I have rust and crap in my A's gas tank and need to take it off for a thorough cleaning and hopefully sealing, so I never need to do it again. I have never removed the tank. If you have, can you tell me if there are any hidden connections to the rest of the body? I really do not want to damage the paint. I doubt if it could be matched. Next, I saw a brief U Tube video of cleaning an A's tank. The owner strapped the tank between his garage door frame rails, put nuts and bolts in the sealed tank and shook it. Starting with TSP then on to muriatic acid. Hopefully someone has a better method to clean out rust and scale while leaving the paint intact. When cleaned I will seal it with a commercial tank sealer. Thanks in advance for any help.
It pretty much just unbolts and you lift it straight out. Don't remember how many but at least a dozen or so. As far as sealing it I would not recommend it. If it's not leaking than just get it cleaned and go from there. With that said the cleaning will remove the paint and I suspect that is why you want to seal it. If you don't boil out the tank and get it squeaky clean your favorite sealer is going to fail and make drive ability even worse. Not sure why you think you can't match the paint. Computer scans have really changed all that. Nice looking little roadster.
Just removed mine last weekend. I have a 31 coupe so I don't how different it is but here are some pics Remove the screws on the top of the firewall. There are clamps up under the cowl that hold the tank in place too. Then there's a small molding in front of the windshield which has to come out. Then the whole cowl lifts out. The clamps The molding Lifts out Again this is a 31 coupe so I don't know how different yours is. Just to give you an idea of what the inside looks like: There are baffles to clean too !
Thanks for the advise on my tank. I am concerned with dipping the tank and then needing to match the paint. Hence the shake rattle and roll query.
I'm just going to post this in the interests of general information. After driving my fresh deuce roadster for some months back in the start of 1999, some bad running led me to finding fine brown powder in the fuel filter which led me to the tank. A 'new' Tanks tank. Regular steel. So I pulled it and with the aid of a light could see patches of rusted surfaces inside. Mind you, I could only see as much as the filler hole allows. I doubt there where big flaky chunks. I got one of the POR tank sealer kits and went through the process with the cleaner, the acid wash thorough drying then the silver sealer paint (not the rubberized stuff.) It's now mid 2016 and all is still good. That is my report, for what it is worth.
The 30-31 tanks come out easy, 28-29 take a bit more effort. Note the welting! Was your car pained with the welting installed or was the tank installed after the body was painted. The welting install is a royal pain, and if you really care about how it looks plan on a full day of working it. There is good & bad/cheap crap and good stuff. Did you install one of the standpipe type screens in the tank? Cleaning a painted tank without damage to the paint is a tough job, I wish you the best of luck. Bob
The tank was painted in the car back in the '70's and I have not had reason until now to remove it. Although I must admit I cannot see welting anywhere at the tank to body seam line. No idea what filters are in the tank. I have always run with in line filter though. Too many carb rebuilds to keep fighting rust! Finding a freshly rebuilt carb with the choke mechanism intact (converted from hot water to electric though) is what got me motivate to work on the rusty tank! Who carries good welting?
Prep and etch, found at your local home depot.. buy a gallon.. pour it into the tank.. shake it well.. let it soak at all different angles.. and flush it out. We did this to my 31 tank, and my dad's 29 tank.. works stellar.. doesn't affect paint.. Sent from my SM-G920V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
The welting goes up the A pillar, over the top and down the other side, nothing on the side seam or firewall, some friction tape there is all Ford used to seal things. Roy Nacewitz carries the good welting, check out his website. Bob
The nuts inside and shaking works, actually one of the more resourceful fellas on here strapped his tank to the rear wheel on a tractor that had been lifted off the ground and let it rotate for a while. There is a tipping point, you want to use something small enough to get into the corners and big enough to not land in the fuel cock. I would not worry about sealing it, I would check for leaks and if you have some silver solder them, the heat from a soldering iron won't set it off. people have been soldering leaks for ages. If you keep fuel in it, it won't rust.
In the past I have used a piece of chain in the tank with MEK to help break loose rust doing the shake thing. I have had good luck with a gas tank sealer called RedKoat. I always followed the instructions and always have had good results. I have had one talk sealed with it for over 10 years with no issues. Even with ethanol fuels.
LOLI was having problems with rust in a tank on a gravity feed system that I got. I had the tanks off and stuck a pair of needle nosed pliers in there and grabbed something. I ended up pulling the tank lining 9 sealer) out and cleaning the hell out of the tanks and haven't had a problem since. A catalog speed shop that I deal with sells a tank sealer that comes with its own cleaning solvent that you have to use first then you put the sealer in and rotate the tank until it is coated. The tank needs to be clean first before you use the supplied solvent. The stuff really works, we used it on a tank back in the '90s that was a leaker and it is still holding. But we followed the instructions like our life depended on it. I think that tank sealer actually working depends on cleanliness. I am pretty sure that the sealer using in the tanks that I first mentioned was put into dirty tanks, once moisture could get between the sealer and the tank it was a done deal. Rust city.
I think cleanliness is the key to getting any tank sealer to work. I don't use any if there aren't any leaks. The one I have had the worst luck is the Kreme 2 part product. Used it on several bike tanks exactly per instructions and it always peels off and clogs up fuel filters and carbs. Just talking from personal experience is all.
I don't know what was in my tanks but it came out like a rubber bladder. I got an idea that a previous owner bought tanks that were rusty-ish and used to seal them up. All it took was a good cleaning to get rid of the rust. LOL People think that tank seal is a cure all, something that I find amusing. We as rodders in general seem to always be looking for a quick fix. I think that we have all been guilty of it at one time or another.
I would take the tank to a painter who is good at spot repairs and have him shoot some test panels and compare to your tank color. When he had the color down perfect, I would take the tank to the local radiator shop and have it boiled out. I would then decide wither to coat the inside of the tank or use it as is. Last step is to paint tank and reinstall.
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