how to build a chopper oil tank

RedBarronC

hoppers.com

Build it on a budget series

Just a handfull of hardware, some scrap steel and a few hours spent can pocket you $150 or more over store bought oil bags ( tanks )!

On the cheapBuilding an oil tank

A CHOPPERBOOK.COM INSIDE LOOK!

In these days of $50,000 show bikes and phoney “gotta have it done in 10 days” tv shows, newbie builders are presented with a wildly distorted picture of what it means to be a “true chopper builder”.

When it comes to choppers “SIMPLE RULES” is my motto. Because I have a limited attention span (too much suger, MTV and video games as a kid I guess), simplicity of design and straight foreward solutions suit my personality best.

Those of you who are checking in at RedBarronChoppers.com to see the latest additions to my NEMESIS 250R project have questioned what I planned to do with the oil tank. Here’s the answer;To recap the whole plan:With the launch of the R series frames, my plan from the start was to build one of each to represent both ends of the style spectrum. The Weapon will be a totally “balls out” prostreet machine loaded with plenty of “bling”. The Nemesis; a cutting edge black ratrod with a tip of the hat to the old school ways.

By Danial Howe

©2006 Danial Howe Creations Inc.

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RedBarronChoppers.comNemesis tank: Lets Get Started!Because the aim of this artical is to assemble a functional oil tank using the least amount of scratch possible, we’ll stay completely out of the machine shop and do this just the way the “homebrewers” do.

Scraps & parts.....A trip down to the local hard-ware store turned up everything we’ll need to bypass expensive machined parts. (Pic 1)

In the Photo you’ll see a few extras but at the MINIMUM you need:3 Brass 3/8 fittings3 Hex head 3/8 to 1/2 reducers2 assorted 3/8 tubes 6 and 4inch in length2 1/2” couplers

And lastly you’ll need some form of tubing roughly 5-6 inch in diam. For all the crap I take for living in IOWA from you coastal boys I have access to scrap and other things you can only dream about. Case in point: I found some old auger tubing ( that’s farm stuff ). Follow along. YOU CAN DO THIS TO!

1. Shown above is 3/8ths fittings and pieces I picked up at LOWES plumbing department for about $10. The tube is a piece of 6 1/2 diam drop from a steel supplier. there’s some extras in here but it never hurts to be prepared.

2. Because this design calls for a wraparound style tank, I knocked out the center section and pushed in a bit of posterboard to trace out the final shape- That pattern will be transfered late to steel and bent into place.


RedBarronChoppers.com

3. Here it is roughed in and tacked.....

5. Here’s a shot of the vent tube we’ll use inside the tank.

4. Just what the doctor ordered. I have a clamp holding the part in place so i can plan my next task..


6. Drilling a 3/4 Inch hole I drop in a threaded coupler into TOP hole and tack it from inside to keep the look clean. same goes with the two on the bottom as well.

About finish sanding:When to do your final sanding and smoothing differs in most people’s opin-ions. I tend to do all my finish grinding early on as the more parts I add (such as mount tabs) makes it a real pain to work around with a grinder of any real size......


7. Shot of top coupler shows a full weld all around the inside ( keeps the outside looking cleaner ) just make sure you get a liquid tight weld because tracing leaking oil SUCKS!

8. Weld the tube to the coupler but hold off on the nut. We need to put that in the hole and tack it first. BE CAREFUL not to ruin the threads so bad that you can’t get the coupler on afterwards.

9. At this point you should have 3 holes filled with 3 reducer nuts ( welded in ). As you can see I prefer to pre install my brass fittings to keep weld heat distortion in check. Be aware you’ll need to remove them again and seal against leaks before you put things to actual use however.

A CHOPPERBOOK.COM INSIDE LOOK! A CHOPPERBOOK.COM INSIDE LOOK!

10. Quick run through here for the newbies: Your OIL RETURN is at the top, the OIL INTAKE and VENT are at the bottom.

Either hole can be your choice for vent tube position but I suggest you go with the one closest to the outside as it’s way easier to get a welder in the tight space. Also when select-ing a final tube length use the longest tube that will fit without being blocked by the tube wall. short tubes will result in oil slosh-ing down the vent tube and resulting in burn off or depending upon your motor setup who knows what else?!

TOP OF TANK

Intake

Vent

Return


11. Time to shape the sides. A quick trace to blank out the sides and a trip through the shear does it.

12. Time to close her up. I used 16 ga. steel on these pair of 6.5 inch discs for endcaps. First I tacked all around the edge.....

Wanting for a little more shape I took out the days frustrations with a hammer and sandbag ( best you not see that- not a pretty sight!) resulting in two nicely concave discs which I tacked into place as you see here.

13. A light pass with low heat around the edges with MIG seals the deal.


14. Breaking out the cardboard I mocked up a few mount tab ideas until I got the right feel.

MOUNT NOTES There’s literally thousands of ways to mount your tank. This system uses a 3 point mount for an incredibly solid hookup. No matter what you decide on the key is MAKE IT EASILY REMOVABLE and EASY TO SERVICE AND FILL.


15. A quick cutout of my final design with the cnc plasma took just seconds but for you home builders there’s no reason a cut-off wheel or grinder can’t turn out top notch work.

16. TIP: Why beat my brains out trying to get a square fit? A simple wood block with some screws in it holds everything tight while I tack it all up....

17. A quick visual shows I’m lookin’ good...

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18. Grabbing a few scraps of 1” tube I fabbed up a “T” mount and ran a 4” threaded rod capped off with some pike nuts through the ends. After tacking and visually squaring the whole deal I dropped in the final welds.

18b. This is what you end up with....



19. Next it’s time to fab up some back mounts. I’ll hide them up top of the tank by drilling through the top of the seat gusset and tacking threaded mount bosses to the top of the tank.

Step 20 I chop sawed a pair of 3/4” rod plugs to be drilled and tapped then tacked and fitted them in place.

About fittings:When assembling all of your fittings you’ll want to weld all the parts. Don’t get crazy and do it all before hand or you won’t be able to get the tube into the hole. study the layouts shown and dry fit all your parts the right time to weld each part will become immediately obvious.

Two of the three holes are just a simple hole with the hexplug welded in from bottom and then final install of brass elbows is just a matter of some thread sealant and screw in fit.... I personally I prefer to go light on welder as these distort really easy.

Step 21 A 1/4” tap fits the bill nicely.



Step 22. Holding the back end in place with a magnet I transfer marked the holes I drilled earlier in the seat gusset onto the tank. This will give me a guide to weld on my new tabs.

Step 23. Wanting to stick with my ‘Ol School theme I swiped a piece of 1.5” O.D. from the drop pile and punched out an access hole to dump in the oil.... Then welded LIGHTLY!

Step 24. Whallah! Add a stock plug and there ya go! Finished product works as it should and just looks so damn right.....

Step 25. Done in the only color befitting a project with such attitude.... flat black, It’s all ready to hook up and terrorize the local townsfolk.....


RedB

arronChoppers.com

Danial Howe is the President and CEO of Danial Howe Creations Inc. ( DHC ), One of the most widely sought after design consultant firms in the v-twin industry. His Shop; RED BARRON CHOPPERS is based in De Soto, Iowa and is the largest independent fabrication shop of it’s kind anywhere.

In addition, Dan is successor to a two wheel family dynasty; none other than the legendary HOWE BICYCLE CO. of Glasgow, Scotland known for their highwheel style bikes (considered by many the choppers of their day).

Dan’s diverse history and range of talents spans from manufacturing car audio electronics to stuffing huge American motors into tiny European cars.

Dan’s simple and effective techniques for creating show stopping yet very ridable choppers are featured in the upcoming series of books by BARRON PUBLISHING. Look for them on CHOPPERBOOK.COM

© 2006 Danial Howe Creations Inc.This document may be freely posted at any online forum in its COMPLETE and UNEDITED form.All print rights reserved. If you would like to reprint this artical contact us at RedBarronChoppers.com

how to build a chopper oil tank

Documents

inside look

functional oil tank

comnemesis tank

wraparound style tank

oil tanka

scrap steel

inch hole

look clean