drilling the trunk
- Thread starter 89mkthree
- Start date
89mkthree said:
well think of it this way, you're removing weight from the left and moving it to the center, therefore increasing the ratio between the weight on the left and right sides.
I dont know the stock weight distributions, much less the left-right ratio... i would think an engineer would take into account a human body in one side of the car as part of their chassis design but maybe not.. if someone knew if there is a left/right differene... you could determine if maybe the battery is on that side for a reason.
my basic point is...it was on the drivers side to begin with... and the right side of the wheel well (POV is at the rear looking forward) is fairly close to the center of the car anyway.
And if i read correctly, the tank is thinner on the drivers side and moves up against the trunk on the right, so as you run your tank dry its going to mess with the weight as well...it will make the right side lighter until it reaches the same level of the lower part that is under the wheel well, then the whole tank will get lighter. i dont know how its designed though, this is just a conceptual thing for me...
hope some of my theories and thoughts will help...i hope at least that they made sence.:icon_conf
IJ: i didn't understand the question compleatly. in that case i had a friend cut/drill the holes in his firewall and rout the wires through the interior (under the carpet, along the drivers side.) i think this would be perfect for this application because he could run the wires to the right side by going behind the passenger seets. :dunno:
When standing at the hatch, looking towards the front of the car, my box is on the right side, beside the access panel in the rear interior piece. (perpendicular to passenger side tail light).
You should drop the tank, drill your holes, mount it then put the tank back on. It really is not that hard of a job.
4 Screws on the filler neck, and 4 bolts on the fuel tank straps to remove and it will drop out. And the two connectors in the access panel. The worst part is draining the fuel in the tank before dropping it to make it lighter. Just drive until the tank is almost empty and you should be fine. It will take you maybe an hour for the first time and 15 minutes every time after that. Good luck!
Edit: My wires (well only one, just the starter power wire) are run under the car with the brake lines, then in to the hatch from the water drain in the spare tire well. Then the battery is grounded to two spots in the hatch, and an additional engine to frame ground up front.
You should drop the tank, drill your holes, mount it then put the tank back on. It really is not that hard of a job.
4 Screws on the filler neck, and 4 bolts on the fuel tank straps to remove and it will drop out. And the two connectors in the access panel. The worst part is draining the fuel in the tank before dropping it to make it lighter. Just drive until the tank is almost empty and you should be fine. It will take you maybe an hour for the first time and 15 minutes every time after that. Good luck!
Edit: My wires (well only one, just the starter power wire) are run under the car with the brake lines, then in to the hatch from the water drain in the spare tire well. Then the battery is grounded to two spots in the hatch, and an additional engine to frame ground up front.
Not a big fan of holes in the firewall here Sandy! 
I made a couple of bulkhead fittings and took the cables out through the floor as in my pic and ran .5" Welding cables right up to the Motor and there very little V Drop this way!
I made a couple of bulkhead fittings and took the cables out through the floor as in my pic and ran .5" Welding cables right up to the Motor and there very little V Drop this way!
ok so if i put it in the spare well i need to know if i can drill there. as for the wires, the positive is run inside, but the ground needs to go to the chasis in the trunk.
Blackout: note previous entries, my engine is not in the car.
Blackout: note previous entries, my engine is not in the car.
there has got to be at least a half inch gap there or something. im not trying to argue with you, but it just seems crazy that there is no room at all there.
yea, i know. but he's not the brightest person out there. on second thought it might have been the floorboard he drilled into, right by the clutch pedal. i'll have to check.
well most of the tanks ive dropped there has been some space in there. then again ive never dropped a tank out of a sports car before.
new idea, is there any problem with mounting it right behing the passenger seat?
new idea, is there any problem with mounting it right behing the passenger seat?
easy way to drop the tank: put on coveralls, and/or one of those full body disposable coveralls, get on a creeper, unbolt the (empty) tank, ease it onto your chest/stomach, and roll yourself out. makes life much easier than fumbling around with jacks, and worrying about the damn thing falling and tearing wiring loose, or breaking the last remaining bolt
CCC
edited to emphasize that the tank should be EMPTY before attempting this. I accept no responsibility for the idiocy of people who don't check _BEFORE_ going bolt-happy with a socket wrench
CCC
edited to emphasize that the tank should be EMPTY before attempting this. I accept no responsibility for the idiocy of people who don't check _BEFORE_ going bolt-happy with a socket wrench
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emphasis on the EMPTY part...somehow i see someone forgetting this and getting a 30 gallon load flopping down on their chest.....:runaway:
If youre adamant about not droppign ther tank, heres what you do...
1) cut a piece of rubber hose to fit over the drill bit to act as a stop, for instance if the bit is 3" long, cut a 2.5" piece of hose and slip it over the bit so the bit can only go .5" thru the metal.
2) weld a nut over the hole so that the bolt to hold it down has somethign to thread into, since obviously if the tank is still up, theres no way youre getting your hand in there to tighten it.
Problem solved, but dropping the tank is the best way IMO.
Also, i run my + wire thru the interior until the firewall personally, less chance of it gettin damaged by road debris, moving components, etc.
1) cut a piece of rubber hose to fit over the drill bit to act as a stop, for instance if the bit is 3" long, cut a 2.5" piece of hose and slip it over the bit so the bit can only go .5" thru the metal.
2) weld a nut over the hole so that the bolt to hold it down has somethign to thread into, since obviously if the tank is still up, theres no way youre getting your hand in there to tighten it.
Problem solved, but dropping the tank is the best way IMO.
Also, i run my + wire thru the interior until the firewall personally, less chance of it gettin damaged by road debris, moving components, etc.
I did mine the other day, by dropping my tank. I am locating mine the same place Kwnate has his. If you do drop the tank and drill the holes etc. Make sure the studs dont extend at all past the bolt, as it will hit the tank when you put it back. like they mentioned earlier, the tank gets pretty close to the trunk floor in certain areas. Also, after I put the screw in the stud, the part that is under the car, I used a hammer to kind of mess up the end of the stud/thread so the bolt will not unscrew off by accident, which would require dropping the tank again to fix. Hope that helps
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