8 replies to this topic

[spiguy]

Hey all,

 

I had the tank out not so long ago to get access to the top shock nut and when putting it all back it occurred to me that the seam of the petrol tank sits in direct contact with the boot floor, and when wrestling around with it, it scratches away at it.

 

Should there be a rubber strip on the seam?  If not a standard fitment, has anyone tried using rubber strip on this to protect the floor and if so, any suggestions as to what is good for this purpose?  I was thinking about a piece of the seam strip that goes onto the doorstep / sill seam, but not sure if that would be too thick and maybe upset the alignment of the tank neck with the hole.

 

Cheers
Craig

[Shawbags]

I would go with a rubber strip its got to be better than metal on metal just make sure its not too thick as to push the tank out of line , would have thought it was the sensible way to go .

[spiguy]

Yeah, I'll have a look around and see what I have that I could use. Gonna be replacing front / rear / side window seals soon so I should be able to make something out of that lot.

 

Did Austin  / Rover not fit something to the tanks originally? I had assumed that mine was just missing, although thinking about it I don't remember any of my minis in the past having one. Just seems wrong to be metal on metal.

[dklawson]

That is not the way it is on my car.  Both LH and RH tanks rest on sheet metal pedestal blocks and there is a type of felt between those blocks and the tank.  Did BMC/BL/Rover do away with those supports during production?  When i look at pictures of later Mini boot floors I don't see the supports.

 

In the picture below you can see the RH tank support I am talking about on Rachel Nelson's race Mini.

 

[Shawbags]

I would go with the rubber I cannot hurt anything .

[sonikk4]

That is not the way it is on my car.  Both LH and RH tanks rest on sheet metal pedestal blocks and there is a type of felt between those blocks and the tank.  Did BMC/BL/Rover do away with those supports during production?  When i look at pictures of later Mini boot floors I don't see the supports.

 

In the picture below you can see the RH tank support I am talking about on Rachel Nelson's race Mini.

 

 

All late model cars did not have those straps in Doug. My 74 clubman has the left hand one fitted but then its a smaller tank. I can see yours is an early car.

[alex-95]

I've seen someone use the rubber doorstep/sill trim to go around it to protect it. I'll see if I can find a pic.

[dklawson]

All late model cars did not have those straps in Doug. My 74 clubman has the left hand one fitted but then its a smaller tank. I can see yours is an early car.

 

 

That sounds like a penny-wise, pound-foolish change by BL/Rover.  It's an unfortunate omission from the later cars.

 

Rubber or vinyl edge molding would certainly protect the boot floor from the tank seam.  However, I would consider using a 1/2" thick block of wood covered with felt to lift the tank up just a touch off the bottom.

[spiguy]

Thanks folks. I noticed those brackets when I was nosing around on minispares website to see if there was something I was missing. Looks like a good idea, they should have left them in, or at least retained some kind of protection.