Gas tank question

I'm working on a '58 Ford Ranch Wagon and it's just about ready for its maiden voyage, but I can't get any gas out of the tank.

I removed the tank previously - ***uming it would be full of crud - but it was clean so I reinstalled it. I put five gallons of gas in the tank but no amount of cranking will pull any gas up to the pump (the motor runs fine if I just run a hose from the fuel pump to a gas can). I have verified that the fuel line is clear. I tried blowing air into the pickup tube, but it appears to be blocked. I tried pressurizing the tank but nothing comes out the pickup line.

Very specialized tank - I don't think I can find another one of these:


This is all I can see of the pickup tube:


The pickup tube itself is not easily removable. I thought I could drill out the rivets holding it in place, but it's somehow bonded to the tank.


I fished a wire into the pickup as far as it would go and it comes back dry.

My only idea now is to drill out the hose, construct a new pickup and mount it with some kind of bulkhead connection.

Anybody got any better ideas? Any idea how to unclog the pickup?

Any help is appreciated.

 

Is there any distention in the tank bottom? Maybe the tank pushed in and blocked the pickup. See if you can fish a wire in the filler, and loop it back out, so you're holding both ends-then pull up -gently- and see if you can pull it off the bottom. Either that, or use 150 PSI of compressed air and try and backflush it. Might have some junk clogged in there real good. Good luck!!

 

***uming that the tube is not plugged with rust, set up the tank so the tube is in a vertical position. Squirt in some acetone into the tube (lacquer thinner should work also) Let it sit for a while to see if the clog dissolves.

 

if ALL else fails , fit a new out let in the bottom maybe ........

 

If your using any rubber hose, make sure its not collapsing inside the hose and also any fittings that are not tight will **** air and not give enough of a tight line so the pump can draw fuel. Plug the line at the fuel pump and blow air through the gas filler tube and listen for air leaks. good luck

 

I had the same prob with my 40 tank. Try using a piece of spedo cable in a drill .
Workrd for me.

 

I think it's soldered also.

Can you see the end of the pickup tube? Can you run your wire all the wire through out the end? If it's blocked, the speedo cable snake idea sounds real good.

The pickup tube in my chevy II was almost completely clogged when I got it. I used lacquer thinner as a solvent to clean it out.

 

Now that I look at it, there actually is a dent right below where the pickup is. I tried your idea and pulled the pickup up a little. I don't know if that caused the problem, but thanks for the tip.

 

when i pulled mine off, i just pressure washed it reallly well, inside and out, just check the pick up where the gas line attaches, something must be clogging that