T: Fuel Tank Fuel Tank Petcocks

[medat727]

Vic,

How are you doing the stainless taper mod, are you turning it up on a lathe or purchasing a stainless taper pin and starting from there, I’ve looked at stainless taper pins on McMaster Carr but the tapers seem too shallow?

David

 

[oexing]

Hi David,
the taper on these taps is anything of a taper, not a standardised type I guess. So you´d clamp the brass item in the lathe somehow and set the lathe up for this angle with an indicator on the taper running along the taper. So you should be close enough for a try with the petcock body and some minimal corrections possibly on the lathe when you fabricate a stainless steel copy. Some lapping with grinding paste will be essential for a seal but it is worthwhile, no more troubles with any fuel that attacks most material except Viton or teflon.

Vic

 

[medat727]

Hi Vic,
I’ve done it that way with brass and it works out pretty well, will give it a go with the stainless.
David

 

[Cyborg]

Might be an idea to make a male lap to clean it up the bore before you lap in the new stainless taper? Or someone must sell a reamer that would work? I inherited this about 4 years ago and just yesterday took it out of the box to figure out what it is. Now I have a use for it. The other doodad is for turning very small stock.

 

[oexing]

I just looked for 1/4 " fuel taps at Aliexpress, all brass , yes. But before trying to get a taper reamer, unlikely to get cheap with this taper, you might better have one fnew rom Ali with good body and either have the taper nickeled or chromed (hard) or copy it in SS. There are lots of other types with same thread if you accept them on the Vincent. Most are suitable for disassembling. So in case they don´t like leadfree fuel you could do a seal in cork. Fiddly job but works quite well, unlike rubberlike seals in taps. Fuel has no lubricating properties so rubber types tend to stick.

Vic
taper fuel tap
fuel tap female
fuel tap
fuel tap left or right