When undertaking a restoration/rebuild of the elan, there are some things that can be annoying to replace. One such item was the windscreen washer bottle, as the original had long gone to washer bottle heaven.
The initial idea was to call into the local motor accessory dealer and purchase a generic one size fits all washer bottle, which we did, at around $49.00 AU a rectangular plastic unit complete with pump and wiring harness was obtained.
after unpacking said washer bottle kit from the box, the next problem to solve was where to locate the plastic tank in the elan engine bay. A stainless steel bracket was made up to hold the bottle just in front of the passenger (LHS) in Aust.
But this wasn’t the right solution, the tank was too big and it looked a bit ordinary, so the decision was made to keep the push in pump that came with the kit, put the plastic tank back into the box, and begin a new project fabricating a new alloy tank to add to the other polished alloy bling in the engine bay… gotta maintain the standard you know.
Below: Pics of the fabricated & machined parts of the alloy windscreen washer tank or bottle.
Tank Parts: Tank body, rolled 1.3mm sheet alloy. DIY roll formed top and bottom tank caps. Machined & threaded filler neck fitting, machined and threaded tank cap, machined bung for push in fit for washer pump – pump has rubber grommet seal.
The sheet metal clamp around the tank acts like a piston ring compressor and holds the rolled centre section together while the end caps are checked for correct fit. When satisfied that everything is right, the next step is the TIG welding.
The TIG welding of alloy is something that I was once keen to do, but now for various reasons prefer to farm this operation out to a local sheet metal fabrication workshop for around $40-$50, which is not too bad, considering I had another quote of $150.00 by a local Aerospace fabricating workshop just to do the TIG welding!!
View showing mounting lugs.The washer tank, TIG welding complete, this view shows the tank mounting lugs. The weld seam joint is at the back of the tank and out of view.
The weld on fitting for the pump must be carefully machined to the correct ID to allow the rubber grommet to create a press in seal. The tank is virtually complete and looks nice at this stage.
Finally, the welding is complete, the tank and bracket has been buffed to high polish, mounting bracket has been fabricated and attached to the tank, the pump retained from the generic washer bottle kit has been inserted and creates an excellent seal… no leaks.
The tank sits snugly in the limited space in front of the passenger foot well. The electrics connected to the pump, plastic hose slipped on the barb on the pump… and it’s good to go.
Capacity of the tank is .8 of a litre (800cc). As this elan is rarely driven in the wet, it is not all that important to have a large fluid supply, but it is a requirement for roadworthy, or MOT.
Cost : $12.00 for the alloy sheet parts, the tank fittings were all machined in house from bar stock.
TIG welding by others: $50.00.
DIY projects can be completely professional and cost effective.
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