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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Fuel Tank Cleaning- Any Ideas?

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Fuel Tank Cleaning- Any Ideas? -- page: 1 2     47Fordor 05-13-2010 @ 4:16 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 72 Joined: Oct 2009 My dad's '48 Convertible and my '47 Fordor have a common problem: both have been stored for DECADES with fuel in the tank. When I was still at home, and driving the convertible frequently, we just carried certain supplies to clear the fuel line whenever a piece of rust or "crud" clogged it. My Fordor is far from running right now but I know that eventually I would face the same problem. Dad's cure was to just let the crud work it's way through, but it never has. My question is if anybody has found a suitible way to fix the problem of rust in the fuel tank? I am definitely pulling the tank on mine and wonder if taking it to a machine shop to get it "hot tanked" would work. I used to consider taking my dad's tank to a place that did chroming, to get it acid dipped, but I guess the EPA has pretty much put a stop to that possibility. I see products for sloshing in the tank that, if I understand correctly, just cover the rust and have to be reapplied periodically. New fuel tanks that I see advertised are obviously not to original specs, since the all say that they can't be used with the original fuel sending unit. I have some older aquaintenced that tinker with these old beasts but they are more into making rat rods out of them and say that getting a plastic tank is pretty much a no-brainer. Of course, the same guys said that the first thing to do with the car, once I got it home, was to drop a 350 small-block in it! Both are very knowlegable in their fields but I want it "like Henry made it" so I figure you guys are the ones to go to. Thanks, Chris Lou46 05-13-2010 @ 4:26 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 19 Joined: Oct 2009 Chris, I replaced my tank with a new Drake unit, no one can see the fuel sender unit once the cover and trunk mat are installed, if that is your concern. I was nervous with the alcohol in the fuel today and the interaction with any coatings applied inside the tank. The installation was on a complete and running 1946 vehicle, I was able to remove and replace the tank working alone. OMHO LouB. ford38v8 05-13-2010 @ 4:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2774 Joined: Oct 2009 Chris, As far as I know, the only reasonable way to restore your original tank is by the sloshing method. The older sloshing compound is not being used anymore, due to its vulnerability to alcohol, but I would expect the new compound to have a problem over time as well. There are also rust issues with the senders, and with the fuel line. Senders can be restored, but the fuel line needs replacing. The original correct fuel line is 1/4" copper plated steel, and is available from the usual suspects. Alan shogun1940 05-13-2010 @ 7:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 464 Joined: Feb 2010 I cleaned and old tank by puting a 5 gal pail of 1 inh rocks in it and fliping it over and over. Then washing it out with soap and water. it took awhile but it worked. draino is sodim hydroxide , and that is what they used in hot tanks , but you have to heat it to get rust out, a new tank may be the way to go. TomO 05-14-2010 @ 7:19 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7261 Joined: Oct 2009 I had my tank cleaned by a stripping service in 1976 and coated it with a sloshing compound. I just started seeing flakes of rust last year. We did my son's tank in 2006 by taking it to a radiator shop to have it boiled out ($60) and used Bill Hirsh's sloshing compound. The compound looks and smells completely different than the same product I bought in 1976 from him. I plan to take my tank down next winter and have it cleaned again. I may have the additional problem of getting the old compound out, but it will be worth it to me to have an original tank. Tom watwasithinking 05-14-2010 @ 7:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 33 Joined: Dec 2009 Chris, For many years the radiator shop was the answer for cleaning gas tanks. They would simply put the tank over in their hot tank and boil them out. Well, as we all know....radiator shops are getting hard to find these days. So with that said...here is my suggestion. I have resorted to using my pressure washer. I remove the long wand on my washer's handle and replace it with a small 8 inch section of pipe with an elbow and attach the quick disconnect. I like to use the green spray tip and later switch over to the red one. Next, I start washing and after ahile you should start seeing clear water....continue flushing out for 15 minutes or so. I like to follow up by coating the tank with the epoxy tank coating that Bill Hirsch sells and have had no problems with it breaking down. Hope this helps. deluxe40 05-14-2010 @ 9:08 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 413 Joined: Oct 2009 I would recommend a new tank. Last year when I got my '41 running the new fuels turned some residual varnish in the tank into a fine talcum-like powder that flowed right through my filters to the carburetor bowl where it precipitated into a sticky mess and clogged the jets. Both Drake and C&G were out of new tanks, so I used one I had been saving. It looked good inside, but I had it boiled out at the radiator shop just in case. After about 300 miles I noticed red junk in the filter. When we removed the tank we found a strip of red stuff about four inches long and 1/2 inch wide in the bottom of the tank. Now I have a new tank and I can worry about other stuff (like my brand new water pump that spits drops of my four-ingredient radiator brew onto my clean engine and firewall...) supereal 05-14-2010 @ 9:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Don't be talked out of a plastic tank. I have one in my '47, and am very happy with it. It was considerably less expensive than a steel tank, and I never have to worry about rust, etc. Cleaning and coating an old tank is an exercise in futility, as you can never remove all the crud without cutting the tank open and scr*ping it out. The problem with "sloshing" is that many of these treatments fail because of the "new" gas. If you want to stick with a steel tank, Drake currently has them on sale at $206.95, regular price $275. Item # 11A-9002. jerry.grayson 05-14-2010 @ 2:54 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Oct 2009 If you want to keep the original tank and sender then take the tank to a derusting stripper, not the radiator shop. When you get it back coat it with some of the new coating compound. As I understand from several friends, the replacement sending units do not work with original gauges. 47Fordor 05-14-2010 @ 3:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 72 Joined: Oct 2009 I'm curious: what is it that makes the old sending unit not work with new tanks? I never heard that the old gauges wouldn't work with new sending units. Can anybody confirm/contradict this? Chris

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