Today I met up with BionicOnion and picked up the rest of the pieces I needed to put the fuel system back together. While I was out, I stopped at a junk yard and picked up a really nice tank skidplate to replace the rusted out one. The skid I picked up mounted to the 4 tank mounting bolts only instead of 3 of them and one to the frame. This made raising the tank even easier. I figured since BionicOnion already installed a 4 inch body lift, I had plenty of room to raise the tank.
I cut off the front tank mounting tabs flush with the tube cross member. Then I positioned the tank and skidplate with the rear mounting holes above the rear tube cross member and secured it with a pair of heavy duty muffler clamps. Then I secured the front tank/skid mounting holes to the cross member in front of the tank with another pair of heavy muffler clamps and some L brackets I made. It is held in VERY securely this way.
As I was hooking everything up on the top of the tank, I measured and realized I had gained 4 inches of clearance under the tank! I was only shooting for 3, but 4 will work, too.
Now I have no use for the rusted out tank-protector bar, so I don't have to put it back on. This has given my Goblin Tracker a really nice departure angle. Now all I need is for the ECM to come back, add some gas to the tank, cross my fingers and try the key! Wish me luck!
