Studebaker gas tank, what is it?

[TDITS]

Posted on St Louis craigslist.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/atq/2755345227.html

Anyone know what it is?

[mbstude]

It hung somewhere on the car and was used by dealers to show just how many miles one could drive on one gallon of gas.

[JeffDeWitt]

I think it's a tool to test gas mileage.

[Flashback]

I think you guys are right. The Ford dealer I worked for in 1959 had one that looked siimular.

[StudeRich]

The Scotsman Dealer demos had them mounted on the right Door to see how far you could go on a Gallon, when carefully driven you could go 25 to 29 Miles.

[TDITS]

Interesting.
It's a cool piece but I can't justify the money this close to Christmas.

[woodysrods]

Just another great opportunity for the Studebaker collector that has everything???
Good Roads
Brian

[kmac530]

Those dimensions must be approximate for the canister or they did not fill it all the way up. I like math, so I did a quick calculation and I came up with 1.43 gallons of capacity in that canister. I am no mathematician of course, but I do use alot of math in construction.

He gives the size as 6.5" Diameter and 10" tall. So 6.5" Diameter= 3.25 radius. Area of a circle = Pie x R2. So that is 3.25x3.25=10.56 x 3.14{reduced} =33.1584 sq. inches in a 6.5" circle. Now times that by the 10" height and you get 331.5 cubic inches in that container. A gallon is only 231 cubic inches. Divide the 331.5 by the 231 and you get 1.43 gallons total capacity.

I know this oddly enough because I built a custom VW baja bug and built my own tank that fit behind the rear seat and filled next to the rear window with a filler neck I got off of an old Buick. I measured up my compartment size, and calculated the size. I built a sheetmetal box and brazed it all together. It held fuel perfectly with no leaks and I was less than a quart off on my size/capacity calculation. Not bad for a dumb carpenter....of 16 yrs old.