Don't do this if you're OCD (Or CDO)

CDO causes a lot of frustratioms at times... good for you for persisting

After writing this I realized maybe it was too close to Oct 31st so the goblins got the guage and kept it off kilter.

perfect,,had the same problem with new car from Kirk,,never did figure it out,,tried bending thing 20 times..PITA

Go for four more bends - You'll get it!

No pictures of all those bends   On my original IM I had the same agony.

That's great for you, Gordon. That takes a lot of patience.

Now, you're going to hate me. The Speedhut gauges are programmable for whatever sensor you happen to use. Start with an empty tank and hit a button when empty. Fill the tank and hit it again, full. Done. You can even trigger an idiot light at whatever level you want. And the gauge has built-in hysteresis. No special electronic dampener needed.

Lol that is easy.

Ah, but they depend on the shape of the tank.  The 22 gallon tank in my Coupe now (after several tries) shows full properly, but when I filled it up on empty this past weekend I still had 7 gallons in it.  It's somewhat oddly shaped, so I'll just live with it.

Sounds like a 12 pack fix--certainly more than a six pack job. Glad you are satisfied with your decision to go after the finish line . Congrats.

@Gordon Nichols Doesn't need to be handbuilt to have that problem. My beloved 68 VW cabriolet was always full until the real level was about half and then you could pretty much watch the needle move until it was a little below a quarter and it got honest again.

or my 60 VW(last year before gas gauge :})a rod u lifted on floor to give another 1/2 gallon

The guy who I talked to about building an aluminum tank for my Beck told me that the barrel senders they use in their boat are a lot more accurate and less “bouncy” than VW senders. Unfortunately, due to the shape of a VW tank, they’ll read E when you still have a gallon or so in the bottom corner of the tank.

@Lane Anderson posted:

Ah, but they depend on the shape of the tank.  The 22 gallon tank in my Coupe now (after several tries) shows full properly, but when I filled it up on empty this past weekend I still had 7 gallons in it.  It's somewhat oddly shaped, so I'll just live with it.

Damn that's a Lemans tank.

fwiw the gauge on my Spyder reads full when the tank is full. I filled it the other day when it was at ~1/8 and it topped off at 9 gallons. I take that to mean "empty" is empty.

The stock '73 Beetle gauge on Bridget is similar, but not as bouncy as the Spyder since it has the vibraphone device attached. "R" on that car is about 2 gallons.

Isn’t part of the problem related to the widely varying cross sectional area from top to bottom of the fuel tank, which causes a measurement of liquid height/level to not track with liquid volume?  Full could be full, and empty can be empty, but points in between follow different paths.

I don’t think I’ve added more than 6 gallons at a time.  When my needle is in between 2/4 and 0/4 I get nervous and fuel up, and Im always a bit leery of over filling.  

Gordon, I'm a fan of Hercule Poirot...are you?

@Jon T posted:

Isn’t part of the problem related to the widely varying cross sectional area from top to bottom of the fuel tank, which causes a measurement of liquid height/level to not track with liquid volume?  Full could be full, and empty can be empty, but points in between follow different paths.

I don’t think I’ve added more than 6 gallons at a time.  When my needle is in between 2/4 and 0/4 I get nervous and fuel up, and Im always a bit leery of over filling.  

No question the tank shape is related to the behaviour of the gauge and the bounce… well it kind of comes with the territory I did manage to find true empty one day 20 miles from help but at least it was in cell phone range.  No fun .

Jim  Oui oui Hercule Poirot !

@IaM-Ray posted:

I did manage to find true empty one day 20 miles from help but at least it was in cell phone range.  No fun .

I found empty twice. The first time came as no surprise as I was pushing the boundaries of stopping to fill up at just any gas station and trying to make it to Costco where the fuel costs less. Luckily I was near the university and some very beautiful co-eds helped me push the Speedster out out of the intersection. Teby was close by so he returned with a fuel can.

The second time was with my wife and it came as a complete surprise as I thought I had at least 25 more miles of fuel in the tank. Thankfully the lady who runs the AirBnB we were staying at was able to get her husband to bring us some fuel. I sent them a $100 gift card after we returned home as a thank you.

Promised myself I'd never run out of fuel again.

The fuel gauge in my diesel does the same thing. I put in an aftermarket 52 gallon tank. It fits in the exact same spot as the stock tank. It is taller in some places and lower in other places. RAM won't/can't recalibrate the Distance to Empty meter so it isn't quite right. The gauge never moves for the first 230 or so miles then it starts to move. When the fuel light comes on to warn me I have 50 miles of fuel left I actually have about 150 miles to go so I never worry.

There goes the fuel savings

Here is the only really safe action. 100 miles City. 150 miles Highway.

@Jim Gilbert - Madison, Mississippi

Yes, I'm a fan of Hercule Poirot, but he is OCD to a much greater degree.  Over many years, I have trained myself to not (always) correct things around me to make them "right" - I can tolerate skewness and a table where all settings aren't precisely the same (but I will quietly align my silverware).  I've never paid much attention to whether different foods touch each other on the same plate - My youngest grandson does, but I can notice it and ignore it (while sometimes subconsciously re-arranging things).  I have been known to correct things in hotel rooms (loose knobs, etc) all over the place but refrain from doing that in friend's homes (it would be impolite).

This is part of the reason I chose to build an outlaw car.  If I were to build a classic bodied car my brain would insist that it be a perfect copy of the original and we all know where that leads.  Outlaws are supposed to be different.

It's a trait that came in really handy in my early career as a project/program manager.  Fastidiousness to schedules came easy to me and spotting anything that slipped "off track" to the announce date popped out for me really early when it was much easier to get things back on track and not have to push important dates.  Later on as I was less directly involved, the same sense showed when things were awry at macro levels, too.  

My wife (bless her) has learned to live with this in me, her son (much less a degree) and grandson (about the same as me).  None of us have it severely and she seems to be much the polar opposite of us - I guess opposites really do attract.  

She deserves a medal or something for living with us, just the same.

@edsnova posted:

fwiw the gauge on my Spyder reads full when the tank is full. I filled it the other day when it was at ~1/8 and it topped off at 9 gallons. I take that to mean "empty" is empty.

Most Spyders use a stock ten gallon tank. The problem with most installs(mine included) is the fuel fitting location. You see, in a Spyder a stock Bug tank is turned around 180 degrees AND tilted forward, leaving the fuel pickup dry. But there is still a gallon or two left in the tank. So consequently I never get more than 7 gallons in there after the initial fill. That still gives me 160 mile range.

Ed was crafty and moved his fuel pickup on his Spyder(I think). Smart move. That move also allows removal of the "wart" hanging down in the way of BIG throttle feet. Luckily I don't have the big foot problem. You'll need a new tank if you braze or weld a fitting in.

When I had my first Spyder I ran out of gas twice when testing range/gas gauge. The carbs went dry on me when the gauge read 1/8. I should have stopped at 1/4 tank, and still do today.

Before the second time I bought a 1 gallon plastic can and kept it in the front trunk FULL. Then when I ran out I was ready. A couple minutes later, down the road I went.

My tank was modded before I got it to drain out the front, as installed backward, obviating the need for the scrotal intrusion.

The sender in my car's tank is in the stock position. That's where most fake Spyders install their filler neck. On mine the filler is higher up so as to better mimic the originals. That was the "crafty" part.

.

Gordon, I see this not as proof of your stick-to-it spirit, but as testament to the health of your ignition and carb systems.

Most of us just let the gas gauge do its thing while we're battling the stuff that keeps the car from actually running.

You are truly master of your domain.

My repop gas gauge has always been surprisingly reliable — once you learn what it's telling you. Full is full. Half is half. A quarter means top up the tank. I agree with others that the 'quarters' refer to the eight gallons in the 'main' tank, with two more gallons in 'reserve'. There are not (and never were) two tanks, of course, but two separate feed tubes at two different levels in the tank, to be selected by the famous valve under the dash.

(My first ever motorized vehicle was a motorcycle with no gas gauge and exactly the same selector valve system, so this always made perfect sense to me.)

Anyway, thanks for these periodic reports of yours on obsessive maintenance and innovation. They are always helpful.

.

My gas gauge - the bottom light.  It flickers when I get to seven litres, and I imagine it goes solid when it's more empty, but I've never tried to find out.  Modelled after a Pre-A speedster.

You guys should see the positive in all this, too!  People with mild OCD:

1. Live in homes with nothing out of place.
2. Have all of their wall art aligned just so.
3. Drive vehicles with nothing broken or needing repair.
4. Typically dress with matching themes (no combined stripes and plaids).
5. Quietly align things around them - It's very "Zen" without the meditation.
6. Are very well organized, even when it looks like Chaos to others.
7. May also have Attention Deficit Disorder, especially when young.
8. Typically have very good memories and work ethics
9. Strive to get along with others

I had both OCD and ADD (when young), and have progressed from them without resorting to therapy - I just learned to outgrow most of their eccentricities over time.  I went through a "Burn-Out" phase in my last job (it was pretty bad) and that left me wondering how I got to that point.  One of those things was worrying about everything on a "save-the-company" project at work while fending off hostile attacks from co-workers.  What I learned, from deep introspection, was that none of that mattered.  What mattered were the people working with me (rather than against), how I helped them as fellow project-members to be successful and how we were all going to make the project a success.  I threw a lot of worries out of the boat that were not under my control and focused myself to ignore them as "noise".  I helped my project members be successful and they helped me to be successful in turn and we all won.  

I also subscribed to the musings of Richard Carlson who wrote:

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff And It's ALL Small Stuff!"

So now I can live where things are out of place and it doesn't bug me.  I can focus on a voice on the TV while ignoring other noises around me.  I can ignore things on my car that aren't "perfect" and I can also patiently mess with a gas gauge sender for an hour or so and be totally focused on it until I'm satisfied with it.  Of course, I have to be able to shift that focus pretty quickly to hear what my wife is saying, rather than "blah, blah....Blah".   I'm still working on that one.........

@Bob: IM S6 posted:

My gas gauge - the bottom light.  It flickers when I get to seven litres, and I imagine it goes solid when it's more empty, but I've never tried to find out.  Modelled after a Pre-A speedster.

You need to live a little more dangerously, Bob!

@Gordon Nichols posted:

You guys should see the positive in all this, too!  People with mild OCD:

1. Live in homes with nothing out of place.
2. Have all of their wall art aligned just so.
3. Drive vehicles with nothing broken or needing repair.
4. Typically dress with matching themes (no combined stripes and plaids).
5. Quietly align things around them - It's very "Zen" without the meditation.
6. Are very well organized, even when it looks like Chaos to others.
7. May also have Attention Deficit Disorder, especially when young.
8. Typically have very good memories and work ethics
9. Strive to get along with others

I had both OCD and ADD (when young), and have progressed from them without resorting to therapy - I just learned to outgrow most of their eccentricities over time.  I went through a "Burn-Out" phase in my last job (it was pretty bad) and that left me wondering how I got to that point.  One of those things was worrying about everything on a "save-the-company" project at work while fending off hostile attacks from co-workers.  What I learned, from deep introspection, was that none of that mattered.  What mattered were the people working with me (rather than against), how I helped them as fellow project-members to be successful and how we were all going to make the project a success.  I threw a lot of worries out of the boat that were not under my control and focused myself to ignore them as "noise".  I helped my project members be successful and they helped me to be successful in turn and we all won.  

I also subscribed to the musings of Richard Carlson who wrote:

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff And It's ALL Small Stuff!"

So now I can live where things are out of place and it doesn't bug me.  I can focus on a voice on the TV while ignoring other noises around me.  I can ignore things on my car that aren't "perfect" and I can also patiently mess with a gas gauge sender for an hour or so and be totally focused on it until I'm satisfied with it.  Of course, I have to be able to shift that focus pretty quickly to hear what my wife is saying, rather than "blah, blah....Blah".   I'm still working on that one.........

Gordon....you once said on this forum that during that high stress time you went through, that you weighed 300 lbs. True or was that a joke ?

@David Stroud IM Roadster D

Must have been a typo or misunderstanding, although back in the 1980's I got pretty heavy after a car accident.  I usually weigh around 153 lbs. and have been higher, mostly due to inactivity.

During the high stress time of the early 1990's, I developed stress-induced ulcerative colitis.  I couldn't process food and my weight dropped precipitously.  When I got to 128 lbs. my wife admitted me to the hospital where I got much needed help and eventually recovered and have been colitis-free for the past 7 years.  I've been back at my 153 range since 2015, give or take a little, by watching what I eat (we're on the Mediterranean diet) and getting proper exercise.  I try to keep things as stable as I can and it seems to be working for me.

@DannyP posted:

Before the second time I bought a 1 gallon plastic can and kept it in the front trunk FULL. Then when I ran out I was ready. A couple minutes later, down the road I went.

Get this: I found a 2.5 gal plastic can that fits perfectly in the space between my bulkhead and frame rail on the passenger side. Probably not the safest place in the world, but maybe better than under your wedding tackle on a MC. On the plus side, it’s an automatic Viking Funeral if I ever gets T-Boned.

@Bob: IM S6 posted:

My gas gauge - the bottom light.  It flickers when I get to seven litres, and I imagine it goes solid when it's more empty, but I've never tried to find out.  Modelled after a Pre-A speedster.

That is a nice view.
What make of steering wheel?
What controls are to the right of the dash?

The controls to the right are the ignition key (slightly visible behind the wheel), and above that, the push button start.  To the left are the lights and wipers.  At the top on each side of the oil temperature gauge, the two small knobs are for the driving lights, and the oil cooler fans.  Under the dash on the right side is the accessory plug.

The wheel was made by Mike Lempert.  He has done a few wheels for people here.

Thanks.