Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 More worries - cracked gas tank.

Planenut- on the lower brackets , did you extend your new brackets under the plywood , or just the visible part between ?

Just the visible part. I think the tanks are bonded onto the ply, quite a job to separate them and possibly do more damage than good. Judging by how well the forward brackets have bonded I don't think the relatively small contact area will be a problem.

Planenut / Bunny
Did you soften your aluminium brackets before bending ?
One of mine has cracked while bending.
Aluminium can be anealed apparently - i didn't realise.
Lucky i have enough sheet in hand for another go.

Anneal Aluminium by rubbing with a bar of soap heat until the soap blackens and the Aluminium will be annealed.

Thanks Rog.
I am trying to use a sheet of 4mm i had already.
I notice the other guys used 3mm which might have something to do with it.

I made my brackets from 2mm aluminium. It was quite stiff to bend but no hint of cracking. 4mm is quite thick to bend I reckon.

B&Q used to sell aluminium angle & probably still do.

I have persisted with the 4mm sheet , and after annealing as mentioned above , achieved a reasonable result which I am going with.
This involved a few annealing sessions , using a lump hammer and my blacksmith vice to get the correct shape , but got there in the end. I have new respect for how much punishment aluminium will take. A trial go on an offcut helped get the right shape/angle which is surprisingly shallow - I didnt realize how much the tanks follow the angle of the bulkhead.

Did you chaps allow for a gap between the new bracket and the tank for the glue fillet , or just go on the basis it will flex as required ?

I just held the bracket loosely in place and scribed through the existing bolt holes to mark where the holes in the new bracket needed to be drilled. The technical term for the adhesive is squidgy, so there is probably only around a 1mm thickness once it has cured. In other words, I wouldn't bother to make too much allowance in your plans for the adhesive thickness.

Thanks Andy