Mark_ZZ3

What exactly is the baffle? Is it a section of metal? Is it a plastic resovoir?

Sooo ... the pump on my 88 race car died this summer. Pulled it out and changed it. Had a look for the baffle. Where the pump/strainer sit near the back (lowest) part of the tank is a plastic bowl. It's about 12" across, perhaps 1-2" tall, and looks like it will hold a gallon or two of gas. Seems like it is designed exactly to prevent the pump from running dry.

Sooo ... thinking I have the baffled tank, I looked in a tank from a 1987 TA I had. It took as this same plastic reservoir in it. The tank has the same two letter code on PZ or PX (can't recall).

I'm confused as to what the baffle was. I recall talking with 1LEPrototype and he said back in the day, they made their own reservoir out of a plastic container to do this.

I took a few pics ... but it will take me a day to get my buddy to send them to me.

Mark.

scottmoyer

Not sure on our cars, but I recently saw an episode of How It's Made where they made modern tanks. They showed that walls were inside the tank that has big holes for the gas to flow thru, but they were placed in such a way that the gas wouldn't just slosh around. Kind of like muffler baffles. Not sure if our cars have the same kind of baffling or not.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

All cars came with the normal metal part. The "baffled tank" consists of the plastic tub in there (slightly broken in these pics) that the fuel sock sits in.

Mark_ZZ3

Ok, so my tank has a plastic resevoir like that, but shaped a little different. I'll post a pic as soon as I get them emailed to me.

Funny thing ... my 1987 parts car had this too ... both are TPI cars. Now the chance the 1987 had the tank changed over it's life is very remote.

So leads me to suspect the TPI cars had the baffle's. Before people post about fuel starvation, wait to see my pics. My baffle looks a bit shorter than the one posted above.

Mark.

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

I can confirm for sure that my 92 GTA's tank also has a baffle like that from when I installed my Walbro.

Mark_ZZ3

My 88 (and 87) had this type of baffle in it. Same sort of design, but a little shorter. Two "walls". Perhaps what they did in the later years was to make it TALLER?



Mark.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Consider yourself lucky. Most of us don't have any!

CHAMARO

just found this problem in my tank on the 92. I think all tpi cars got it, carbed did not. But mine is broken as well. did you reuse this tank or did you get a new one because of the broken baffle? im unsure to get a new tank or just clean out peices and reuse?

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Mark's cars being Player's Challenge cars could quite conceivably have early prototypes of what later became the 1LE fuel tank. I can see GM saying this works, but let's make it bigger.

As for CHAMARO? This is where the confusion sets in. All 1990-92 F-bodies have the same gas tank part number as 1988-1989 1LE cars. There was only 1 part number regardless of if it was a V6 or a V8. So many believe that the 1990+ cars have 1LE gas tanks regardless of if they're 1LE or not.

But....

Several members have taken apart their non 1LE 1990-92 cars and found baffles. But many members here with 1990-92 cars have also taken their gas tank out and not found any baffles in there. There doesn't appear to be any model or year rules in the 90-92 cars either. So somebody with a 91 Formula might have baffles, somebody with a 92 GTA might not, somebody with a 92 Formula might not. It seems to be a crapshoot.

I don't think it's that GM stopped making the old tank and only put the good tank in the later years. Because there have been 1990 non 1LE cars with baffles and 1992 non 1LE cars without baffles.

I'm 99% sure my GTA doesn't have the baffles. When I step on the brakes to stop at a stop light, the fuel gauge goes from 3/4 to 1/2 and stays there the entire time I'm at the light. Then it goes back to 3/4 once I start moving again. I obviously have the TPI setup.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

double post. whoops