The fuel pipe was added with a tap underneath the drum ......to this he added the male end with a second tap just before the far end. We worked on a spare petrol tank so it would accept the female piece in the side. Clamps were added to the fuelling tank so it could be hung on the side of the pit.
The whole system was checked for leaks utilising water and it seemed perfect --- It was our final design for a Fast Dump Refueller. Everthing was packed in the van and off we went to the TT.
We found the clamps fitted the existing hooks so we tried a dry run then one with a little amount of petrol.......It worked.
On the day of the race the system was hung on the post and we filled it to the brim via the top opening. In those days pit crews didn't have to wear protective clothing but we wore jeans and matching tops as a team.
We saw our rider set off and we to his pit to prepare for his refuelling stop projected as being after two laps......First lap and he was doing well and now we were
ready for him to come in after a further lap. We checked our system was ready to do its job.....He came in, the pipe was jammed into the tank and the tank top flap opened to allow the escape of air---------------------------------Nothing happened, no fuel and time was going by.....We found that the upper tap was turned off so we rectified it, fuelled and got the rider away again. We didn't have a clue why the tap was turned off until we were told that a marshall thought there was a leak and had turned it off. It transpired that the weld had a teeny pin hole and petrol was leaking slightly from there...
Denis Ireland had a similar system but had used a wider bore pipe.. When he came in to re-fuel. the pipe popped and petrol sprayed over his privates ! He got away, needing only the one stop but told us that it was Ramsey before the stinging eased off !
In the years we saw the introduction of new homologated fillers using old aluminium beer barrels thanks to the wisdom of Alex George --- These
have been used ever since ---