Adam Arabian wrote:
>
> Time to stop lurking - I've got a Problem (yes, capital P)
>
> I purchased a '52 TD and have been slowly working on the restoration.
> I've pretty much finished disassembly, and am looking at beginning to
> actually 'fix' things. The vehicle was vandalized back in 1965, and has
> pretty much sat ever since. Unfortunately, part of the damage that was
> done was to perforate the fuel tank, which was never taken care of. The
> result being that the inside of the tank appears to have pretty
> substantial surface rust. My question is this: I can cut the back off
> the tank, sandblast it out, and reweld it. No biggie (I think...The
> steel appears to be thick enough to not lose integrity by this process,
> but if someone has an opinion on this, I'm all ears...) BUT I presume I
> still need to seal the interior surface of the tank. Do standard
> primers (epoxy, etc.) hold up to gas long term? Is there something else
> I can use? Is it even an issue since ideally water shouldn't be in
> tehre anyway? Or am I looking at a replacement type issue?
My advice: Don't cut the tank: Here's my method:
First fix the puncture(s); Don't weld on the tank unless you have
experience doing this: a quarter-thimble-full of petrol trapped in the
tank somewhere could very well end your life or injure you seriously.
There's a special technique to welding on fuel-tanks.
After the punctures are fixed:
Get a bunch of ball-bearings, big ones, little ones, nothing under 1/4"
diameter. Put them in the tank and duct-tape the openings closed. Either
shake the piss out of the tank or (much better) put the tank on a
mattress in the back of an old pickup truck and thrash up and down a
washboard gravel road for 10 or 15 minutes, turn the tank over and
repeat.
Dump out the bearings (get them all) and wash out the tank with soapy
water. Get all the rust and loose crap out. Seal the tank again except
for one opening. Fill the tank with a half-and-hald water and muriatic
acid mix (muiatic acid is basically diluted hydrochloric acid; you can
get it from a swimming pool supply) and leave it for about 15 to 30
minutes, drain well and rinse well with water. If you want you can
repeat the entire operation one more time (bearings and all).
Dry the tank thoroughly by uncovering all openings and leaving in the
sun or in a warm, dry place.
Obtain proper gasoline tank sealer from your local aircraft supply
house; if there's any chance you might ever use petrol with alcohol
mixed in (common in many states in the US) make sure you specify the
alcohol-proof sealer. Seal the tank again and pour in the sealer, then
turn the tank all around and over, thoroughly coating the inside of the
tank. Follow the directions on your cans of sealer; they are all
slightly different.
Then open one of the coverings and pour off the excess sealer, set the
tank aside in a warm, dry place to dry and cure.
I did this with the horribly rusty tank out of a VW transporter some 19
years ago and it never ever gave fuel-feed problems again the entire 9
years I drove it.
-Rock
--
Rocky, JJ Cale Band & Pratchett Books: http://www.rocky-frisco.com
Rocky's Mini Cooper Page: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/6437/
Mini Books: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/6437/rockboox.html
|