Gas Tanks

[RalphG]

I was fortunate to have a gas tank donated to me by a fellow flathead enthusiast. He had removed it from his 53 Meteor as it was causing fuel blockages with sediment from the tank. Externally the tank looks very good though. One catch, it is 3 inches shorter than the rusted hulk that was in my 52 Mercury. Strap mounting grooves line up as does the filler neck.
I've heard of Por 15 having a product to coat the inside of an old tank to make it like new. Anybody used it and have good reviews?

 

[flatheadmurre]

Any of the coatings need the tank to be clean if they should stick...so the real challenge is to clean it.
My aproach is ethanol fuel first to dissolve leftovers.
Then the hot tank with caustic cleaning.
When i can´t get more crud out that way evaporust.
After that it may be like a sieve...and the tanksealers don´t like holes...
Buying a new tank sometimes is a bargain...
POR15 products usually work on rust if it´s not loose...so must be fairly clean even with that type of paint/sealer

 

[supereal]

The best replacement tanks are plastic. I installed one in my '47 convertible over twenty years ago when I found rust pin holes in the top of the tank where road dirt had collected and held moisture, and created a gas smell. Mine was less expensive than a metal tank and, when in place, no one can tell the difference. Most tank sealers either don't work or don't last, and when hot tank are boiled most old tanks reveal rust everywhere.

 

[RKS.PA]

I had really good luck with a steel tank from Dennis Carpenter for our '39 and the fit was perfect. Shipping was very reasonable. I know you're in Canada so not sure about shipping costs from here to you. Also, I know you have a much later model, but Carpenter does a business in later model Ford and Mercury as well.

Dick.

 

[19Fordy]

Ralph: Buy one of those flexible high intensity lights and stick it in the tank so you can see what the inside looks like with a mirror. If its clean, use it.

 

[rotorwrench]

Most of the tank coating processes include or recommend the acid cleaner and a dry alcohol to absorb the moisture left over after the cleaning & rinsing process. They have to be coated as soon at the alcohol comes out or it will start to corrode again. The process takes a while but if properly done, it last a long time. If a tank has a coating of shellac or heavy varnish deposits then Drano crystals mixed for a soak or any caustic soda bath would be in order to get all that out first. At least this way a person can do the job in as little a time period as possible. There are other ways but they take longer.

With all this, a new tank is tempting but most all the steel ones have a late style sender bung and the OEM won't work with it without modification. I've never used a plastic one so I don't know much about them.

 

[19Fordy]

rotorwrench makes a good point about the sending unit. Plus many plastic tanks don't have the same gravity feed fitting and must meet roll over safety standards. At least this is what i found when buying a 40 Ford tank from TANKS.

 

[flatford8]

I got a replacement tank from “ Tanks” for a ‘50 Fordor and my only complaint was no drain on the bottom. Great fit. I did need the newer sending unit. I have no experience with the plastic tanks either....Mark

 

[RalphG]

Sending unit is missing from this Meteor tank. Mine that was in the Merc is still rusted into the old original and I doubt it will come out in useable condition. I guess I could just do a test fit on this tank and see if I can shim it up enough so the straps will hold it in place as it is 3 inches shorter than the original.

 

[rotorwrench]

Make some wood filler blocks or something similar to fill the void on the straps. You certainly won't want it moving around down there.

 

[19Fordy]

For those who need to know, you can add a drain on a TANKS plastic tank.
Nylon plug with pipe threads. Used battery powered drill wrapped in cloth on an empty tank. Or you can drain the tank and add water which settles to the bottom. Then drill hole and tap just a little bit at a time so tapered threads will "bite". Didn't go BOOM. No leaks.

 

[RalphG]

Make some wood filler blocks or something similar to fill the void on the straps. You certainly won't want it moving around down there.

Sounds like an option for me. I was just a little surprised that Meteor and Mercury took different length gas tanks. Not sure if the Merc is longer wheelbase than the Meteor/Ford of the same year.

 

[rotorwrench]

The Ford & Mercury bodies were very similar in those years. Meteor cars were basically a Ford platform with different style & quality level of trim components. The Mercury cars likely just had more fuel capacity than the Ford types. The part numbers in the books indicate that the Ford cars had 16.6 gallon capacity and the Mercury had 19 gallons. There were a lot of variations of the tank vent designs on the Fords and some variation with the type of fuel cap that was used. The Mercury cars used one variation for 1952 and one for 1953. Fords had 4 different variations in the two years.

I noticed that Tanks Inc. doesn't list a replacement for these years so a person may just have to make do with what they can scrounge up.

 

[RalphG]

Yes, notice different venting between the Merc and Meteor tanks. The name Tanks Inc was on the box that the new 53 Meteor tank came in.
I'm getting along ok with the 6 gallon plastic marine tank in the trunk of the 52 but I thought since I got the fairly good looking, used Meteor tank for free I might try to make it work.
And if I ever get that 53 running it is going to need a different gas tank too. There is a horrendous big dent in the bottom of the tank. Hard to believe but the dent goes right through and bulged up the trunk floor. Chances are that tank leaks. :-(

 

[B-O-B]

On my 34 roadster the tank had a mouse nest or two. I purchased the tank repair/sealer kit from Eastwood. This was 3 years ago & everything is working just fine with the car setting for 6 months at a time. the kit includes everything you need to clean & seal a gas tank. I do use sta-bil & MMO in my fuel.

 

[RalphG]

I purchased the tank repair/sealer kit from Eastwood. This was 3 years ago & everything is working just fine with the car setting for 6 months at a time. the kit includes everything you need to clean & seal a gas tank. I do use sta-bil & MMO in my fuel.

Thats good to hear that it worked and lasted for you. This one likely needs cleaning as I have not looked inside it yet. The outside looks very good compared to my old one which had holes top and bottom.

 

[4t8v8]

I bought a POR-15 tank sealing kit 30 years ago for mine. It included the acid to clean the tank and a neutralizer-prep treatment. 30 years and still working great. No problem with ethanol. I've also used it in a couple of Harley tanks with excellent results.

 

[apba12m]

I used POR on my 52 chevy pickup and that was more than 5 years ago. as with any thing the prep is very important take your time. I used phos acid and a hand full of 1/4" nuts and kept shaking and turning for days until all rust was gone..

 

[TJ]

Thats good to hear that it worked and lasted for you. This one likely needs cleaning as I have not looked inside it yet. The outside looks very good compared to my old one which had holes top and bottom.

The one in my '54 Merc looked good too, until I put compressed air to it. I put soapy water in the grooves and on top and little pin holes appeared everywhere. Test it before you spend any money on it. In these 50's cars I have found that the top of the tank is usually worse than the bottom.

 

[GB SISSON]

I just installed an original KS sender in my tanks inc poly tank. This tank had three choices of mounting locations for the fill pipe moilded in. The filler pipe is a bolt on flange with the same bolt circle as the KS sender, but indexed differently. Just had to do a little ovaling to some of the holes with a chainsaw file. Works way better than the aftermarket sender tanks inc sold me for 'old fords'.