phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 I've been busy this weekend and as a result the Princess is looking a bit sorry for itself at present. A rather large item has been removed and is now at the painters. I also dropped the fuel tank out ready to be cleaned out. I'll see about fixing the fuel sender and it'll then go to the same guy for a repair on the small leak that's appeared. I'm just a bit tempted to paint it green so it looks like a Quality Street triangle. He reckons he can fix this quite easily. Its handy that the tank has a removable lid, not so handy that it turned out to be full but I now have a large quantity of petrol which can be distributed around the fleet once its settled in the container. Watch this space. somewhatfoolish, mat_the_cat, Shep Shepherd and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 I dont remember that removeable lid on the Ambassdor tanks I messed with back in the day!!! Most unusual, I recon someone has added that themselves at some point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 39 minutes ago, Mr_Bo11ox said: I dont remember that removeable lid on the Ambassdor tanks I messed with back in the day!!! Most unusual, I recon someone has added that themselves at some point You might be right but the car is so original in every other respect, had the same owner from 1977 until 2019, was parked up untouched from 1992 and there's not much sign that the tank has ever been out so I'm inclined to think this might be an original feature! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 Although now I look at that photo again, it does look a bit home-made, doesn't it? Assuming there's a large opening underneath it, it's going to make cleaning the tank out a lot easier at any rate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 You might find when you remove the lid and turn it over its one of these: RobT, mercedade, mk2_craig and 19 others 6 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Or imagine if you took it off and it was just bolted on straight over the original top surface of the tank. phil_lihp and adw1977 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 Well now I'm curious because it's exactly the right shape for a road sign! To be perfectly honest it might have come out of the factory like that anyway, maybe they grabbed a tank off the production line, used it during a walkout when they couldn't find an oil drum and then bashed an old road sign over it before it was fitted to the next car on the line. We'll find out at the weekend! Burnside, Mr_Bo11ox and egg 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightBulbFun Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 1 hour ago, phil_lihp said: You might be right but the car is so original in every other respect, had the same owner from 1977 until 2019, was parked up untouched from 1992 and there's not much sign that the tank has ever been out so I'm inclined to think this might be an original feature! 1 hour ago, Mr_Bo11ox said: You might find when you remove the lid and turn it over its one of these: I genuinely thought for a confusing moment it was some sort of Light up road sign etc and was going to ask for a picture of the lamps/tubes fitted LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 That tank panel is a new one on me too. These tanks do rot out on the underside and the flange when they're left stood for a while but usually the tops stay pretty good because they're well protected from the elements so I don't know why someone would do that. I wonder if it was something to do with the tow bar installation, maybe it got damaged in the past and this was the repair? No idea, very odd. Definitely do paint it metallic green before refitting it now you've said that. Christine, Shite Ron, GrumpiusMaximus and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 egg, Shite Ron, GrumpiusMaximus and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 I couldn't resist... I think we can say for sure this isn't factory but I can't begin to work out why on earth this has been done. Any guesses as to why the fuel gauge doesn't work? danthecapriman, Burnside, vulgalour and 6 others 5 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Why didn't they put that triangular 'door' on the bottom of the tank? Would have been much easier to access then. Honestly! F***ing idiots man. meshking 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 They didn't just cut a massive hole to get to the pump, surely? Since the sender isn't even in the right way around it makes even less sense to cut a massive hole in the top. I'm so confused right now, this is so confusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 There is no pump, it's in the engine bay. The whole thing makes zero sense. But they did manage to bend the pickup pipe around the fuel float so it's stuck down. I did manage to pump all the dregs out at least so next job is to clean it up and pull out the sender before it goes for a small repair on the seam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Mr_Bo11ox said: Why didn't they put that triangular 'door' on the bottom of the tank? Would have been much easier to access then. Honestly! F***ing idiots man. Pretty sure it would leak horrendously, I'm almost suspicious that the dribble I've had recently is due to the tank having been full and the sealer under the 'door' breaking down. I'll have to find something to reseal it afterwards anyway and I'm not 100% sold on those screws either. Tempted to have it welded on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 42 minutes ago, vulgalour said: They didn't just cut a massive hole to get to the pump, surely? Since the sender isn't even in the right way around it makes even less sense to cut a massive hole in the top. I'm so confused right now, this is so confusing. I see what you mean, the sender is in sideways! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 I'm moderately certain all Princesses had the pump (SD1 pump is the same) in the tank. If that's the case it looks like the brackets that would hold it to the pick up tube on yours are gone too. If not, you'd have a mechanical pump fixed to the engine somewhere and, since it's a B series, you should be able to retrofit one anyway which is generally more reliable than any sort of clacky electric pump screwed into the engine bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 It has a mechanical pump on the engine, it just doesn't work at the moment hence the electric one mounted on the inner wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewhatfoolish Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Well that's weird. Perhaps they dropped their wedding ring/lucky penny/ Kohinoor into the tank and couldn't get it out. phil_lihp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 I reckon that's some sort of time-travelling Karmic shitegod looking down on you. Somebody who knew what a massive pain in the arse it is to clean out a grotty fuel tank properly and decided to 'pay it forward' for some lucky future owner. phil_lihp, RobT, timolloyd and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skut Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Perhaps the tank is some escapee from a BL development department. Designed to let engineers see how different senders and components work under differing conditions? phil_lihp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpiusMaximus Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 It could be a road sign that just says 'please help' in very small print, with a location code somewhere and they were betting that BL's reputation for rust and degradation would mean the tank came out in the 1980s. Unfortunately the car was parked up so long that they've long since perished... phil_lihp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I would be looking for a replacement tank. I would always be wondering how that modification would hold up in a collision. MorrisItalSLX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colino Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I can't recall if it was my Dads Princess or Ambassador that sucked in the petrol tank around 5 miles from him buying it off the forecourt, simply because the garage has put on a replacement, non vented petrol cap. Frankly I'd replace that tank, its got too much of the Heath Robinson going on for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I have put out a request on the Princess group to see if anyone has a tank but chances are pretty slim - I think the best option will be to clean it out, sort out the sender and then get the hole properly welded up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Generally, the best option is to get what you've got repaired. Princess tanks are pretty much unobtanium. phil_lihp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 That 'access hatch; wouldn't bother me. if I had cleaned everything up and was happy with the condition of it all I'd probably just put it back. Maybe seal round the edge of it with some epoxy or something before shoving the tank back in. BeEP, vulgalour and Angrydicky 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scdan4 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 That smacks* of unofficial import / export / prescription delivery to me. Customs would have to have a right cob on to drop the tank to find that. Talbot, Stevebrookman, barrett and 3 others 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Previous owner Keith Richards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skut Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 4 hours ago, scdan4 said: That smacks* of unofficial import / export / prescription delivery to me. Customs would have to have a right cob on to drop the tank to find that. That makes the most sense. Who'd suspect a big brown wedge of smuggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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