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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Replacing fuel tank

The fuel tank on my frogeye is leaking so I have ordered a replacement. I' d be very grateful to hear if there are any pointer/tips to help me as I have never done anything like that before. Is it just a case of unbolting the old one and putting in the new one?
Many thanks
GrahamMV

- run it to as near empty as possible first
- remove filler pipe
- remove outlet pipe (this may prove difficult as it's usually soft brass and is often already rounded off by a DPO, so maybe have a new one standing by)
- unbolt tank and lower carefully
- remove sender unit wire as you do so
apologies if a frog is different, the above is for later midgets
David Smith

May I also add: put a jack w/ a board on it to take up the weight of the tank. It's easier (and safer) to then slowly lower it.

Al
ah harad

Id suggest having a lit cigeratte burning at all times close by to help burn off the fumes in the air from the gasoline...And make sure you keep all the doors and windows shut air tight, you dont want to risk bugs and dust getting in to the shop while your under the car, bugs and dust can be vary hazardos from crawling up your pant legs, to inhaling dust thats not safe to breath...Remember safty fast!!!

LOL.

Seriously have a fire extingisher vary close by, and a cell phone....gasoline can be vary tricky...there is also a Tar gasket you will need, that goes between the tank and the car....make sure you have one before you start.....and get some new hardware....perfably stainless.


prop
Prop

use a good quality penetrating oil like plusgas several days before. Give all the fastenings a good soaking, do this a many time as you can before starting the job.
I Pickering

I had my tank out once to see if it needed cleaning. (Oddly, it didn't.)

The only difficulty I ran into was that a PO had tightened one of the mounting nuts until the threads on the stud stripped, and the nut wouldn't undo. I finally had to split the nut to get it off. So I bought all new hardware to replace the tank, and on the damaged stud I stood the new nut out with three or four washers so it could engage good threads.

Fortunately, my car ('78 1500) has a drain plug at one corner of the tank. That made it a lot easier to do two things; drain just a bit of fuel to check for water and sediment, and then drain the tank dry(ish) so I could drop it without hurting myself.

Note that there are a couple of rubber strips that go between the tank and the boot floor. You can either buy the real thing or sacrifice a bicycle inner tube.

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Bicycle inner tube....Great trick Gyrf....thats the tar gasket I was refering to. when I had my tank replaced, I almost had a pecock put in for easy draining....but figured over the long haul it would be more harm then good.

prop
Prop

Thanks for the replies - and good idea Al, I hadnt thought of using a jack.
Not sure about Props suggestion. I took a pic. What do I do now with this?


GrahamMV

Blame it on terrorists and get the government to pay for a complete restoration.

But back on topic, I agree with what everyone has said.
It's not difficult, just a little awkward. The jack helps even though the tank itself isn't that heavy and the inner tube trick works for many other applications also.

Martin
Martin

Martin,

I think there are four rubber strips to mount the tank against the boot floor, plus a new olive and tube nut (Brown & Gammons do ones which fit well), plus if you need it a new outlet pipe, should do the trick.
I gave the top of the tank an extra layer of paint/rustproofer as it collects muck and rust as though it was designed to do that!

Jeremy
Jeremy 3

David,

Not sure about removing the filler pipe as my frogeye had the filler pipe integral with the tank and when I replaced it with a later tank, frog ones not being available at the time, I removed the filler pipe frothe old tank above the tank and welded it to the new tank which was for a later car.
David Billington

Graham.

The Frogeye fuel tank is unique to the model and has a full length filler tube integral with the tank. Be very careful not to damage this! Also the Frogeye fuel tank is shallower than any of the other Spridget fuel tanks thus holding less fuel. As far as I'm aware, there is NOBODY doing a replacement fuel tank for the Frogeye, you will be sold a later Midget one which is not only deeper but does not have the filler neck. You should (if you wish to keep some original feature of the tank) have the Frogeye neck fitted to your new tank. I guess you wouldn't go to the trouble of getting it reduced in depth...........

As for fitting, go with above.


Mark.
Mark T. Boldry

I was able to buy the frogeye fuel tank (with integral filler tube) no problem from AH Spares. It was about £100+VAT
GrahamMV

One thing to remember when you're thinking of finishing the job: make sure you've connected the sender unit (and routed the wire so it doesn't get pinched) before you start tightening the nuts in place.
Gus Gander

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2008 and 21/06/2008

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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