Eddie- Here is a diagram of the intake manifold and the fuel rails on the 377 Scorpion. Off of which one of these taps would a guy connect the regulator and return line?

Out of the pump to a 10 micron filter, then Y block , then one end of both rails, out the other end to the regulator, return to tank.

Gotcha!

So I get to work last night on at least preparing for the installation of the black box. To gain access, I first had to remove a couple of the windshield panels which was a real treat. I got up in the bulkhead and I noticed a pretty strong odor of gas. Did some research to find that these bladders have a life of 5 years and it is about 10 years old (I always thought that I could smell a slight odor). Evidently, the bladders are also "permiable", so slight vapors can get through the material, even when new.

Anyway, I am still going to use the ATL black box that I ordered, but I am going to have a new aluminum tank fabbed this week. It will also make it easier to install a fuel gauge. Kind of sucks, but it really needs to be done.

no... thats wrong. the date code you see stamped on it is an FIA requirement and has nothing at all to do with service life. in race cars the fia requires the cells and seat belts and a bunch of other safety related items to be date coded. they're french... what do you expect... and they are not porous under any circumstances. take it out, fill it with something and look at the seam areas... if the seams don't leak... and that happens from wear and abrasion... properly installed, the container always has some sort of tape or cardboard chafe barrier... then its fine.

and your fabbed al box won't be nearly as good nor any less expensive than buying a new cell if you are compelled to go that route.

your fumes are from dumping fuel everywhere for the last week...

This thread got me thinking (and maybe over thinking);

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...k-leaking.html

ATL does say that they are permiable and must be used in a well ventilated area (this is not the best ventilated). I will pull it out this weekend and take a look at it. What method would a guy use to pressure test it? I would imagine ony a few pound of air would do.

I will pull it out this weekend and figure out at least what I think that I need to do.

Thanks a ton for all of the advise.

well... ive installed hundreds of cells and dealt with bladders made in all countries of all ages. the only ones ive seen porous are they oldest british ones. i have bought vintage race cars that were 15 years old that still had fuel in the atl cell and the enclosures (they all have to have a steel box) had dust in them. you think the FIA would let them put permeable cells in
F1 cars ? and i wouldn't inflate it to test it. a cell is meant to be in a container. the seams aren't designed for significant tensile tensile or shear load. .. altho they will tolerate it. stop trying to reinvent the wheel... if the cell had leaked previously then you would have smelled it... if you need to test it, put it outside, support the sides and fill it with whatever you want. its not going to leak ... and then just button the thing up and get finished.

I pumped out all of the gas, filled the tank with water (pretty confined space did not want to deal with fumes), removed all of the hoses and the top of tank, and then removed all of the foam. I pulled the bladder (it was custom built to seat inbetween the stringers), and then made a wood mock up in the shop to support it. I filled it with water and let it sit for several hours. No leaks. Once I get the ATL black box in, I will start to reassemble. I am also adding the Livorsi fuel tube type sending unit and gauge.

From another suggestion, i looked at the hoses. All looked good, except there is a bit of a kink closer to the tank where it turns a tight corner. Since this was a suction line, it could have been restricting flow. I will remove and inspect all lines before putting it back together.

Thanks for the insights!

sounds to me like you are being quite concientious. well done. now just bolt it back together properly and your problems should be over... assuming our analysis of the probloem was correct to start with. i am confident it was but even if it turns out to be wrong, at least your fuel system is now correct...

Tango,
Sorry I missed this post previously. As mentioned, just come out of the pump with a -10 line into a Y block. You should mount the pump very near the tank. You can run (1) -10 hose back to the engine compartment. There, split it into (2) -8 hoses, one each that goes to each fuel rail. Then mount an Aeromotive regulator and have one line come out of each rail and into the regulator. The return will come out of the bottom of the regulator. This will return back to the tank. Give me a shout if you have any quesitons.
Here are some examples of the parts.

Y-block:
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...oductId=758483
or
http://www.jegs.com/i/Aeromotive/027/15620/10002/-1

regulator:
http://www.jegs.com/p/Aeromotive/Aer...50081/10002/-1

Hope this helps. Good luck.
Eddie