Plastic Welding

[smckeown 1]

Following on from PeterT's advice here.

 

Does anyone know of a firm that can plastic weld ? specifically cut fuel tank in half and weld it back up

 

cheers

sean

[JERAM 0]

Following on from PeterT's advice here.

 

Does anyone know of a firm that can plastic weld ? specifically cut fuel tank in half and weld it back up

 

cheers

sean

 

not advisable on a fuel tank, you would need to be off you head to do that

[bren_1.3 1]

if the tank was dry as a bone of fuel then why couldnt you??? sounds like a damn good idea from what petert was saying. well worth it IMO.

[JERAM 0]

if the tank was dry as a bone of fuel then why couldnt you??? sounds like a damn good idea from what petert was saying. well worth it IMO.

 

yeh great idea!!!!

 

i wonder if it will still be a good idea when one splits and the flames are licking out your arse

 

my opinion only, would you want to risk it!!!

[Col 0]

sounds nuts to me.

[Hilgie 16 2 Cars]

Another question is why do you want to cut and weld it?

 

The only reason I can imagine is if you installed 4WD, then it is absolutely needed to cut the midsection away a little.

[bren_1.3 1]

fuel weight saving for a track car. which can be quite a lot. its just cost effective instead of buying an ali tank mounted in the boot.

 

read the thread posted by smckeown, in particular petert's comments.

[Sam 4]

Does plastic absorb the petrol like aluminium does? When I asked a few places about welding my ally tank I had they all said that they couldn't because aluminium absorbs petrol to an extent, so it is dangerous to weld.

[Nickoff 0]

Would it be easier to find a smaller tank from a different car perhaps and somehow adapt it to fit the 205? (yes this probably is a stupid question )

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

fuel weight saving for a track car. which can be quite a lot. its just cost effective instead of buying an ali tank mounted in the boot.

 

 

Just put less petrol in!

[Powers 13]

I am planning on designing a aly tank that is half the size of the original (Passenger side) and of a similar shape. Then relocating the filler to the passenger side. This should not only prevent fuel surge and starvation, as the tank will be foam baffled, but also move the C.of.G of the car.

[petert 550]

The tank plastic melts at approx. 60 deg. C. It's quite safe once the tank is stripped and rinsed with water. It's done with precision equipment, a bit like TIG welding. Definitely not for amatures. Probably only relative for true competition cars. What's the point in carrying around 50L (38Kg) of fuel when you can get away with 15L (11Kg)?

[TheUltimateWarrior 0]

Can someone explain to me how the heck you weld with plastic!

[Hilgie 16 2 Cars]

I used a tank from a motorcycle in my autocross Vauxhall. Was running carbs anyway, so made no difference. Took about 20litres of fuel and it was sitting just behind the passengersseat on the floor.

[Jonmurgie 2]

if you've installed a fuelswirl pot then just run with less fuel in the main tank... 1/4 fill it only etc.

[smckeown 1]

if you've installed a fuelswirl pot then just run with less fuel in the main tank... 1/4 fill it only etc.

 

This isn't a proven solution thought ? as the tank is still do wide and still has 2 sections, there's no proof that you can run low amounts of fuel in the main tank. Plus I like the idea of just having 1 smaller tank and none of the other gubbins, much simpler solution

[ashlee205gti 1]

Can someone explain to me how the heck you weld with plastic!

 

Quite simple really, i used to work opposite a place that specialised in making cabins for catteries and other 'pet hotels'. Works similar to metal welding in the idea that it 'melts' two sections together and it's also surprisingly strong.

[Paintguy 0]

Does anyone know of a firm that can plastic weld ?

Me

 

Admittedly, I've never done a fuel tank, but I've done just about everything else

[smckeown 1]

Me

 

Admittedly, I've never done a fuel tank, but I've done just about everything else

 

Would you be able to supply one with any appropriate pressure testing performed ?

[Paintguy 0]

Ahh... That'll be a no then.

 

Sorry, getting carried away with myself, and opening my mouth before thinking through the implications of such a job.

[smckeown 1]

the quest continues....

[Paintguy 0]

Good luck with the search

 

After reading the other thread, it certainly sounds like a workable solution. Next time I'm up the scrappies, I'll blag myself a tank, and give it a go. (not that I'll ever need such a thing myself)

[taylorspug 7]

the quest continues....

 

Sean, its funny you should bring this up, i formulated exactly the same plan for the tank on my Golf yesterday. I *think* i know someone in Lewes who can do it if you're interested?

[smckeown 1]

am I ever.......let me know if he's up to the job etc.

[SPGTi 2]

This lot may be able to help you.

 

 

Plastic welding

 

 

Steve