Gas Tank Sealer

somatdad

Junior Member
I am working on a 55 Ford Country Sedan Wagon and have taken the gas tank off. My question is has anyone done the gas tank sealing process on one of these gas tanks. I searched the forum and found one comment that said to be sure to blow compressed air through the fuel line into the tank to keep the intake pick up clear of sealant.

This was my concern because as I shine my flashlight in the tank I see the fuel line connected to a round flat pick up screen. It is about 1/8 to 3/16 off the bottom of the tank but I want to make sure that it does not get clogged up any more than it is.

Any words of wisdom from someone that has rejuvenated these tanks in the past would be great.

Thanks.
Jim
 
I never messed with a wagon tank. On the sedan tank, when you remove the sender you can see the bottom very well. If yours is clean, run it. If its more than a little rusty, I would buy a new tank. The outlet fitting is a restriction. If you plan to race the car, you need a larger fitting.
 
Don: the trouble is that tanks are not available for wagons. I sliced mine in half sandblasted the upper half and welded on a custom made bottom half, Would not belive what it looked like inside, and it had gone to the radiator shop 2 times for a cleaning. I did all this to graft in a donor tank with electric pump and it came out really clean and bolted back up to the same spot Gerry
 
Not planning on racing it so that's not an issue.

I may just end up cleaning it some more and being done with it if that's the case. Cutting it in half right now is a little extreme as I am on a time crunch to get the car running and back home by the end of the month. I just hate taking something apart and not fixing it up as well as I could.

Thanks for your input. Maybe someone else will chime in later with another thought.
 
I installed a EFI motor and wanted a Ford pump in the tank, that is why I went that route. I did see a tank where the guy cut a large hole in the bottom and when I asked he said in Australia they coulden't get replacement as easy as we can and that is how he got it clean inside. After having mine cleaned at a local radiator shop then having to cut it open and got a chance to see how clean it was ( or wasn't) I could understand cuting a large enough hole to look and see inside. Gerry
 
Take the disassembled tank to a radiator shop or a machine shop that still has the old chemical tank and get it clearned. Throw in a hand full of broken gravel, soap and water, seal and shake really hard and long (until your arms feel like they will fall off), get all the gravel out, rinse real well and then steal your wife's hair dryer and get it really dry. Put in a pint of phosphoric acid, seal it up real good, slosh it around, rest, slosh some more, rest, slosh some more, do this for about an hour, rinse with lots of water, dry with the wife's hair dryer, re-assemble and you should be good.
 
Thanks for the good ideas, except for the wife's hair dryer part. :) I'll be at the machine shop tomorrow on another errand and will check on the dip tank then.
 
One procedure I got from my restorer buddy was to hang the tank so you can spin it in all directions, then hang it from the other end and repeat.

They use Red Cote, the new version that is ethanol safe.

They do a lot of high end cars where getting a new tank is not an option.
 
have the tank boiled out at the radiator shop my local guy uses a chain inside the tank to get it nice and clean then he seals it,,,,look out for ethanol gasoline!!
 
No holes in the tank thank goodness and I have some Ospho on the shelf for my phosphoric acid. Will finish cleaning it out this weekend and stick it back in. I wish I wasn't under a time crunch otherwise I'd take more time be more detailed, but got to get er running by the end of the month. I like the chain idea. Thanks for all the ideas.
 
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