power to run?

Right, that's what I was thinking - it really needs to be able to both expand and contract. It essentially needs to be a tiny vapor leak. A work-around could be a fuel cap that doesn't seal too well.

This would cause you to fail smog here, via the fuel cap leak-down test-- not sure of the regs in your neck of the woods.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

This would cause you to fail smog here, via the fuel cap leak-down test-- not sure of the regs in your neck of the woods.

Vehicles registered as historic are exempt from emissions inspections, at least here in NY and NJ. Even without that, as of a few years ago, inspections got easier for anything pre-OBD2 (pre '96). I guess they figured the overwhelming majority of the on-road vehicles were now OBD2, so they just rely on that to do an "electronic inspection" rather than a physical one.

[Ray]

Same here Brad - classic tags are 20 years and older, emissions exemption 25 years and older - and cars that are pre 96' get a smog check and fuel cap check only.