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Daytona Coupe, 289 and 427 Cobras
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Daytona Coupe Cobra -
Fuel Tank Area
One of the last major tasks that I faced was the fabrication of the fuel tank. The original cars carried approximately 42 gallons of fuel and in the interest of practicality and safety, this is one area in which a minor deviation was made from the original cars. Although the basic size and shape was retained, the tank is going to be built with a fuel cell (which obviously weren't used in this type of race car in the 60s.) To ensure that the tank fit into the car, a wooden mockup was made before we committed to aluminum. The following photos show the wooden mockup in the car for a trial fit.
The following photos show the tank about half way through it's fabrication. The tank is made of .063 aluminum. The top (not shown in the photos) will be retained to the lower portion with bolts around the perimeter flange. The depressed area shown in the center of the tank is the location of the fuel outlet hose connection and the fuel level gauge. (The fuel gauge is the other concession to originality.)
The following photos show the fuel tank after the installation of the fuel bladder. The inlet nozzle and roll over valve shown in the photo were installed as a preliminary mockup only and have since been replaced with a nozzle that angles toward the right rear fender to facilitate connection to the inlet hose. The lower (center of photo) access plate will be drilled and tapped for the installation of the fuel level sender and the fuel outlet hose fitting.
The Coupes utilized a quick opening fuel inlet gas cap, referred to as the LeMans cap. To stay true to the central theme of the Coupe's development, aerodynamics, the cap was inset into the rear fenders to present a clean airflow over the top rather than sticking up into the air stream. The following photos show the fabrication of the well for holding the LeMans cap and the interior hose connection into the fuel tank.
