Petrol Tank Pads

[Steve Simmons]

Does anyone know why the original petrol tank pads were so hard? It seems like something with a bit more give might help the feet not crack and leak. The pads being sold by retailers are pretty stiff, by memory they seem like around a shore 80A. I'm planning to cut some polyurethane pads and was thinking 60A might be better. If the factory decided that rock hard pads were best, then why not just use a thin strip of rubber padding instead of 1/2" thick blocks?

[Ray White]

Steve. Are you sure the rubber hasn't just hardened with age?

Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I doubt Abingdon expected their cars to still be knocking around all these years later let alone predict their weaknesses.

Having said that, I don't know why modern rubber pads are so hard.

[Steve Simmons]

I'm not really sure about anything, but I can say that mine have softened with age because they're soaked in oil!

[Ian Jenkins]

Steve, I have just removed the tank because it was filled with crud. The 'rubber' buffers on mine may have been fitted in the 1980s, and are a soft compound. But, the chassis ones are squashed half size, and I guess because they're too soft. I haven't decided what replacement is needed there yet. What dimensions are the pieces supposed to be? Ian.

[Rob Reilly]

Here is what my '37 TA had. They measure 1/2" x 1-1/4" in cross section. By the way the ones on the bottom squished out, I would think they were something about the durometer of tires.

gas tank padding.jpg (51.95 KiB) Viewed 626 times

They appear to have been attached to the frame and plywood back panel by flat head (countersunk) screws, probably before the body was painted, as I see original gray paint on the side pieces.

[Steve Simmons]

I'd have to measure again but as I recall it's about 5-6" for the bottoms, 12" for the uprights and 20-something for the top. The exact size isn't important, it just needs to pad things.

I bought some polyurethane rubber sheet and cut my own. 80A seemed too hard so I used 60A instead. One set is installed on a friend's car and I'll be installing mine hopefully soon.