Model A Gas tank cleaning?

Just curious besides taking and getting a tank boiled, sand blasted, or acid dipped, What is another method to cleaning out or making sure a Model A tank is clean on the inside.

 

Well, you can cut it out and use a trunk mounted tank. Then you'll know if it had rust in it or not.

 

Yep...that'll work.

 

POR-15 has some good tank restoration products if you're going to do it at home. www.por15.com Personally though, I would suggest taking it to your local radiator shop and let them do it. It is a guaranteed job and is a ton less work! Shouldn't cost too much either. I'm thinking in the $75 to $90 range maybe. I've sealed motorcycle tanks myself and I've used the radiator shops. If you have a real clean tank inside you could get the POR-15 kit. If you know it's real rusty (flash light and a little 1" peep mirror) then take it to the radiator shop. Just my $2/100...

 

A friend who restored a sedan took out the guage and put in a bunch of washed gravel. Then he stuck it in a cement mixer with padding around it and rolled it for a while. Then he switched ends and did it some more. Then, after dumping the gravel, a two man job, he rinsed it and coated the inside. Hasn't had a problem. Some of those linings aren't compatible with ethanol yet, so watch for that.

 

Common now Brian, that is what everyone else would Do. But thats what it will probably end up like. Just wanted to try something different on this one.

 

Mol***as trick. I put mine in about 2 weeks, came out like brand new.

 

WHOA! Expand on that trick! What's the details???

 

Don't do the "rattle rocks inside" thing. That doesn't CLEAN a tank out.

Radiator shop doesn't clean a tank out either.


Take the tank to "metal rehab" in Arlington. They chemically dip the tank. It takes about 3 days, and cost me $100 for the tank. The tank came back looking like a shiny quarter inside and out. Seal it with the tank sealer, paint it and go.

You Dirtys build quality stuff. You'll be happy it was done right the first time.

http://www.metalrehab.com

 

I used this kit from Eastwood. It did a nice job.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=382&itemType=PRODUCT

 

I have clean a couple of tanks out by pouring C.L.R. in them and putting a length of chain it to knock the scale off.I let it set for awhile and shook it around periodically then rinsed it a couple of times with fresh gas.

 

Do a search! Mol***as + water= no rust. Cheap, easy, effective in the hotrod way.

 

Don't forget that big-*** baffle inside. If you don't get that cleaned and
coated on all sides you might as well not do it at all.

 

we take ours to the stripper and he dips them then we bring it home and use the sealer that snyders sells.

 

[Thanks everyone for the help. I took it to the local radiator man that cleans tanks and he said it definatly needs to be dipped. I may have to check into this metal rehab in Arlington, I have heard lots of good stuff about them. Or I may have to be like evryone else and run a spun (moon type) tank in the back. We will see. 100.00 for anew tank or 100.00 for something I aint sure of. What are the problems with running a stock A tank? I have heard of leaks, etc. Thanks again everyone.

 

Rusty-- my Dad restored Model A's back to factory original years ago. I remember them from when I was a wee lad, and the one thing I remember best was how they ALWAYS smelled like gas... almost to the point where you could hardly breathe unless the windows were down (not as much an issue on your roadster). Those didn't even leak... just seeped enough to make it smell.

Take a look at this thread. Might give you some ideas. With your skills, I know you could fab up a tank yourself instead of scouring the swaps and ePay for the moon deal... and come out cheaper... probably even cheaper than taking your stock tank to get it dipped.

 

Mix up 3 gallons of blackstrap moll***es and 10 gallons of water and fill tank. let set for 10 days to 2 weeks max, Reach in thru filler cap and stir around occasionally (as in every second day). This will clean of any rust inside the tank. Be very sure to rinse well afterwards---sugar in the mollases will easily dissolve in water, but if any is left in the tank it will kill your motor.

 

Running a gravity feed tank with a down draft carburetor is a hazard Henry Ford wouldn't even do in '32.
One leaky pet****, or forgetting to close itjust one time plus a leaky needle and seat in the carb and your 10 gallons of gas ends up in the engine crankcase by morning.

 

Don't use the stock one, trust me on this.

 

Dirty - There is a thread in the Tech Archive you might want to check out.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10461

Rust removal as a electrolysis dip. I have ot tried this myself but it is a cheaper way of doing things. Battery charger and baking soda. I have a model a tank I was thinking about trying this on.
As far as metal rehab they do good work. My buddy had his long bed dipped and was very pleased with the work and the price. I called them last week and they are only going to charge me 200 bucks for my "T".

 

Electrolisis is a "line of sight" kind of process. It seems that the anode needs to be in view of the rusty piece. if you were de-rusting a flat piece of metal, you would have to turn the metal over to do both sides if you had one anode in the bucket.


So, therefore, what I'm saying is that if you just threw a gas tank in a bucket, it wouldn't clean the inside and all the baffles