ditchdigger650

My tank looked brand new inside also, but it looked liked it leaked some years ago on the bottom, had the car apart for rear end work and junked that tank, just cause you don't want to go back there, get a new tank and piece of mind.

cor66vette

Should the exterior of the tank be covered or painted with a rust preventative? The tank I removed was coated with por-15. Opinions are appreciated. And, thanks again to all for your previous good advice.

wmf62

every tank i have seen is galvanized or electroplated, no coating
Bill

cor66vette

It took a while but the tank is changed out. The fuel lines were blown out with compressed air on two separate instances, 15 minutes each time. New (rubber) lines- at the engine compartment and at the tank. New sending unit and strainer, of course. New in-carb fuel filter.

Started it up...

... gas leaking from carb under the vac pump lever and gas pissing out the peep holes of the fuel pump ...

This should convince me to enjoy it on the road (not in the garage) a bit more often

John S 1961

Because its such a PIA to pull clean

Bad mess-fumes-chemicals, bent over, back pain, dirty cut fingers,

check for damage, seal it up and reinstall and

take care of the other 85% of the parts you have to take apart or replace.

After you have done all that then you may as well go all the way and pony up for a new tank.

Then you will never think of it again-whats that worth?

Now for my solid axle, because its easy(30 minutes) to pull the tank, I have a place to make the mess, I would sauce it up with the eastwood kit

Olustee bus

emccomas

New tank may be the best answer, but it is not the only answer.

My 56 had been sitting for 12 years, and the tank had a thin layer of surface rust on the inside and outside..

I pulled the tank, rinsed it with water to get any loose stuff out, blow dried it with compressed air.

I then put a 1/2 bucket or so of washed , clean gravel, followed by about a quart of lacquer thinner into the tank. I sealed all of the openings with duct tape and proceeded to shake rattle and roll the tank, sloshing the gravel and lacquer thinner around. Did this for about a 1/2 hour, tilting and rotating the tank to get the gravel and lacquer thinner to all parts of the inside.

I emptied the tank of the gravel and lacquer thinner, and blow dried it again. I then put another quart of lacquer thinner in as a rinse, sloshed it around, and emptied the tank.

That tank was nice and bright clean on the inside. I cleaned and painted the outside to appear galvanized.

So, I have my original tank, in great shape, for the cost of 2 quarts of lacquer thinner.

I would not have done this if the tank were badly rusted inside, or if it had any holes in it.

scopeli

called cc and they do not have the 53-55 tank. tank in my 55 sat for 30 years and had major buildup in it. the baffle settup inside the tank makes it difficult to work on and shaking small pebbles in it did very little to get rid of the buildup. boiling at a radiator shop also did no good. i purchased acetone and it took over a week of daily shaking to get the tank where i could get it coated. with the baffles in the tank i still can see small areas that are not properly coated. i would suggest buying a new tank!

scopeli

galvanization or electroplating is a coating process. steel is sent to a pickle line where the surface is prepped to be coated. it can then be hot dipped in a zinc bath or electroplated on one side or both.

JohnZ

The original tanks were stamped from terne-plated steel; the raw steel (in coil form) was run through a bath of molten lead and tin, which bonded to the steel and formed a durable coating.

scopeli

john, that is pretty impressive to know about terne-plated steel. the steel industry been using a zinc bath for quite some time. percentages of lead and tin are very similiar to the babbit i had to hand pour for the bearings of the work rolls that shaped the steel. i remember lead and tin would comprise 99% of the bars and of the remaining 1%, arsenic had the biggest percentage. protection while pouring these bearings use to be the use of abestos gloves and coats!

MarkL36

On my 63 f250, I used the por 15 gas tank restore kit, and 30 pieces of 2 inch gravel. It was a lot of work though.
If you buy a new tank you should seal the inside of it anyhow. Mark

JohnZ

There's no need to "seal" the inside of a new tank; it'll only last 30-40 years without any attention. The last thing you need is to have a "sealer" that's attacked by ethanol gas and the particles clog up the fuel system.

MarkL36

Your right Johnz, I wasnt thinking how todays gas might affect the sealer. Scratch that comment from the record. I did mine and year ago and still have a clear fuel filter, i hope it stays that way. Mark

92GTA

Maybe my flake problem isn't as bad as others, but I only get a few tiny flakes in the bottom of my glass bowl for every couple hundred miles. This is driving fast on windy mountain roads to stir stuff up too.

I was getting allot more when I first got the car and drove it that way before the engine/carb rebuild with the old incorrect fuel pump about 1,500 miles. Now with my rebuilt engine, rebuilt carb, and rebuilt correct fuel pump, I get so little I don't feel worried by it.

How much flake in how many miles would you guys consider a problem? I'm using a really good reproduction thick heavy metal filter. I have a couple NOS filters but I am saving them for judging at some point in the distant future.

ifitgoesfast

After reading this thread, think I'll buy a new tank as well. The bottom and top, as well as seams are without rust, but for some odd reason, I have some kind of weird rust looking crud built up on the upper front wall of the tank, just behind the filler cap where the gas nozzle would hit the tank. Bot sure what it is, but it's thick, bubbly, and I'm getting a new tank.

Ironcross

compressed air from your air compressor blowing into the tank with the fuel out and the line to the pump disconnected...watch out as debris will fly out the mouth of the filler in all directions

Hitch

My advice.. spend the $198.00 and buy a new tank. The headaches this will help you through will more than worth it!

David

Vette Daddy

cor66vette

Some time has passed and all is fine with the car. No more rust problems and the '66 is doing what it should be doing ... putting a smile on my face!

This is what's transpired since my OP.

The first remedy to finding your way is to admit you are lost. I learned that in hunter training many many moons ago.

The inside rust affects the running of the car, not the outside. Using and keeping only fresh gas is the way to keep the inside of the tank up to snuff. And yes, as some of you pointed out, the tanks are coated.

When I rebuilt the carb I didn't notice that the floats took on some weight (gas). After starting the car and the leak was evident I had to troubleshoot the reason for the leak. It was obvious at that point the floats were the culprits so I changed out the floats. No more flooding at the carburetor. Problem #1 solved.

After removing and disassembling the fuel pump, tears and distortion on the diaphragm were apparent presumably from rust flake contamination, hence the spewing of gas through the peep holes. I changed out the fuel pump. No more pissing gas out the peep holes. Problem #2 solved.

Some time has passed since that rust flake problem caused me such grief. I've been driving the car and enjoying it the way a classic should be enjoyed and driven- not all the time but often enough.

Thanks a lot to all who have helped me through this. That's what this hobby is all about - car nuts helping car nuts. Thanks and have a great week.