[DeTomaso] Fuel Cells

[Matt Merritt]

My yellow/white racecar had a fuel cell in the front.   It was an
elaborate custom fabrication of aluminum built around the two braces
crossing from the roll cage to the front suspension and I hate to think
about the time, labor and $$$ it took to make it fit perfectly under the
hood.  Even with its meticulous design to utilize every square inch of
available spece it held only about 11 gallons.  A tankful wouldn't last
more than a 30-minute vintage sprint race.  During a VARA enduro race my
co-driver Phil Mendelovitz ran out of gas at the pit entrance after 40
minutes of racing.  I considered cutting out the bottom of the front
trunk to add a battery box-sized addition to the tank for a little more
volume but in the end common sense prevailed.  

Incidentally, at my first VARA tech inspection it was discovered that my
"fuel cell" lacked the required rubber bladder and was really just a gas
tank.  Two months and $1K later it had a nice Fuel Safe certification.

My suggestion: Forget it.

Matt Merritt