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With the tank removal complete it was time to transport the car to the fabricator. Even the tow truck needs fuel. Damnit.
Some of you might recognize the surroundings of the car. If you read my article on Robertson Racing, the GT40 in the background looks familiar. Andrew “H” Smith also runs H Craft Customs in the same facility, and his fabrication skills were put to task in the installation of the cell and related components.
It’s always useful to keep a task list, and what better place than on the car? Using the front windshield has the added benefit of being hard to miss when you go to start or drive the car. If there’s anything still written there, it’s probably not ready to drive! China pencils mark glass easily and clean up quickly. You can find them at most home improvement stores. Fun fact: they’re called “China” because they were originally for marking ceramic.
With the car on blocks it’s easy to remove the rest of the hard lines for the fuel system. The only factory hard line that will remain is the rear brake line which splits behind the differential to the left and right sides. The SC300 has a 3-channel ABS system, common on cars in the ‘90s. This will eventually be replaced with a semi-custom, 4-channel motorsport ABS system.
We went with this particular PC122 Fuel Safe / Radium Engineering cell because of its dimensions. It was wide and square and, more or less, fit between the frame rails. It also wasn’t too tall, which helps with ground clearance and ride height, especially if you go over any curbs. We wanted to get it as low as possible, but also as far forward as possible to aid in the center of gravity. The cell was placed in the car, traced out, removed and replaced, and double- and triple-checked.
“Measure twice and cut once” definitely applies here. Once you cut things out, it’s pretty hard to put them back.Stay tuned for part two of this article where we cut and then fabricate proper and safe mounting for the Radium Engineering / Fuel Safe cell.
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6 comments
i have a 1992 sc300 gte engine and i was looking to do the same i have dual exhaust on my will i have enough room to run that fuel cell but nice work
You will definitely need to modify your exhaust to fit a fuel cell if you go with one as large as this. Ideally you would figure out your fuel consumption rate in G or L per minute, and then figure out your target run-time, and then size the cell accordingly. I probably could have used a _much smaller_ cell.
i have a 97 SC300 just sitting on the side of my house and just need to spend some time with it
this is my 3rd one in amazing condition
Awesome to hear! I would love to see more SCs out there getting it done.
Hey Erik I’ve kept close tabs on this blog and now I have an SC400 that’s ready for a fuel upgrade! I’d like to run the same setup you have, but I can’t make out what the dimensions of your fuel cell are. Is it the 25.75″ x 25.75″ x 8.5″?
Looking back, we have a Fuel Safe PC122C cell which Fuel Safe lists as 25.5 x 17.125 x 13.75 — However:
Radium discontinued its partnership with Fuel Safe some years ago and is now making its own cells from the ground up. They carry FIA and SFI certifications.
https://www.radiumauto.com/Fuel-Cells-RA-Series-P1822.aspx
If I had to do it again, I would not go with such a large cell. But things have changed. The car is a full-on race car that I trailer to the track, so I have no problem with filling it every session. 22Gal would be good for a “drive to the track” car but is quite ridiculously large for other circumstances.
Also, check out the PRI coverage from 2023 — Radium has a really trick new design for the FCST that makes changing pumps a breeze.