Fuel Sender Hatch

One of the very few things about my van that wasn't very well thought out is
the fuel guage sender access.

If your fuel gauge stops working and you determine the sender is the fault, and
you follow the rules, the fix goes like this:

1. Remove your engine.
2. Remove the bulkhead cover plate.
3. Remove your fuel tank.

Only then can you remove the sender.
Here's what it looks like once you get the bulkhead cover off:

The sender is in the middle of the top of the tank roughly behind the hose you see above.
Under the carpet and over the tank is a large piece of metal flooring that was just calling out to cut in a hatch.

So I did.
I used an electric jig saw with a narrow blade to cut out a generous access hole
to make future sender problems an easy fix. You'll notice in the image above that I then
fabricated a square "frame" which I then spot welded in place from underneath. It was not
easy to weld in that confined space, but the frame will allow me to just drop the square I cut out
in and screw it into place with self-tapping sheet metal screws thereby closing the hole and
making no bumps under my mattress.