All modern fuel systems are fed through a pump, so the fuel tank is
usually at the rear of the chassis under the trunk compartment. Some
vehicles have a rear engine with the tank in the forward compartment.
The fuel tank stores the excess fuel until it is needed for operation
of the vehicle. The fuel tank has an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe.
The outlet pipe has a fitting for fuel line connection and may be
located in the top or in the side of the tank. The lower end is about
one-half inch above the bottom of the tank so that collected sediment
will not be flushed out into the carburetor. The bottom of the tank
contains a drain plug so that tank may be drained and cleaned.
The gas tank of the early cars was placed higher than the engine. The
idea was that the gas would flow down to the engine. This arrangement
caused a problem when the car went uphill -- the gas flowed away from
the engine.
Solution: drive up the hill backwards!
