Ha! BTDT.
By appearance... I had very similar symptoms.
I finally notice the rear of tank had been ever so
slightly dented in just in the right place to distort
the 'as mounted' plane of the sender unit.
The float at the end of the sender was getting
hung up on the back side of the 'vertical siphon
tube' that just happens the perfectly intersect
the arc of the float arm depending on tank level.
I pulled out hard (3 fingers in a heavy work glove)
on the opening and pulled the back of the tank
out just a bit to change the clearance.
Now it reads full when full and about 2 needle widths
of the gauge below empty when I run it out.
(which by the way is not a good thing to do....
slurp out all that crap in the bottom of the tank and all)
:-)
Paul Tegler ptegler@cablespeed.com
www.teglerizer.com
the back surface of the tank had been slightly
dented in (like the DPO throwing the tire in the trunk) from
either
(like the DPO
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Gaines" <mtgaines@cs1.presby.edu>
To: <TRIUMPHS@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 10:39 AM
Subject: Spit 1500 fuel tank capacity?
>
> Here is a question I have had for nearly 13 years and have
been too
> sheepish to ask. The fuel gauge in my 1980 Spit has never
read higher
> than about 2/3 full after a fill-up. When the gauge reads
empty and
> I do fill up, it takes only 6.5 or 7 gallons. I always
assumed the
> gauge reads wrong and that there must be a few gallons
remaining
> even when it reads empty. But, working on that theory, I
have
> occasionally run out of gas and found that the fill-up
still
> required only 7 gallons. This past summer I replaced the
sending
> unit with another taken off a parts car, and it read the
same as
> my original one. The guage does read full when the lead
wires to
> the sender are shorted though. Then I found a way to
adjust the
> sender so the gauge reads full when the tank is full, but
now it
> reads about 1/3 full when I run out of gas. So it appears
that my
> tank capacity is about 7 gallons. But the tank looks just
like the
> original ones pictured in the parts catalogs. So, if it
is original,
> I see only two possibilities:
>
> 1) There is something taking up space in the tank. But,
if that is
> the case, it would have to be blocking the float in
some way too.
>
> 2) Maybe when I think I have run out of fuel, I really
haven't. Last
> week, when I ran out on the way to work, there was an
obvious
> vacuum hiss when I popped the filler cap. I was in
too much of
> a hurry to try to restart; I just dumped about a half
gallon in
> from a small can I have started carrying recently. I
know, I know,
> that is not smart, and I will stop as soon as I either
solve this
> problem or reset the sender so the gauge reads empty
when it really
> is empty. Anyway, if there is a problem with the
breather line
> and the carbon cannister that is producing a vacuum
which overcomes
> the fuel pump, why is my gauge not reading full scale?
In all
> honesty, I have come to believe that when I run out of
gas, I'm
> REALLY out; I don't hear any sloshing when I rock the
car.
>
> So, WHAT'S UP? Thanks for any insight you can provide.
>
> Tim
>
>
>
> --
> Tim Gaines
> Clinton, SC
> 1980 Spitfire
> 1974 TR6
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