VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 new gas tank choices

Tired of filtering out old sealant crud coming out of my gas tank, I think it's high time to replace it. Its been boiled and cleaned but it still keeps coming. I see a few dealers, mostly hot rod, but also the FS, selling a 15 gal capacity one that fits under the '32 stock frame. It's just 2.5" deeper than the original 11 gal tank. FS has the original size, w/o the filler neck, and considerably more expensive.
Can anyone recommend a supplier and perhaps willing to share their experience with the larger tank size ? I'm of the "'original as practical" camp and afeared of being called a "rodder". Don't want a big tank sticking out there. Thank you.

you made me laugh.. ...replacing the stock tank for one that's slightly larger, you think makes you a possible street rodder..........the hilarity is boundless. I am on the floor typing this with my feet.

At the parades/shows you may get people pointing the finger at you..not saying which one..and shouting he's a rodder, he put in a brand new tank that's slightly larger, oh the humanity , the wild embarrassment.

If you don't want to have to endure the endless finger pointing, suggest you step up to the plate , suck it up and buy the "CONSIDERABLY MORE $$ " stock type.


mike lynch "the real & original madmike3434"

NOTE..........if you take your original and put shards of broken glass or sharp edge stones into the tank and roll the tank around and around and around ........you will break off a lot of the rust particules. The get it cleaned again and have GAS TANK SEALER installed..........end of problem.

contact bill hirsh I put the stuff in my tank in early 70's and its still there and working sealing.

Well , I'm glad to bring a smile to your face. However, I've heard that chasing a few improvements here and there can put one on a slippery slope, spiraling down into the abyss of modified and rat rods from which no escape is possible. The horror of it all…..unspeakable.
Reading the recent general discussions forum over the '33 on the G & D cover made me a little paranoid too.
Think I'll keep the tank choice private….have the seller sign a non-disclosure agreement. Ha. That's it ! If asked, respond like a politician, deny, deny.

AH, the Bill Clinton defense, excellent choice .



If anybody was to confuse your car with a rat rod or street rod , I would immediately demand an I Q test and given a free airline ticket to appear on the Jerry Springer show

mike

If it does not leak then it should be able to be cleaned and not need sealer. Find a shop that will boil it out in a heated aerated tank. There are shops that do reconditioning but I am not aware of the pricing. My 32 tank was so filthy that I could only go about 5-6 miles and would have to change the filter. I was fortunate that I worked in a shop that had a heated and aerated cleaning tank and after a day in the cleaner it came out quite clean though I still use a clear cleanable filter.

what I kinda glossed over in the original post reply was that the existing tank has a sealer coating to it and that is where the debris is coming from.

You need to do like steve says and find a tank cleaner that uses that solution and ask if it will remove the sealer that's applied inside ??? That would be my first move.

mike

I brought it to a local truck repair shop over a year ago to have it cleaned but I don't recall exactly what they did. Soaked in an acid solution then steam cleaned or something. Either way, it's still sloughing off debris & very obvious to see in the clear filter I installed at the tank end.
Since the car's laid up now with salty roads & frigid weather, makes sense to remove it and try to find a suitable shop that can guarantee it.
If not, then I'll go tank shopping.
Appreciate the help !

I have a TANKS repo steel gas tank 10 gallon for my 35 roadster.

I already went thru the boil it out stock original one , shake it with stones and then coat inside. Before that the rad shop sealed the openings and we pressurized the tank 120 pounds to get a large dent out of it while heating with torch. Worked.

Some time this spring I will take it to the powder coater and have it done. You have the CHOICE OF FLAT BLACK, SATIN BLACK OR GLOSS BLACK finish. I figure I have about $350 in it. The repo one holds more fuel and is perfectly clean so why fool around.

mike lynch

My tank was soaked for a week in an acid bath and when installed later it was still full of "clean bleached crud". After a 24 hour bath in an aerated (important) caustic tank and then steam cleaned the insides were clean shiny metal. Wherever you decide to take it have them explain the process and ask about a guarantee. If you don't get a satisfactory answer then keep looking.

Not having muck luck finding a local shop with that set-up except possibly the rad shop where they hand rodded out my radiator. I'll keep looking. Found a promising tank restoration shop in PA tank cleaning/resto shop link .

If the cleaning/repair cost is less or close to the aftermarket larger tank, that's what I'll consider but a quick peek under car shows I'd have to re-bend the tailpipe to make it fit.

Make a new gas tank! Here's a good article about it: How to build a gas tank article

Cheers, Dean

A while back I looked into replacing the original tank for 1931 - there are custom metal fabricating companies that can replicate your original gas tank - and add baffles in all in stainless steel if you preferred.

I went with refurbishing original. Took six weeks to clean all the "sludge" out, had 30 year old sealant that failed. Then soda blasted inside. Then used a quality tank sealer. Also, after cleaning found some pinholes, and sealed with small patches of Fiberglas cloth soaked in POR-15. Turned out great.

DO NOT WELD, OR TORCH CUT THE TANK AS THERE IS A CHANCE OF EXPLOSION EVEN WHEN NO GAS LIQUID IS PRESENT. THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE POR-15 REPAIRS.

example not an endorsement: http://www.tanksinc.com/

Steel fabrication is way above my skill level. Getting an estimate from a fab shop is a good option though. I'm also dealing with a 30 + year old failed sealer. I'm thinking if a tank really needs a sealer, forget it. Ethanol will degrade it, eventually. Just replace or pay to fab a new tank if the old one can't be professionally cleaned, especially along the baffle sides. Good luck with yours ! Thanks Jmm

I’ve found in a few cars I’ve worked on, including mine, PO’s have put sealer in even though the tanks are in great condition. I imagine most of them did it as a preventative measure especially as that stuff was lauded as the fix all-be all when it first came out. Now we all know better. My Olds tank was made out of thin gauge steel and had some pin holes. It when to the radiator shop to get soldered up and pressure tested. Good to go now. Crazy thing was there wasn’t much rust on the inside at all but a few areas had pin holes.

You mentioned radiator shop so I called the one here in Ct that hand rodded mine. (They've been around for over 100 years.) Sure enough, they'll take my gas tank, cut it open, soda blast the whole thing, put it back together, pressure test, all guaranteed for $245.00. Been doing it for years successfully. With new oversize repro tanks costing over $300 + shipping, it sounds like a solution. Figuring what I spent on the engine rebuild, it's an easy call.

Absolutely!

Final update. Got my old crusty tank back from radiator shop. They cut both ends off, blasted the interior with Black Beauty abrasive, and welded the ends back on, pressure tested fine and No pin holes. After a quick paint job and new sending unit, I reinstalled, filled with 10 gal of gas, some stabilizer and MMO. No leaks, no explosions, no problems. Gauge even works.

Price was very reasonable at $240.00 It's a tiny 2 man shop in Meridan, CT, been in business for over a 100 years. Began as a wagon wheelwright maker, the last 40 or so specializing in restoring antique radiators and gas tanks. Sadly it won't be around in a year or 2. Owners retiring.

This seems to be a common scenario these days. The old small shops are getting harder to find. I'm sure you veteran collector guys see this all the time. Not a good situation. They sure helped me out.

For all of the work that they did on your gas tank, the price that you paid is an excellent deal! Finding someone to work on gas tanks is getting more difficult each year.

Sorry to hear that the historical shop is retiring after being in business over 100 years.

Its the way it all going. No one even has a close understanding of mechanics anymore. If they can't plug it in to help determine the issue, most are lost and finding those who know about plugging in a new car are far and few also. Soon, everyone will be living in virtual reality rather than just plain old reality. As it is, people don't have face to face conversations, they talk through their phone or their word for it is "device". Soon even personal contact between two people will go away and that sort of thing will be like that movie with Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock where they put on goggle head sets to fool around. The world is going in the dumper. Charlie, I might need to bring my tank down to that guy so he can fix a few pin holes. My guy has had some big family issues and hasn't touched my Olds tank in about 6 months. He keeps apologizing but he's having a hard time dealing with those issues. Lost a son, a grandson, and his mother I believe all in about a 3 month span. He's kind of hurting right now and a little lost.

Your assessment is dead on. This hobby keep me and probably many others sane. I'll call the rad shop first to make sure he can fix your tank's issues. Let me know.

Meanwhile, don't you mean "dumpster" ? Not dumper. Let's be technically correct here, please !

Actually I am guessing he was referring to the "'crapper".

As Ed McMann would say; “You are correct sir!”