Aluminum Coolant Tank Group Purchase
Note - I know this is a lengthy read, but I want to try and share what I currently know and possibly answer any questions you may have up front. If anything else comes to mind, please ask and I will try to get an answer. Joe is a Ford Guy (We wont hold that against him :>) ) but I will see if he can create an account here and answer you questions directly.
I stumbled across a company that makes an Aluminum Coolant Tank for our cars. They are a really nice option for the owner that wants something different than that ugly, hard to clean plastic tank. I have been in contact with Joe at WWW.THEFUSIONSOLUTION.COM about his Aluminum version of the Coolant Tank that would work on 94 -96 LT1 engines in the Caprice, Impala, Roadmaster and I think the caddy's that run the LT1 engine. This tank will also work in the L99 equiped Caprices.
Joe has made a handful of these tanks and his Father currently has one on his Impala with no issues. There are a few concerns I have that I wanted to share with the forum and let you know what we are thinking at this moment. Please understand that Joe seems like a Quality Guy and very concerned about anything he puts his name on. There currrently are not many of these tanks on the road and I had some concerns as I'm sure you may too. If we do this, we want to make sure that everyone is happy and pleased with their purchase.
I have a few concerns that I spoke to Joe about and want to be sure I share them here and as we go forward.
1) Joe is a 1 man Show and works a regualr job and will be doing this on the side. Depending on order number, it may take a while to produce. It does sound like he would be willing to work with us on Payment and may just require a small deposit to lock you in. But that still needs to be discussed.
2) Cost is currently $160 plus ship cost. I would like to see what kind of pricing he can work up for us. I'm hopeful we could get something in the range of 20% off depending on what numbers we have. Again this still needs to be discussed. But if you look at the cost of GM's current offerings, the stock tank is in the $80 range, then the extra cost for the amount of craftsmanship and materials involved to make one of these tanks, the cost sounds very reasonable.
3) He has made a few and has had one on his Fathers car for quite some time with no issues. However, his dad's car is not a daily driver and I want to be sure there are no issues with these for those that drive their car frequently. Joe's shop is about 2 hours away from me, so I am going to use my car as a tester and commit to driving it daily for a month. We will then have a good idea if there are issues...which I doubt there will be.
4) My concern was that the stock Plastic tank may have "baffeling" in it that would affect how the system operates. Joe assured me that what appears to be "baffeling, is merely for structural purposes of the tank. His aluminum tank is completely open on the inside which could certainly make cleaning and maintaining the system much easier.
5) There is no coolant level sensor on his tank. If you are familiar with the stock tank, then you know this feature is molded into the tank. So if this is a concern, you may not want to consider one of his tanks. He did assure me, that the sensor wire being unplugged does not cause any issues with the car other than you have to check the level manually.
6) He was using a supplier for the Filler neck who no longer makes these. He currently has enough in stock for about 6 more tanks. He has been in touch with another supplier and should have something available as we move forward.
7) No Markings on the tank for Full and you will need to pull the cap to "eyeball" the coolant level. He said 1/2 way is about right for the tank.
8) No 2nd port for cars with a hose to the radiator. This could be an option, but my understanding is you could just cap off the extra port on those.
There are certainly some plus's to his Aluminum tanks.
1) The fit and look is amazingly stock, yet the aluminum looks much nicer than the Plastic Tank and it will probably outlive your car.
2) Cleaning of the inside would be very easy wirth no baffeling in the way.
3) He could also make the fittings with AN Connectors for those that wish to use AN lines instead of Stock hoses. He would also be able to place the port in a different location other than stock if that fits your plans better. Whether this would be an extra charge or not would have to be determined, but at least you have that option that you would not have with a plastic tank.
4) Bottom line, they are just way too cool and very unique for our cars. Not many people at the car show would have one. .
Check his website for some Pics of his tank for our LT1/L99 cars. I also included some pics that he sent me. So....what do you think? Are you interested in something like this for you car(s)? Please respond here and stay tuned for more information in the next month or so.
ALSO - He is also at making a Power Steering Resevoir Tank for our cars that would look stock and mount as stock. Could match nicely with the Aluminum Coolant tank and the AC accumulator. A Washer Fluid bottle will not be made as the fluid would not work well with the Aluminum. He said he considered one out of stainless, but that would be way too costly.
Thanks.....
Note - I know this is a lengthy read, but I want to try and share what I currently know and possibly answer any questions you may have up front. If anything else comes to mind, please ask and I will try to get an answer. Joe is a Ford Guy (We wont hold that against him :>) ) but I will see if he can create an account here and answer you questions directly.
I stumbled across a company that makes an Aluminum Coolant Tank for our cars. They are a really nice option for the owner that wants something different than that ugly, hard to clean plastic tank. I have been in contact with Joe at WWW.THEFUSIONSOLUTION.COM about his Aluminum version of the Coolant Tank that would work on 94 -96 LT1 engines in the Caprice, Impala, Roadmaster and I think the caddy's that run the LT1 engine. This tank will also work in the L99 equiped Caprices.
Joe has made a handful of these tanks and his Father currently has one on his Impala with no issues. There are a few concerns I have that I wanted to share with the forum and let you know what we are thinking at this moment. Please understand that Joe seems like a Quality Guy and very concerned about anything he puts his name on. There currrently are not many of these tanks on the road and I had some concerns as I'm sure you may too. If we do this, we want to make sure that everyone is happy and pleased with their purchase.
I have a few concerns that I spoke to Joe about and want to be sure I share them here and as we go forward.
1) Joe is a 1 man Show and works a regualr job and will be doing this on the side. Depending on order number, it may take a while to produce. It does sound like he would be willing to work with us on Payment and may just require a small deposit to lock you in. But that still needs to be discussed.
2) Cost is currently $160 plus ship cost. I would like to see what kind of pricing he can work up for us. I'm hopeful we could get something in the range of 20% off depending on what numbers we have. Again this still needs to be discussed. But if you look at the cost of GM's current offerings, the stock tank is in the $80 range, then the extra cost for the amount of craftsmanship and materials involved to make one of these tanks, the cost sounds very reasonable.
3) He has made a few and has had one on his Fathers car for quite some time with no issues. However, his dad's car is not a daily driver and I want to be sure there are no issues with these for those that drive their car frequently. Joe's shop is about 2 hours away from me, so I am going to use my car as a tester and commit to driving it daily for a month. We will then have a good idea if there are issues...which I doubt there will be.
4) My concern was that the stock Plastic tank may have "baffeling" in it that would affect how the system operates. Joe assured me that what appears to be "baffeling, is merely for structural purposes of the tank. His aluminum tank is completely open on the inside which could certainly make cleaning and maintaining the system much easier.
5) There is no coolant level sensor on his tank. If you are familiar with the stock tank, then you know this feature is molded into the tank. So if this is a concern, you may not want to consider one of his tanks. He did assure me, that the sensor wire being unplugged does not cause any issues with the car other than you have to check the level manually.
6) He was using a supplier for the Filler neck who no longer makes these. He currently has enough in stock for about 6 more tanks. He has been in touch with another supplier and should have something available as we move forward.
7) No Markings on the tank for Full and you will need to pull the cap to "eyeball" the coolant level. He said 1/2 way is about right for the tank.
8) No 2nd port for cars with a hose to the radiator. This could be an option, but my understanding is you could just cap off the extra port on those.
There are certainly some plus's to his Aluminum tanks.
1) The fit and look is amazingly stock, yet the aluminum looks much nicer than the Plastic Tank and it will probably outlive your car.
2) Cleaning of the inside would be very easy wirth no baffeling in the way.
3) He could also make the fittings with AN Connectors for those that wish to use AN lines instead of Stock hoses. He would also be able to place the port in a different location other than stock if that fits your plans better. Whether this would be an extra charge or not would have to be determined, but at least you have that option that you would not have with a plastic tank.
4) Bottom line, they are just way too cool and very unique for our cars. Not many people at the car show would have one. .
Check his website for some Pics of his tank for our LT1/L99 cars. I also included some pics that he sent me. So....what do you think? Are you interested in something like this for you car(s)? Please respond here and stay tuned for more information in the next month or so.
ALSO - He is also at making a Power Steering Resevoir Tank for our cars that would look stock and mount as stock. Could match nicely with the Aluminum Coolant tank and the AC accumulator. A Washer Fluid bottle will not be made as the fluid would not work well with the Aluminum. He said he considered one out of stainless, but that would be way too costly.
Thanks.....