# how can gas tank cage removal be dangerous?



## enjracing (Jun 7, 2006)

seriously guys......what other car has a cage infront of the tank? i have had many mustangs and that tank is far more dangerous than ours. its directly under the trunk and only has a plastic cover around it. just because ours is up high and in the trunk, can't be more dangerous. yes, if a semi truck hits us at a stand-still at 70, then yes, we have a problem, but what car wouldnt? like people have written on here, the aussie car doesn'e have this cage do they? is their tank in the same place?


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## GTO_400 (Jul 7, 2005)

I think the Monaro's fuel tank is behind the rear bumper cover. It had to be relocated to meet US crash specs. Personally I'm very glad it has the cage up there the fuel tank is plastic and without some kind of protection it could be punctured very easy. Some people carry some stupid things back there and a hard stop would put it right through the fuel tank. And believe it or not gas is very EXPLOSIVE and it hurts when ya are covered in it and on fire...so I’ve heard anyway. Hope none of us find out tho:willy:


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

enjracing, I sent you a pm. I don't think I would mess with the stock installation by removing anything. Keep in mind that this was basically a retrofit tank into an existing car so the final installation won't be as pretty or light weight as it could be. I haven't seen the cage yet but my guess is it secures the tank to the existing structure.

With that said I'm still pursuing changing my car back to the original Holden design gas tank. For a photo of the bottom of a Monaro go to http://www.hsv.com.au/index_new.html then click 'multimedia, images' ,'Holden Specialty Vehicles' , click in the lower left corner 'Z series' and then the image in the far left column, second one down is a complete under car shot with the Holden gas tank. I hate flash web sites, grrrrr.


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## socal gto (Mar 10, 2006)

I really would not mind having that engine cover.


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

Sinister said:


> I'm still pursuing changing my car back to the original Holden design gas tank.


Do you know how much that'd cost you??!

TANK: $600.00

PUMP: $300.00

LINES: $200.00

TANK STRAPS: $100.00

FILLER NECK: $150.00

SHIPPING: $???.??

ADDED EXTRA TRUNK SPACE: priceless!

These are guestimates based on what I've seen my Pontiac dealer charge for similiar parts. I suppose ebay would be cheaper. If you do this, please keep us posted. I wanna know how it goes!


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

the cage is an made of heavy tubing and is a completely open structure,,it will not stop anything from puncturing tank.
The cage is not a structural member of any sort seeing as the Monaro doesnt have it at all since tank is under the bumper.
Mine has been sitting in my garage since day one..
have carried slicks,jacks,tools,crowbars and drag raced on track with over 40 passes. Havent blown up yet.. Its just another useless artifact the safety nazis have saddled us with,,the same safety nazis that made us put the tank there instead of underneath even though aussies have been using the car since the late 1990s and none have blown up.
But I understand how brainwashed people here are so if the extra 50lbs of metal make you feel better by all means leave it in.


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

Hole in fender is in different place as well. So add in filling the top hole and opening the bottom hole.



PEARL JAM said:


> These are guestimates based on what I've seen my Pontiac dealer charge for similiar parts. I suppose ebay would be cheaper. If you do this, please keep us posted. I wanna know how it goes!


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

Pearl Jam, that's close to what I would expect to pay. I haven't found all the part numbers or price quotes yet but I'm working on it. I don't think the filler neck is needed because a standard fuel filler hose (auto parts store) will be used to connect the tank to the existing filler. You really can't go ebay on this stuff because it would be a problem shipping a used gas tank due to the residual gas and fumes. A new tank is the only solution. I will certainly keep everyone informed as to what I discover.

HTRDLCN, I certainly don't think the frame is there to stop punctures. Also, I've said that I haven't looked at it yet but I was saying that the frame may help secure the tank to the existing structure. What bolts did you have to remove? Were they only threaded into the body or did some tie the gas tank to the frame?

You don't have to relocate the filler hole, just route a filler tube from the tank to the existing location.


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

Ok, HTRDLNCN, you are correct. I just took a look at the frame and it does not contribute to the structure of the car or the gas tank mounting, BUT it does shield the gas tank from heavy objects in the trunk that could collapse it. If you never put anything in the trunk then that's cool but even a 5 lb object could collapse the tank in a head-on collision of sufficient deceleration.


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

GTO_400 said:


> And believe it or not gas is very EXPLOSIVE and it hurts when ya are covered in it and on fire...so I’ve heard anyway. Hope none of us find out tho:willy:


LOL. Yes, getting roasted alive in gasoline can smart a little bit. But as Hot Rod Holden said -- the risk is pretty small.

Here's that pic Sinister was talking about. That's for mentioning it, by the way -- as this has the exhaust routing for a 2004. I'm guessing that's the spare right above it? 










You know, instead of going through the hassle of buying Australian parts, you might want to look into cutting the floor pan through the spare tire well and installing a racing fuel cell. Just a thought, though, as the factory parts will be much, much cleaner when done.


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

Yea, I would like a clean installation rather than a hacked mod. I could probably install a fuel cell but it would take a bit more work. I'm not sure the trade off is worth it. 

Thanks for capturing the image. I'm too stupid to do that.


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

Sinister said:


> If you never put anything in the trunk then that's cool but even a 5 lb object could collapse the tank in a head-on collision of sufficient deceleration.


No different than if the tank us underneath and you hit a rock on the road or someone rearends you with a truck. Theres a solid metal wall between the tank and you so your just as safe as if it was underneath,, its all a mental thing,,it sits closer so people are more afraid. A 5lb object sitting 6-12" from the tank would not have enough mass/distance/time to accelerate under a survivable impact hard enough to dent the tank.. If you were to hit something at sufficent speed and a solid enough obejct that your car instantly deccelerated from 70mph to 0 so that 5lb object would damage the gas tank cnances are you would be dead from your brain turning to jelly and your internal organs scrambling..
If your still worried a 4" sheet of non flammable high impact dense foam (such as used in airplane rated cases) would protect the tank just as well if not beter in an impact and weighs under a pound.


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

HTRDLNCN said:


> A 5lb object sitting 6-12" from the tank would not have enough mass/distance/time to accelerate under a survivable impact hard enough to dent the tank..


I disagree, a 20g impact is survivable but that would have a 5 lb object acting like a 100 lb object. If it is small and has any kind of sharp corners it will certainly collapse and maybe puncture the tank. Not anything like a rock. Either way, we all have different levels of risk assessment and comfort level.


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

Sinister said:


> If it is small and has any kind of sharp corners it will certainly collapse and maybe puncture the tank. .


If it is small and has sharp corners it will puncture the tank anyways,the tank brace is wide open. But you are correct,if you feel uncomfortable then by all means leave it in,for most people it really isnt a usefull modification,only for us that want to go fast...
There are people that are still scared of flying,
I wouldnt expect them to get on a plane just 
because some told them it was safe.


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

I'm only scared of _jumping_ out of airplanes. It sure looks fun but I can't get the nerve to do it. The flying part is all kinds of fun.


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## enjracing (Jun 7, 2006)

like he said...........the tank cage is wife open. if anything sharp enough to cut the tank was in there, it would still have a great chance of cutting the tank. this is a hard call, because you still wonder if it has any structural importance. from looking at it..........i highly doubt it!


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

Sinister said:


> I'm only scared of _jumping_ out of airplanes. It sure looks fun but I can't get the nerve to do it. The flying part is all kinds of fun.


Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane ?
:lol: :lol:


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

There is no structural importance to that. As HTRDLNCN pointed out the original Monaro doesn't have this piece. I really believe it is there to keep heavy objects from collapsing the tank. As I mentioned the 5 lb object, think about a 25 lb object in a 20g crash. 500 lbs of force is going to squash that tank even though it may not puncture it.


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## Sinister (Jun 12, 2006)

HTRDLNCN said:


> Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane ?
> :lol: :lol:


You got that right! but it does look like fun.


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