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MG MGA - Moss fuel tanks question

Can anybody who has bought one of the Moss tanks in the US (asking for a US experience specifically because sometimes Moss Europe has different parts sources), tell me whether the sending unit mount is threaded for the original BA thread screws, or if they used something else (metric, 10-32, etc)? I sent them a message through their website but I haven't heard back yet. Thanks.

Two main reasons I want the original threading... First I had a bunch of original screws re-plated along with the rest of my hardware that was salvageable, and second in general I like to stay with original threading so I don't have to keep track of what I used, I just need to know (or be able to look up) what is supposed to be there.

Also apologies if I have asked this question before... I stopped working on my car a couple of years ago in order to pack up and move, and I now have my new shop just about set up to resume work. I find myself having to take a few steps back to remember where I was on everything.

-Del
D Rawlins

Del
I bought one of th US manufactured ones here in UK a couple of years ago. It is a superb product but I am pretty sure I did have a problem with sender unit screws being different but don’t know what thread. Pity you didn’task a couple of weeks back as I had sender unit off!
Paul
Paul Dean

Del

This is the information leaflet that came in my US-made tank. Should explain it: https://tinyurl.com/ybv99ok3

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks for that. Now I get to find out how much they want for shipping to Alaska. 8^(

-Del
D Rawlins

I also fitted a US-made tank from Moss at about the same time as Steve.

I was very impressed by the finish and the build quality of it and that it appears to be identical to the original design.

I'm pretty sure that the threads for the sender unit set-screws were the correct imperial size on the new tank

The only issue I have with my new tank is that it may be a fraction smaller in capacity than the 10 gallons that is supposed to be.

I found this out whilst I was filling the tank a gallon at a time durin the process of calibrating the fuel gauge.

Cheers
Colyn



Colyn Firth

Thanks, that's good to know. I am pretty sure my original tank is also smaller in capacity than it is supposed to be due to the dents. 8^/

-Del
D Rawlins

A bit of a follow-up.... I never did hear back from Moss, but British Parts Northwest quickly responded in the affirmative to my question about whether or not their tanks use the original thread form. I sat on the info for a while, but recently when BPN had their 25% off sale I went ahead and ordered the tank from them. The shipping to Alaska was somewhat obscene, but that's kind of par for the course these days.

Received the tank a few days ago and finally had the chance to look it over more closely today. First, it appears that BPN is selling the Moss tank. Production quality is excellent, and the Moss tank literature was included with it. It was packaged very well and seems to have survived the trip with no damage at all.

It does use the original threading for the sending unit, which is good. But one thing that DID surprise me, is apparently those original screws are NOT BA thread as I had assumed. The closest BA size is 4BA, and comparing the originals to a new 4BA screw that I have, the thread pitch is nowhere near the same, and a 4BA socket is just slightly too small. So because I am curious (and because the platers lost one of my original screws), I'm going to have to research that a little further. I'm going to have another batch of hardware plated at some point so maybe I can find some more originals so the heads will all match. I have another beat up original tank in my shed so I might have them already.

-Del
D Rawlins

A comment on Colyn’s comment.

While trying to calibrate my gauge yesterday. Eventually got to 45.9 including neck of tank. (10 uk gallons is 45.46 litres) The question is how accurate was this figure. I started with a drained tank and first 8 litres went in from cans and could be a + or - 0.5l error on this but after that I did at a pump stopping every 5l to note my gauge reading. By the way at about 27l gauge bounced off scale but I can live with that.

In summary I don’t think the tank is down on capicity. I also checked how little fuel engine would start on. It started on 1l but was struggling and then all ok on 2l

Paul
Paul Dean

Del

Interesting about the thread sizes. I bought a new set of the screws and washers from Moss that were recommended with the tank that I also bought. I recall that I had a few issues getting a fuel tight seal around one or 2 of them during my installation. Sorted ok but your comments could well explain it.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks for the update Paul,
thinking about it, I did use a plastic measuring jug that I "borrowed" from our kitchen and I used it to measure out 4 containers, each filled with 2 1/2 gallons of fuel.
It may well be that the jug designed for measuring cooking ingredients is just not calibrated with sufficient accuracy to use for measuring fuel.

Another downside of using that jug was keeping a straight face when my wife asked me "Does the gravy smelled of petrol to you?"😊

Colyn
Colyn Firth

OK, I feel like a moron here, but the screws (originals, new tank threads, etc) all appear to be regular 8-32. Nothing exotic, obsolete, or odd; just plain old ordinary UNC. *facepalm*

-Del
D Rawlins

This thread was discussed between 21/08/2018 and 16/10/2018

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