It amazes me every time when I fill up the tank it is like looking at a well and watching it fill up to the top. Are these tanks relatively safe? Also, after filling it to the top my garage smells of gas after a full tank. Are there any adapters that can be used to accommodate the new thin unleaded style gas nozzles when filling up the tank? Just curious.
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
Not really, but the filler/cap is not the issue. You definitely don't want to be rear-ended hard by a light truck or SUV (or any larger truck/bus, etc.), which have bumpers higher than passenger cars.
They can override your rear bumper, puncture/push the fuel tank through the flimsy fiberglass bulkhead, and the contents may set ablaze in the passenger compartment. (And people joke about Pintos!)
The first ever million dollar auto liability judgment against an automotive manufacturer involved a '63 Corvette. A USC professor duplicated the circumstance of the accident by filling the fuel tank of a '63 Corvette bought on the used market with paint and hitting the rear of it with a similarly procurred car that was the same as the real accident, but remote controlled.
In the aftermath, the interior of the Corvette was splattered with the paint.
I was first told about this by one of the production engineers at Pontiac that I worked with in 1968. He worked with the corporate and hired lawyers on Pontiac's liability cases and testified as an expert witness, when required. Astonishingly, the night after he told me this story, a '68 Corvette was rear-ended in Detroit and caught fire.
Later, after I moved to California, a friend's wife told me that this case was taught at Southwestern Law School in LA were she received her JD.
Remember, when these cars were designed and built, there were very few safety standards - pretty much just lighting and glass. It was not until nearly a decade later that crash testing with instrumented dummys to determine accident survivability was established.
There is a reason why the fuel tank was changed to fiberglass with a rubber bladder in the mid-seventies!
Sweet dreams...
DukeLast edited by Duke W.; January 14, 2011, 10:12 PM.Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
Hey, Duke, the only saving grace is the Corvette is faster off the line than a Pinto, and we seldom get rear ended.
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
Yeah, that reminds me of an old story - something about the difference between a Porsche and a Corvette: When you loose control, a Porsche hits the telephone pole ass-first, a Corvette nose-first.
...good thing given that C2 fuel tank.
DukeComment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
That's interesting... the feeling I get while filling my tank is fear that I will fall in! The openings certainly are huge by modern standards. Actually, I think it was the start of unleaded gas in the 70s that required a narrow opening to prevent the insertion of leaded gas. Also I never fill mine to the top, or even to the neck.It amazes me every time when I fill up the tank it is like looking at a well and watching it fill up to the top.Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
I think the big fill port was inspired by the race fueling rigs of the era that had big diameter nozzles. There's really no problem filling the tank to the bottom of the filler neck, especially coupes, which have a longer neck than converts., as long as you drive a few miles before you shut it down to burn off at least a quart to provide some expansion volume.
BTW, time has taken a toll on my memory, but IIRC the last name of the Pontiac Production Engineer who told me about the Corvette fuel tank was Uhlman. Though we worked different areas, our desks were next to each other, so we chatted once in a while.
He had some great stories. Once he was called to give expert testimony on the performance of the GTO. Some good 'ol boys from 'bama got liquored-up, crashed their Goat, and sued GM because the car was "too fast".
IIRC GM may have settled it before it went to trial or to the jury because the GM lawyers felt that the local Alabama court would be biased toward the plaintiffs. There was a definite "git them city slickers" mentality in the deep South back then.
He also showed me some customer complaint letters. One I recall was from a Brooklyn guy, and he wrote just like the stereotypical Brooklyn guy talks.
It was hilarious!
DukeComment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
The volkswagon had a fuel tank in the front, it was a metal car that sparked when rubbed against pavement, the greater percentage of cars had front end damage, Thats a stupid place to carry fuel.
The volkswagon usually caught fire in the rear, they were a regular on the side of the freeway.
Then HIRED Ralph Nader put a case against the Pinto that was far far safer than the bug to down grade the American car.
They did every trick to make our cars look bad and most believed what they read and saw on TV.
Eventually we cut our nose off to spite our face and our auto industry became a victim of forign advertising till they went broke and the foreign indrusty got stronger and stronger.
I saw the start in the 60's and watched the US dollars leave the country and change the wealth of the US.
I NEVER saw the Corvette that burned from an accident, (not to say that it didn't happen). I did see some that were lit on fire for an insurtance claim/accident?
The corvette tank is a well protected tank that is in a mostly non spark enviorment (fiber glass), other than the electrical that is present on any car that has has tail lights. The fuel sender is resistance to ground and the +12 V wires that light up the back will not spark when it touches fiber glass.
I worked as an accident investigator/ expert witness on airplane crashes for a while and found that the high priced lawyers that used us to dazzle the court with lingo the jury didn't understand usually won.
One can make a case on any car out there and make it a death trap.
Nothing to worry about, especially in a car that has a frame and not unibody construction that is desigened to squish like accordion bellows, gas tank and all. Right ,it reduces the impact so you can be concsience when you burn.
The right people ( for a buck) could make any car look to be dangerous.
I drive a big old american suburban and a 74 Laguna S3, God help the little car that tangles with them.
DOMLast edited by Domenic T.; January 15, 2011, 03:44 AM.Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
That must be the REAL reason that the gas tank is in the front on a Porsche and the rear for a Corvette.
I try not to think about what would happen if I was involved in a serious crash in my Top Flight, low mileage '65 Sting Ray. Other than losing my f***ing mind, I would have large splinters from the teak wood steering wheel in my chest keeping me from escaping the flames from the ruptured gas tank!
That may be the REAL reason vintage Corvettes are trailer/garage queens.
-ClarkComment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
Clark
Well lets see;
I have a nice matching numbers 62 Corvette, 340 HP 4 speed that I have driven hard for the past 20+ years and put about 25,000 miles on it.
I have a recently restored 57 Corvette RPO 579C on which I put 3500 miles in the past 18 months.
And I have a comfortable 65 Coupe which we have drove a few thousand
miles in the past 4 years.
Fuel tank fires, wrecks and other bad things have never entered my mind.
Maintain them, drive defensively have your wife with you at all times (extra eyes) , carry a good fire extingusher and don't smoke when looking in a midyear gas tank.
Why own them if you can't enjoy them?Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Bruce. I'm about ten years younger than you are, but just old enough to have realized how short life really is.
As much as I absolutely love admiring the trailer queens, I just can't imagine not driving my classic cars. That's what keeps me feeling young. Everyone's different, however. I do understand how some find enjoyment in keeping their restored or survivor looking mint, but I've found occasional driving does very, very little wear & tear.
As far as "fire destroying the car", .....any of us could drop dead tomorrow of a heart attack or stroke. Probably much more likely than that high-speed rear-end collision.
RidgeGood carburetion is fuelish hot air . . .Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
How old are the rubber gas lines from the tank to the steel frame gas lines? Older gas lines can also become a problem with the gas we have to purchase today.Comment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
Dean------
There are no adapters nor does there need to be. The unleaded nozzle will fit perfectly into any pre-1975 filler. So, why would anyone want to install an adapter?
The filler neck restrictor was first used for the 1975 model year. However, that neck cannot be used on any pre-1975 Corvette tank.
By the way, the restrictors are pretty much unnecessary since there's virtually no leaded gas out there now. So, there are no larger OD nozzles out there for the restrictors to prevent the introduction of. Of course, the restrictors do still prevent folks from accidentally filling up with diesel.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 1965 Corvette Coupe Gas tank
I'm having a hard time trying to understand why some think the C-2 gas tank is so dangerous.
I say it's in the upper percentage of fuel tanks that are safe.
I think if you ( the ones that are concerened) look under your favorite other cars you will then see how dangerous they are and how (without a real frame) getting hit in the rear will find it's way to their tank much faster with a lesser impact than a tank that is above the impact area and(above the frame) not below.
I have seen a lot of dented tanks that are under the frame of cars and personally had a baracade punture my passenger car tank when I ran one over.
One other alternative is to use non flamible gas if it bothers you so much.
DOMComment
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