New Aluminum Oil Tank, ...finally got photos Options

[Mueller]

for gas welding aluminum, I have a special color lens, it filters the light so that you can see much better....it's green I think, instead of the gray/smoke color

[ChrisFoley]

Mike,
thats to filter out the glow from the flux so the puddle is visible.
Tig welding has no flux involved, so no need for color filters.

[Carrera916]

Umm...back then when I learned to do a bit of aluminum welding at a workshop, I was told to use the cobolt (blue) lens for aluminum welding as it's easier to see the "puddle" when welding. I used one at the workshop and was impressed, especially using thier precise gas welding torch!

I 've not been able to find one for a long time and have used the auto-darken hood with the shade of 10 dark gray, it sure was hard to see the puddle, but do-able to get the job done. Currently, I use the Miller TIG instead of gas welding the aluminum as a hobby....damn best tool to have!

j

[siverson]

Some thoughts:

- I agree that you should never deal with Vellios. What a pain in the ass.

- However, what's wrong with the Vellios tanks? Are they really that much heavier, I never noticed... I've used mine for about 7 years and it's been leak free. What else is it supposed to do? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

- Why doesn't someone make a repro STEEL tank? To be honest, I wouldn't really care if a larger factory-style steel tank was a couple pounds heavier than the factory tank. Wouldn't steel be a lot easier to work with (cheaper), and with the proper new coatings last forever as well...

-Steve

[rick 918-S]

Some thoughts:

- I agree that you should never deal with Vellios. What a pain in the ass.

- However, what's wrong with the Vellios tanks? Are they really that much heavier, I never noticed... I've used mine for about 7 years and it's been leak free. What else is it supposed to do? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

- Why doesn't someone make a repro STEEL tank? To be honest, I wouldn't really care if a larger factory-style steel tank was a couple pounds heavier than the factory tank. Wouldn't steel be a lot easier to work with (cheaper), and with the proper new coatings last forever as well...

-Steve

Ya, Sheet steel could work nicely. coat it with bed liner stuff. LINEX or Tuff coat or something.

BTW. For what it's worth. try rolling the edges of the flat aluminum pieces before welding. The look is cleaner and the warpage is minumized. There are several examples of this in "Metal Fabricator's Hand Book" By Ron Fournier.

[914Timo]

"Metal Fabricator's Hand Book" By Ron Fournier.

Thats one good book !!! One of my favorites.

Why doesn't someone make a repro STEEL tank

I wonder the same thing. Properly done it should work very well.

When I tried to do my tank (before I found my factory original tank) I was going to make it from sheet steel. I made two protos, but I was not happy with them. The welding was the problem. I have only MIG and I think it should be welded with TIG or soldered with brass. Maybe someone can, but I couldn´t weld it with MIG so that I could be 100% sure that there is nothing inside that could get loose and go to the engine. There is no filter between the tank and the engine. So, I was afraid that one short piece of MIG wire inside the tank could rust in two after some time and that piece could ruin my engine.

[rick 918-S]

Yes, tig it or gas weld with it mild steel filler rod. It may not be as light as sheet Aluminum but the function would be the same. If wieght is a concern go on a diet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) It's great to see someone bring a low cost conversion part to the market. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) Cost of all the excessory parts (mount, oil lines, exhaust, tank, throttle linkage, etc.) is what makes the 914-6 conversion out of touch for most.

The key to success with any aftermarket part is to keep cost down. A tank that fit and functions like the factory tank should be priced like the Vellio or less. If I made the part I would attempt to price it around $ 225.00 to $ 350.00. It's a tank with a screen to knock air out of the return oil. I had a book make once to a site with a cut-a-way of the 914 oil tank. I can't find the link (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) or I would post it.

[Jeroen]

What ever happend to the plans for that Carbon Fiber oiltank?

cheers,

Jeroen

[J P Stein]

The aluminum tank looks OK...from what I can see.
The inside is more important than the outside. Aluminum would seem the best choice for fabrication.

As long as the thing fits up properly & don't leak, who cares how it looks? At some point the stock tank is gonna be NLA......cept for someone looking to retire off the thing.

The stock tank is copper plated for corrosion resistance...in and out. This is no place for amateur hour experiments. Mine ALWAYS shows moisture when I look at the cap/dipstick. God knows what kind of caustics are formed in there.