1972corvette454

I own a 72 Corvette 454 Number matching car.
I removed the Gas tank lid door and rubber boot. I was able to see on the top of the gas tank (Passenger side) is a tank sticker, very dirty of course.
Do I have to remove the gas tank? I think so? Is it worth the trouble in removing the gas tank to access the tank sticker? Is it a gig job now in removing the gas tank? Suggestions please and thanks.
Vic
vadelsohn@cogeco.ca

Larry B.

Removing the tank is fairly easy, just a little messy. The real problem is getting the sticker off/or even reading the info with out destroying it. It is your most valuble document and is worth the effort if you plan on restoring or reselling the car. If you are going to modify the car then don't worry about it.

Cali,68,L-79

Mine's still up there. Basic rule of thumb. If it ain't broke don't fix it
I'll retrieve that paper when I have to fix the tank or remove it for some reason. Other than that it's been there for 37 years and it will be there tommorow. Your luck you'll go through all that work just to find an unreadible paper and tons of frame rust. I say leave it unless your losing sleep over it. My .02

PRNDL

If I knew I had a tank sticker on the tank I would lose sleep until I got it out and had a look. Might even be tempted to make a copy and put that back on the tank but I would carefully remove whatever is there and have a look. But that's just me. Apparently it is a personal preference type thing!

mstanton

I removed the sticker from my 70 without dropping the tank and without damaging the sheet. If you remove the boot from around the filler neck there is a good bit of room. My tank sticker just had one big glob of glue in the middle and I was able to free it with a long screw driver and pull it out by hand. Be careful though. The sheet will probably be very fragile. If you can't get it out that way I'd drop the tank. Good luck.

pra4sun

I basically did the same thing as mstanton, and it was well worth it. There's nothing like knowing how original your car is, and what came with it.

I used a spatula to free it up (one glob, same as above), then grabbed it with a pair of tongs. It was very fragile, but I got it out with only a small piece being torn off, which I retrieved without a problem.

Chris@VetteFinders

Oh man, I would not attempt removing it without dropping the tank. You run a very high risk of ripping the thing to shreds!

Avette4me

JB

There's actually some debate among the NCRS guys about whether you should ever remove them at all. Once the sticker is removed, there's no way to prove it ever actually belonged to your particular car & isn't just something you picked up on ebay.

JB

PRNDL

I wasn't aware of that debate!! Pretty funny tho... somewhat existentialist, isn't it? Is it better to have a tank sticker where noone can see it, or to have it out where one may question it's reality??? Good point tho, if people are using the tank sticker to document their car... Obvious solution is to invite 5 expert witnesses and a notary public to the tank sticker removal party, then videotape the entire affair, and send notarized copies of the tape to the Library of Congress!

Cali,68,L-79

This is out of control!

Chuck Gongloff

You're taking a real chance of destroying the sticker trying to pull it out. I would definitely drop the gas tank. Chuck

VTHokie77Vette

I just removed mine the other day without a problem and without dropping the tank. I just got under the car stuck my hand up there and very carefully pulled it off. Unfortunately for me, nothing on it can really be made out. It just looks like a dirty piece of paper.

SharkAttack

My sticker was already removed when I purchased the 72, but I would not hesitate one bit to drop the tank if I knew the the sticker was on top of the tank. It's a highly valued piece of documentation, so don't take risks with damaging it (already being a number of years old and fragile).

Todbo

I pulled my tank to see if it exsisted or just a nasty rumor , no sticker , 30 mins to get the tank out , 3 hrs to get the tank back in

Bob3943

I have a 78 and is there any way to see if it is there without pulling the tank? I pulled out the gas lid and boot and looked with a flash light, but didn't see anything. I just want to see if it is there.

Thanks,
Bob

Avette4me

With the spare tire holder removed, I could barely see mine from underneath at the front of the tank.

pra4sun

That could be a consideration if you are going the NCRS route. I wonder how many NCRS - certified cars actually have the sticker mounted, and do they check for it's existence when certifying?

mstanton

I don't think that NCRS checks for the sticker. Also, the stickers have a number hand written that corresponds with the last three of the VIN. I think that it would be pretty hard to fake a car with all the right options and a VIN with the same last three digits.

hunt4cleanair

Quote:

I don't think that NCRS checks for the sticker. Also, the stickers have a number hand written that corresponds with the last three of the VIN. I think that it would be pretty hard to fake a car with all the right options and a VIN with the same last three digits.

NCRS does not check the sticker in any judging event. Now having said that if an owner presents a vehicle with a configuration atypical or rare...judges will ask to see documentation and a tank sticker is a form of documentation. An example is a 1973 with YJ8s!

Tank stickers with the last three digits of the VIN, this method was known to be used on tanks before 1972 and to date, I have yet to see a tank sticker (or build sheet), with the three digits written on a build sheet. By then (post 72), they taught assembly workers to type it on the build sheet.