"Biscuit Barrel type" fuel tanks

[John Rose]

I am currently renovating a biscuit barrel type fuel tank for a member, which shows signs of being worked on previously, and I have come to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be too difficult to make a complete tank. This bold statement is dependant on the tooling to press the top and bottom convex pieces being available (I am told this does exist ) and would be very pleased to get my hands on it. The other factor is the screw-on filler cap and neck which would be time consuming to produce if used items were not utilised. If you know anything at all about either of these mentioned, please contact me as I feel that these tanks could be made at reasonable cost.
Should this request prove impossible to satisfy, I would be very grateful to have any details drawings etc of these so I can make an accurate and durable repair of the tank I have been entrusted with.
Many thanks
John

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi John,
I have a John Underhill drawing of these tanks, showing the constructional details, but of course there were several different versions, from the ‘Standard’ model, the Squirrel, Super Squirrel, and Sprint Special. When you look at old photos you will see that some had the top and bottom seams parallel to one another, whilst on the Sprint Special they taper towards the front. I am aware of more than one press tool for shaping the ends, but have no idea where they are at the moment ! Good luck with your quest, and I will post a copy of the drawing to you ASAP.
Brian

[dave bushell]

I think Colin Morris was involved in making some of these tanks a couple of years ago. His details can be found in Yowl in Section Information under London Section North.
Dave

[Graham Parker]

Colin Morris did definitely make a batch – probably 6 or 7 years ago and is worth contacting as he went through a whole heap of learning to get that small batch done.

“Tooling” is rather a grand word for the former that exists. It is sufficient to act as a starting point is not sufficient to simple allow top / bottom blanks to be stamped out. Again Colin is probably a good starting point to track down its whereabouts.

One last thing …. be aware that lengths of the tanks vary quite considerably between model variants.

Good luck

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