Water and Fuel Fillers

The  water and fuel fillers were added.  When this scan was made the 'scar' left by the removal of the original fuel filler had yet to be filled and cleaned up.

What about those fillers?   Photos of the fillers on the preserved 5623 show that the water and fuel fillers are distinctive in that the fuel filler plate has a raised ring around the filler cap in contrast with the water fillers which have a rounded arris on the ring around the cap - a ring which is otherwise flush with the surface of the plate.  After several false starts I decided to fabricate these in brass.  The steps were as follows:

• Drill 2.4mm holes in .15mm (.005") shim brass and cut and file the 'hoop' shaped face plates.
• Cut short lengths of 2.4mm brass tube (about 12mm long) and face one end of each - I used a Dremel and needle file but the more scientific might use a lathe!
• Solder the short pieces of tube into the shim face plates so that the water filler tubes are flush with the face plate and the fuel filler tubes just a tiny bit proud of the face plate (say .010").  Use an absolute minimum of solder so as not to build up too much fillet on the inside face of the face plate - it will need to sit flat on the side sill in due course.
• Take each water filler assembly in turn and hold it securely (I pushed them into 2.5mm holes drill in a scrap of wood) and clean up the face plate with 400 grit wet an dry (I use some glued to a sanding block to get a smooth flat sanding surface).  Lightly countersink the hole formed by the brass tube and use some wet and dry pressed into the hole and twirled to round off the edges of the countersinking.
• Take each of the fuel fillers and remove any surface solder from the face plate with a fibreglass eraser pen and either file or use the 400 grit sanding block to reduce the protrusion of the tube to a barely perceptible 'few thou'.  My completed ones are .003" yet still quite evident.   'Break' the hard edge of the protrusion with a quick twirl with the fibreglass eraser.
• The pieces of tube are too long (but have been useful 'handles' up until now) and require cutting to .060" depth from the inside face of the face plate to match the thickness of the side sill they will be fitted to. I used a 'jig' made from some .060" brass sheet with a 2.5mm hole drilled in it.   With each filler assembly face down on a soft wooden block (actually a block of balsa which,  I know,  I know,  is technically a hardwood but has the right qualities of resilience for this task) I fitted the 'jig' over each in turn and sliced off the protruding excess tube with a piercing saw.  A quick dressing with a needle file saw the end of the tube tidied up.
• File a diagonal section of tube away from the bottom of each assembly to provide clearance for the filler pipes to be fitted later at a downward angle.
• Fit the four fillers to their appropriate positions on the sills by drilling the sills 2.5mm and countersinking very lightly with a larger drill (4.0mm in my case).  Check that the assemblies will sit flat on the sills and fix in place with CA glue.

Now,  the filler pipes and caps ....

• I wanted some solid material to attach the filler pipes to.   I have found that there is room between the P2K sills and the cast chassis for a strip of .060" styrene.  Well,  a strip would have interfered with the slots cut into the sill,  so I fitted small blocks of .060" x .125" Evergreen styrene behind each of the fillers.
• From the front of the sill, drill a 1.2mm hole into the junction of the sill and these blocks so that the hole is formed at an angle of about 30 deg from the horizontal.
• Make four filler pipe/caps from 1.2mm brass rod.  I simulated the grips on the caps by cutting a slot across the end of each piece of brass rod and soldering in a short piece of .008" brass wire which I then snipped off close to each side of rod and filed and scraped to form the two grips on each cap.
• Fit the filler pipes/caps to the 1.2mm angled holes and leave the caps either level with or just a tad proud of each  face plate.  Glue in place with CA and,  when set,  snip and file the excess off the inside of the sill.

Back to previous page