Riley One Point Five fuel tank pick-up advice.

[ozriley]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. I recently inherited a 1963 One Point Five from my father. The car has been sitting around for many years but I have managed to get the car running. The fuel had gone off but I have been running the car off a separate supply.

The fuel in the tank has varnished and I am going to send the tank out for a professional clean. Whilst removing the sender unit I noticed that the fuel pick up tube inside the tank has a plastic and mesh filter (images attached)

My questions are is this pick-up tube and filter removable from the tank? And how do I do that?

I have a workshop manual but it sheds no light on it.

Will post some more images of the car when I have it in my garage. There aren't many of these cars in Australia.

Thanks for your time.

Scott

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[2robert4]

I have a spare tank in my garage which has been cleaned out I will have a look at it tomorrow and hope I can help?

NP

[2robert4]

I have had a look at my tank and my Parts Book and can confirm both of these sources suggest that there is a drain plug under the filter which can be removed for draining the tank and cleaning the filter. All I can think of if your tank does not have a drain plug and that it is much later than mine  to save on tooling cost's BMC in their infinite wisdom deleted the drain plug and the filter was fitted for the life of the tank. I could not enclose some pictures as they could not be compressed enough for this system and am sorry I could not be of more help.

NP

[canuck]

Welcome aboard Scott,
I as well have wondered what keeps the fuel pick up tube in place.
Just like Nigel I have a spare fuel tank that I need to swap out. I haven't done any work to it other than clean and paint the outside.

My installed one has been  'massaged' over time, and needs attention.  



I am unable to undo the fuel pipe nut on my tank,  and this has prevented me from doing the swap. It has been sitting all winter with PB Blaster so hopefully it will move next time I am at it.

FWIW you can just see the drain plug in my photo, (click on it to enlarge) 



Next time I am at my cars I will have a look, unfortunately  I cannot help short term.

Salut

Bruce

[ozriley]

Thanks Nigel and Bruce. That is helpful.

I think you are right about BMC deleting the access plug to the filter. My tank has the drain plug alongside the area where the access plug should be, however, there is only a circular outline where it would have been pressed into the metal. Looking closely at the fuel pipe I suspect it may have been brazed to the tank when originally manufactured.

When I get the tank to the specialist cleaners I will check if the cleaning solution will damage the filter or not. Worst case if it does dissolve I don't think it will cause too many problems as there is another filter as the line enters the fuel pump and at the carbs. Will keep you posted.

Bruce be careful with that fuel pipe into the tank as it is not the easiest to refit in situ.

Scott

[canuck]

Apr 25, 2022 23:07:11 GMT ozriley said:

Thanks Nigel and Bruce. That is helpful.
When I get the tank to the specialist cleaners I will check if the cleaning solution will damage the filter or not. Worst case if it does dissolve I don't think it will cause too many problems as there is another filter as the line enters the fuel pump and at the carbs. Will keep you posted.

Bruce be careful with that fuel pipe into the tank as it is not the easiest to refit in situ.

Scott

Hello Scott,
Thanks for the advice and yes I will continue to pay attention to this fuel line fitting. I am being really careful however just getting a spanner on is difficult. I may need to cut the hard fuel line, to remove the tank from the car and work on the bench? I will then install a coupler at reassembly. 

FWIW the LP type fuel pump on these cars does have a 'built in' filter (#12) that can be cleaned and reused or if past redemption, replaced, #AUA 1464.


 


Not the easiest of access but fortunately doesn't need attention too often. 

salut

Bruce

[ozriley]

Just coming back to this thread with some progress or otherwise on my fuel tank. As I mentioned in my first post I removed the tank as the fuel had varnished inside it and the car would only run from a separate fuel source (a bottle of fuel into which the fuel pump pick-up was placed). So I have made some progress but it feels like one step forwards and two back at the moment.

I had the fuel tank chemically cleaned by a company and although it did remove the varnish it also melted the fuel filter that goes over the fuel line pickup pipe. I expected it would but couldn't see any way around that. So with the cleaned tank home I primed and painted the tank and then had a think about how to remove the melted filter. Eventually I decided to try heating up the end of a long sharp screwdriver with my heat gun and attempt to melt the plastic filter off the pipe. After a bit of a fight I managed to work it free and it fell into the bottom of the tank. Following this I attempted to blow through the pickup pipe to check that it was clear and found that it was still blocked. I confirmed this by trying to thread a piece of soft whipper-snipper line through the pipe.

So now I have confirmed there is a problem within the pickup pipe as well as finding out that the filter serves a secondary purpose of acting as the lower half of the pickup pipe itself (by approximately 20mm). So I am planning on taking it to a fuel tank repairer to cut a small section of the fuel tank out to remove the pipe and repair/replace as necessary and then solder cut section back in place. Any other ideas on how to approach this are welcome.

Another question. In the meantime I have checked the fuel sender operation and cleaned up the unit. The sender gasket appeared to have been cork, which was supplemented with Stag joining paste. Can someone confirm the gasket is cork? As I will be making a new gasket.

I have attached some images for those interested.

Otherwise enjoying my Riley One Point Five. 

Scott

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[ozriley]

And the remains of the filter and my sender unit.



 

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[canuck]

Hello Scott,
Hells bells what a journey!  

That filter didn't fair well at  all.  I wonder if this screen at the pick up tube is needed?  Now that you have a clean fuel tank? The fuel pump does have a filter screen in it, I show this in my previous post.  

The blocked pick up tube may be a bit of melted screen debris?  Maybe a bit of stiffer 'wire' than the plastic weed whacker line will rod it out? 

The outside of the tank looks great!  good on you. 

Yes the fuel sender gasket is cork, I think a MGA one fits? however as you write not difficult to fabricate from sheet cork.

B

[ozriley]

Just coming back to this. I had problems finding a repairer willing to go further than just cleaning the fuel tank- many stating that environmental agencies are adding considerably to the costs of cleaning and working on fuel and oil tanks. Anyway, I found a radiator repairer mentioned in the local Morris Club journal based in Sydney who was quite willing to have a go at repairing the tank. He cleaned it again chemically and then de-soldered the pick-up tube to remove it from the tank. He managed to clear it of rust particles and re-soldered it into position. He lowered the height of the tube slightly to account for the extra length of the attached filtered. This was followed by a chemical treatment to line the tank and a pressure test. It was expensive but I think it was preferable than sourcing a new tank down here. I made a gasket for the sender, checked its operation and eventually managed to refit it this morning.

I then removed and checked the inline filters in the pump and carbs and put some fuel in the tank. Unfortunately when I refitted the rubber fuel hose from the filler cap down to the neck of the tank it cracked and is leaking.

So a new question- where do I get a new fuel filler hose for the car? Can I use any reinforced fuel hose of the correct diameter? Bearing in mind that the hose has a visible bend to the top section.

Some images are attached for interest.

Scott

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[ozriley]

Fitting the tank back into the car.

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[ozriley]

My broken fuel filler hose. Are these available in Australia? I am thinking Austin Lancer/ Morris Major Elite are the same?

Scott

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[tonyhosk]

Hi Scott

The Riley Club Spares have the filler hose. You should be able to download the list of their stock from the website. There is of course the time/cost of getting it to Oz of course.

Good luck!

Tony

[canuck]

Well done Scott. That fuel tank should be good for another 60 years or so. 


Salut
Bruce

[ozriley]

I sorted out a replacement hose locally for the fuel filler pipe. The local hydraulics/industrial hose specialist recommended two inch suction hose suitable for fuel/oil. It is reinforced internally with wire to prevent collapsing when used suctioning. A couple of cuts on the power hacksaw and it fits a treat. I haven't fitted the seal to the boot floor as I will be removing the tank again when I go over the car once it is in my garage.

Now to sort out my frozen clutch

Scott

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