chief455

I am going to. I found my car had the door cut along the sides and rear - but not cut along the rear seat line. Thy installed a latch with a screw - so they could turn the screw, pull up the original tin, and bend it back down then latch closed. I just used it and was happy to find it
I'm going to add a hinge after I make the cut out a little bigger to get at the hoses.

"do it right" should mean creating a quality trap door - as the engineers should have. I just worked on a $50k Porsche - and it has a trap door to access the fuel pump from the factory.
The only good reasons for dropping the tank is to drain/clean/modify the tank.
My .02

zul8r28

i was curious for those that have made the access door, did you have to drain the gas tank or does this mod keep you from having to do so and only have to relieve the pressure. thanks in advance

chief455

remove the gas cap, open the access door, remove your sending unit.
Be very careful as you now have open exposure to gasoline in your trunk!!!!
If the factory made the car this way, all owners would brag about it

zul8r28

i was looking on this site and they have this photo comparing the new fuel pump to the old one. my question is. do you put the new pump back in the plastic container that is to the left in this photo.

http://www.taekwondoplus.org/z28/stockpumpwalbro02.jpg

the reason i ask is because in this second photo he has it all connected ready to go in tank and doesn't have the pump in the plastic container.

http://www.taekwondoplus.org/z28/walbro04.jpg

chief455

If you get a single Walbro from Racetronics it is sized and designed to be sealed in the plastic bucket. This is to retain the benefit of fuel return line filling the bucket - nice for low tank levels, cornering etc.

I put a pair of pumps in my tank without the bucket (because they won't fit)- the pumps were completely submerged in fuel with about 1/4 tank of gas.

350HP

I did mine with the door and it took me 20 min to cut the hole and r/r the pump, doesn't hurt thr strutural integrity of the car, its not seen without removing the carpet, I don't see any negative drawback from cutting the floor.

pgerst

Not sure if I am supposed to post to a sticky? If not, oops, sorry.

I am planning on installing the new racetronix kit (pump and wire harness) and have three questions:

1) will this work for a convertible - the interior sheet metal and fuel tank looks the same - but I am not sure as I have a trunk well as well as what I think is additional cross bracing where the upper shock mounts are. Can any convertible owners chime in with success or extra tips?

2) also installing the wiring kit from racetronix and I assuming this can be done with a fish tape. If not do I end up having to drop the tank anyways?

3) want to verify I do not have the pictures backwards -- the access port cut starts right behind the rear seats.

pgerst

Thanks, I will take some photos and update this for a convertible specific "sub-sticky".




Couple more photos in my garage. The cross brace that the convertibles have behind the rear sets prevents you from cutting as far forward as the coupes. As a result you do not have a long enough cut (short by about an inch) and the pump is tricky to get in and out. In addition to the cut, you will need to loosen/remove the tank straps (15mm) at the front of the tank and allow the tank to drop down about 3/4" for additional finger access for the fuel connections. Takes some patience to get them off but can be done. Also when removing the pump you will have to finesse the lines out of the access hole; lift the pump slightly and rotate and slide it as far back as you can in the tank (careful on electrical connection in the top of the fuel unit) and use a slight push on the fuel lines to get the fuel lines out of the access hole one at a time.

This is not an issue I suspect in the coupes as the cut can extend an inch or two farther forward and you would have enough room to just lift the pump out.

Blueangel73

This thread is full of great info on this subject. I suspect that my pump has gone out and that I will be needing to make the change and this mod will make it so much easier to do.

TRIXSTA

It's safe I did it with my 98 camaro with no problem

CamaroSS30thAnn

ok i havent done this in about 5 years but from bottom to top can u tell me which is the pressure feed line? i believe its the third one from the bottom second from the top in the way the picture is sitting. Am i correct? I have to replace the plastic feed line bc i broke mine but i just want input before i begin. Also is this doable without actually removing the tank? I only ask bc ive seen pictures that have a push in style holder for the fuel line but mot sure what model it was...

350350

We're getting ready to do this on my son's '95 Camaro... as far as I can tell, there's no reason to screw the cover plate down, right? We're using a 'repurposed' parking sign that we had laying around as the trap door cover. I don't see any reason that RTV alone wouldn't hold that in place just fine.

After years of people doing this, does anyone have any regrets at all about it? I know people still argue about damaging the value of the car blah blah blah but I'm talking about functionally? Nobody's car collapsed from the structural breach, exploded from the trap door, etc? Functionally, this is the best plan if you dismiss the 'don't hack a hole in it' nay sayers?

350350

PS- I also have a '97 true SS car and I did NOT hack a hole in it for that reason when I replaced the pump in it. So I can see both sides, but the boy's car is his call.

CamaroSS30thAnn

I have a true 30th SS edition and I did the hole to. There's no problems with it at all. No fumes. I guess it all depends on the person. Personally I did not have what was needed to drop a tank all by myself and I had no intentions on paying for it. In the end it worked out for me bc I had the feed line come off the pump and was able to do the fix In a parking lot. I wouldnt call it a hack people put in "trap doors" on cars all the time. Hell there are plenty cars that come factory with pump access panels. Just bc a car comes without it doesn't mean it's a hack to make your own. Also outof sight out of mind. Not like your cutting a hole in the hood of the car for everyone to see

My thinking was a lot like yours when I bought my car. I wanted to do everything right. Keep it completely stock to retain value. Then I realized I have no plans on ever selling the car. Then the modification bug hit me and went from there.

Injuneer

The car has a "unibody".... the entire metal structure is stressed to some extent. Screwing the cover plate securely will replace any stress absorbtion capabilities of the area you cut away. May be very minor, but the chassis should not have it's strength diminished. Additionally, in the event of a rear or rear quarter panel collision or a roll over, the impact and twisting of the chassis will probably pop the RTV loose, and now you have a gaping hole right above (or below if the car is upside down) the fuel tank...... potential for fuel to enter the passenger compartment.

I would strongly advise using a sealant AND using numerous screws or pop rivets to insure the panel stays in place.

I would also recommend that the cut out hole does not have any "square" corners..... they will serve as stress risers and promote cracking of the sheet metal. Radius the corners.

Super conservative... yes, as a licensed professional engineer, it would be irresponsible of me to state otherwise.