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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Drake 81A-9002 38-40 fuel tank in a late 37

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Drake 81A-9002 38-40 fuel tank in a late 37 -- page: 1 2     rlh37ford 07-31-2011 @ 8:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 28 Joined: Oct 2009 In Bob Drake’s new catalog p.362, the 81A-9002 fuel tank is still listed for late 37 (as so listed in his earlier cat.) as well as for 38-40. Late 37 used the integrated tank pipe (not the earlier threaded pipe) which attached to the filler pipe using a rubber hose & clamps. Has anyone successfully installed this 81A-9002 tank in a 37? My 37 Club Cabriolet has the late type tank w/rubber hose filler connection & the integrated tank pipe is set at a slight forward, upward angle; while the Drake catalog tank illustration shows the integrated pipe as horizontal & perpendicular to the tank. Inputs from 38 owners would also be helpful in confirming that the 38 tank integral pipe is horizontal/perpendicular as shown in the Drake catalog and thus may NOT fit properly in 37 Fords. All comments welcomed. Many thanks. 37RAGTOPMAN 08-01-2011 @ 11:30 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1969 Joined: Oct 2009 How bad was the original tank? I had problems with much gunk in my tank,I Took it to a radiator shop and had them soak in a tank of cleaner, got it back, sloshed it with a sealer and never had a problem, and that was in 1976. a friend of mine made a tumbler for gas tanks.he uses 5/16 steel nuts, tumbles the tank with water. when clean it retreives the nuts with a magnet, and then drys the tank and them seals it up,with BILL HIRSCH, gas tank sealer... remember if it came out it has to go back in, most of the new tanks I think are made for street rods, and are installed with the body off. this is my 3 cents 37RAGTOPMAN PS, their is a vender advertising in HEMMING'S that restores the original tank, pick a copy up at a local magazine store,,, rlh37ford 08-01-2011 @ 5:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 28 Joined: Oct 2009 37RAGTOPMAN: Thanks for you recommendations on rehabing my tank. When you removed your tank, was the body still attached to the frame? I'm not planning on a body off frame restoration & hope I can get the tank out w/o body removal. Your experience? As for my tank condition, it has started to leak; not sure where as yet and so don't yet know if it can be saved, but hope so. That's why I asked about the Drake tank as I may learn that my tank can't be saved. Been subscribing to Hemmings for decades; Sep. issue arrived today; is that ad in the front services portion? 37RAGTOPMAN 08-01-2011 @ 6:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1969 Joined: Oct 2009 my filler neck is the scr*w*d in one,yes I removed the tank from the frame, with body on,it is not easy but it will come out,you just have to try a few different ways, what I can remember you have to push it to the left and drop the right side down so it clears the sub frame and it should drop out,but it has been a few years, yes the ad is in the services offered, it would be the way to go, Drake for me would be the last resort, hope this helps 37RAGTOPMAN rlh37ford 08-01-2011 @ 6:42 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 28 Joined: Oct 2009 37RAGTOPMAN: Thanks for the additional info. This helps a lot. My plan will be to drain the tank; go through the removal process using your guidance, inspect the exterior; then go from there. rlh37ford fm PA. TomO 08-02-2011 @ 6:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7271 Joined: Oct 2009 Leaks in the tank can be repaired a couple of ways. All of them require a through cleaning of the tank, inside and out. Very small leaks will be sealed by coating the inside of the tank. Next size up can be repaired by soldering the holes AFTER cleaning the tank, so there are no gas fumes Larger holes can have a sheet metal screw diven into the hole and then soldered.. Tom Stroker 08-02-2011 @ 4:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 rlh37ford: I have a 38, and I have owned 2 other 38 "parts cars" in the past. All 3 38's had the fuel tank filler neck perpendicular to the centerline of the the car, or "straight-out". I have a spare 38 tank that I plan upon having "boiled-out" (our local truck repair still has a real radiator shop), and I plan on "slushing" it and installing. My existing tank is full of "goop", having sat with old gas since I went overseas in 64. I thought about the Drake option, but it's tough enough changing-out a stock tank, without adding the difficulty of having less clearance to maneuver it. This is especially true on station wagons, as the flat rear floor doesn't give much vertical clearance. I really don't want to have to lift the body off the frame (again). I've also thought about the plastic tanks, as I've heard they are easier to squeeze-in, but I think I'll go with a restored original. Stroker 08-02-2011 @ 4:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 rlh37ford: I have a 38, and I have owned 2 other 38 "parts cars" in the past. All 3 38's had the fuel tank filler neck perpendicular to the centerline of the the car, or "straight-out". I have a spare 38 tank that I plan upon having "boiled-out" (our local truck repair still has a real radiator shop), and I plan on "slushing" it and installing. My existing tank is full of "goop", having sat with old gas since I went overseas in 64. I thought about the Drake option, but it's tough enough changing-out a stock tank, without adding the difficulty of having less clearance to maneuver it. This is especially true on station wagons, as the flat rear floor doesn't give much vertical clearance. I really don't want to have to lift the body off the frame (again). I've also thought about the plastic tanks, as I've heard they are easier to squeeze-in, but I think I'll go with a restored original. trjford8 08-02-2011 @ 8:35 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4236 Joined: Oct 2009 I installed the Drake tank in my 37 coupe about a year ago. I replaced the original tank with the threaded neck as it was full of nasty looking crud. Here's what I found when installing the tank. The tank needs to be dented inward just below the frame flange in order to get enough room to install the tank with the body on the frame. Unless they have changed the design you will have to dent the tank. Once dented, I had to use a pry bar to get the tank towards the left side in order for the right side flange to clear the frame rail. Once it was in it was easy to bolt up the tank to the frame. I had a stock 37 fuel neck that was used with the later 37 tank. When installing the neck to the tank with the rubber sleeve I found that the stock neck sat about 1 inch below the hole on the fender. I wound up using a 38 neck with some modifications to get a fuel neck to stand about 1/2 inch above the hole in the fender. I haven't had a chance to check, but I suspect the hole in the fender with the early tank may be in a different postion than the fender hole for the late tank. TomO 08-03-2011 @ 7:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7271 Joined: Oct 2009 If you install the Drake tank, you will have to install the inferior sending unit being sold as a replacement or modify the tank to accept the original sending unit. Tom

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