Kevin A Wright
Member III
I switched from gas to diesel on my 1977 E27. Since the original tank was in good condition I just left it in place. Flushed it with some fresh gas and then converted it to diesel. Only thing needed for the conversion was to install a fuel return line which I could drill in the top of the tank while using a vacuum cleaner to keep the chips out of the tank. Also made a good little hole to poke a camera into to inspect the interior. Then screw the new spigot on with a gasket to seal to the tank. I also changed the deck fill so it said diesel instead of gasoline. That was it.
If you are going to replace the tank, don't go crazy trying to get another gallon of storage in there. The original A4 used about 1 gallon/hr of gasoline. My Perkins M20 averaged 1 quart/hr of diesel for normal cruising. For a nice long cruising year, and lots of crabbing trips, I might top the tank up twice per year. And that was without running anywhere close to empty before filling again (since there was no fuel gauge on the E27 I just used engine hours to estimate when to fill up). So with the same sized tank (15 gallons) you're getting a 400% increase in cruising range. If a 12 gallon was easier to install, you'd only get a 320% increase in range. Oh, the horror!
And to answer others questions, yes getting the original tank up and out of the lazarette would be a serious pain, unless you happened to be under 4' tall with 5' long arms with two sets of elbows.
Kevin Wright
E35 Hydro Therapy
If you are going to replace the tank, don't go crazy trying to get another gallon of storage in there. The original A4 used about 1 gallon/hr of gasoline. My Perkins M20 averaged 1 quart/hr of diesel for normal cruising. For a nice long cruising year, and lots of crabbing trips, I might top the tank up twice per year. And that was without running anywhere close to empty before filling again (since there was no fuel gauge on the E27 I just used engine hours to estimate when to fill up). So with the same sized tank (15 gallons) you're getting a 400% increase in cruising range. If a 12 gallon was easier to install, you'd only get a 320% increase in range. Oh, the horror!
And to answer others questions, yes getting the original tank up and out of the lazarette would be a serious pain, unless you happened to be under 4' tall with 5' long arms with two sets of elbows.
Kevin Wright
E35 Hydro Therapy