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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Fuel tank: in or out

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Fuel tank: in or out     Arts40 02-08-2012 @ 8:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 21 Joined: Feb 2012 Newbies here, 3rd owners of a '40 Convertible, nearly intact, w ~23K miles. Last driven in the '70s (Vermont) garaged since. Beginning project focusing on preservation, w. minimal restoration to engine, brakes, and steering to make it (locally) roadworthy. Forum postings persuade me to go w. orig'l tank if possible, so am seeking wisdom on best practices for inspecting, cleaning and sealing the tank in place. (There's some old gas in it, no apparent leakage, no external damage or serious rust) TomO 02-08-2012 @ 9:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Congratulations on finding a survivor. IMHO it is almost impossible to clean and seal a gas tank with it in the car. You can inspect some of the internal surfaces by removing the sending unit and shining a flashlight into the tank after draining the tank. If you have gas from the 70's in the tank, you should drain it, remove the tank from the car and have it cleaned by a radiator shop. It will probably have to be sealed after the cleaning, because the tern coating will have been compromised. Cleaning it will remove all of the varnish from the spoiled gas. If it is not removed, the alcohol in the current gas will do it at a time that is very inconvenient. In regard to the brakes, I would completely rebuild the system with new cylinders, lines, springs and shoes. There probably is considerable rust inside the lines and wheel cylinders. Tom Arts40 02-08-2012 @ 10:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 21 Joined: Feb 2012 Tom, thanks. Yeah, it's a real gem. Bought new by a neighbor and friend of my wife's family, to whom it was sold in the 60's and has been in the family since. We even have the original invoice from the Manhattan dealership. Tho never abused & always garaged, it didn't get much TLC the last 2-3 decades, so it's a project, nevertheless. Re. the tank: From all the relevant postings I get the impression that it's hard to remove/reinstall them without collateral disturbances to body and/or frame, hence my curiosities about a non-removal rehab. Re brakes, the forum advice is clear and compelling. So I'll renew the entire system, no two ways about that! Thanks again for your quick reply. trjford8 02-09-2012 @ 8:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4215 Joined: Oct 2009 Art, the tank can be removed without disturbing anything related to the body. Remove the fill neck and the rubber sleeve connecting the fill neck. You will probaly have to cut the sleeve( hacksaw,etc.), but it should be replaced anyway. Disconnect the fuel line to the tank. In the trunk floor (just forward of the tool tray) you will find a small trap door held down by one screw. Take out the screw and lift the door. This will allow acess to the gas tank sending unit. Remove the wire from the sending unit. Next lay under the car and remove the bolts that hold the tank to the frame. There's one on one side and two on the other side.You may have to cut the safety wire that runs through the bolt heads if the tank has never been out. Once the bolts are out push up on the tank to loosen it from the rubber pads on the frame.Then push the tank towards the driver's side while pushing from the passenger side of the tank. If all goes well the passenger side should drop down past the frame rail and you call pull the tank out from the underside of the car. If the tank does not clear the frame rail you may have to use a pry bar to pry it over far enough to drop down.It won't take much prying to get it to clear. Once the tank is out you can take it to a radiator shop or metal stipping shop to get it cleaned out. As Tom says you will probably have to have it resealed with a coating inside. Before taking it to a shop tap on the top of the tank with a small hammer to make sure that the top of the tank is still solid metal. I've seen several tanks that look good on the bottom. but the moisture in the tank made the top very rusty and thin. My neighbor thought he had a good tank on his '53 until he tapped on the top and the hammer fell into the tank. It was paper thin on top from the rust. If the tank has any adverse conditions I would recommend purchasinga new tank. The cost of a new tank is about the same as saving the old one. You should also consider changing the fuel line also as they tend to rust over time. supereal 02-09-2012 @ 2:24 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom O and Tom J are right on. If the "tern" coating, a sort of tin/lead material, has been breached, it is time to replace the tank. The "slush" coating may, or may not, withstand the alcohol laced fuels of today. If you are a purist, repro tanks are available. If not, you may wish to join those of us who opted for a plastic tank that will never rust, and is usually less costly than an accurate repro. TomO 02-10-2012 @ 10:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 I don't know of any reproduction tanks that are available with baffles or that will take the original sending unit. Your sending unit may not work after all these years, but they can usually be reconditioned. If you have a problem with it, come back here for some instructions on how to get it working. Tom trjford8 02-10-2012 @ 5:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4215 Joined: Oct 2009 TomO I replaced the tank in my 37 and it had two sets of holes. One for a modern sender and one for the Drake sender which has the same flange/bolt pattern as the original sender. Don't know if all repo tanks are that way or not, but I got my tank from Drake. This message was edited by trjford8 on 2-10-12 @ 5:08 PM TomO 02-11-2012 @ 8:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom J, I ordered a tank from Drake in 2004 for my 40 Mercury, it did not have any baffles and the hole for the sending unit was too small for the original sending unit. I called and they said that all of their tanks needed the aftermarket sending unit. Because the tank did not have baffles, I decided to return it rather than cut out the sending unit flange and installing the one from my original tank. If Bob Drake has made changes since then, I am not aware of them. Tom 239al 02-11-2012 @ 9:11 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Oct 2009 I went through this a couple of months ago on my 1947 Ford, and I wound up getting a new metal tank. But I would recommend using the original if at all possible. If I were you, I'd remove the tank and take it to the best radiator repair shop in town (ask around first) and get their advice - ask about how the new gas will attack the treatment, and be sure any other questions are answered. If you get confusing advice and they hesitate guarantying the job, go to another shop. If the shops hesitate guarantying great results, get a new tank. That's what I did.

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