I’ve got an old car, let’s assume I won’t be able to get a new tank for it, and junk yard tanks are probably more rusted (on the inside) than mine. How can I effectively remove the rust, fix holes that might (fortunately not yet) show up, and prevent future rust problems?
For what it’s worth; 1966 superior hearse built on a cadillac commercial chassis.
Seems like I should be able to coat the inside with some sealant or something.
There are several sealant kits on the market. Here’s one.
Back in the Eighties, I used Kreem to seal several tanks without a problem. Some of the tanks had holes big enough that the sealer would leak out until it set, leaving globs that ad to be cut off with a razor. The biggest problem used to be that alcohol would attack some types of sealers, but I’m sure that they have been reformulated since then.
Is the assumption that budgetary constraints preclude a new tank, or you just can’t find one due to age of the car? There are a lot of options that will work way better than a rusty old tank, if you’re willing and able to spend the money. There is typically a filter on the intake, the innards of the tank, that rusts out, get’s plugged etc. The sealants work OK, but there is still a ton of crap in old fuel tanks and causes a lot of problems.
The guys that I know that work on old cars swear by POR-15
Hey thanks , Now I have a place to start. The problem is less economics, and more being unable to find a non-rusty replacement. I don’t know how those sealents work, I wouldn’t want to seal off the tube that draws fuel out of the tank; though I expect the manufacturers will be able to help me with that issue.
You have to remove everything from the tank before you use the stuff, and then you seal the holes with tape. While I’ve not used it, I’ll second Rick’s recommendation of POR 15. Guys I really respect praise it highly, though I understand that you have to follow the directions exactly for it to work properly.
Another option is checking out the sheet metal working books offered here and making your own tank from stainless steel, so you don’t have to worry about it rusting on you again. This could, it should be noted, reduce the resale value of your car, because it’s not 100% original, but quite frankly, any car collector so picky can bite me. It’s an improvement which makes the car more reliable and isn’t noticable to anyone, so unless you’re putting the car in a museum as the only surviving version, it’s no biggie.
Every gas tank I have ever seen the pickup is removable. So remove it and then seal the tank.
Look for gas tank repair. You remove the tank, send it away and they’ll clean it up, coat the inside and paint it for you. More $, but I would be more confident with that work than trying to make sure I’ve sloshed the pint of sealant around the tank myself.
Such as:
http://www.leakersgastanks.com/ (not a good name IMO)
I would think that you should be able to find a replacement tank somewhere: