Model A gas tank cleaning

D

Daddysearly30pickup

Member
Hello,

Looking for recommendations to clean out gas tank. I can see lots of flakes of stuff inside. Has not had gas since 1968 and I'm sure moisture has taken a toll.

I've thoughts about building a cradle to support the tank horizontally, putting in rocks, old bolts, pieces of chain, etc. and shaking it back and forth to see what comes out. I'm sure there are other thoughts. (one friend of mine said he put a gas tank in an old tractor tire, added rocks, etc. and let his kids roll it all over the yard. By the time they were tired the tank was clean!) I'm past that point as my two kids are out of the house and my wife isn't too keen on the idea of helping to roll it. So all (well maybe most) advice will be appreciated.

As for coating, I've read many posts and see that the Hirsch products are the predominant recommendation. Would appreciate hearing from those using this with success.

Thank you
 
I have a local radiator shop who will clean and repair, and reseal inside for pretty resonable price. Have you checked around?
 
There are dividers inside the tank. Rocks and such will not clean the correctly. It should be disassembled and completely cleaned out.
 
The problem with cleaning the tank is getting on the other side
of the baffles.


Bob
 

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I am sure it is a liability issue, but wouldn't it be nice if someone made an exact copy dimensionally out of stainless steel.
 
I'm not a 100% sure but I think that the baffles have enough of a gap to allow BB's to pass around them.
Strap it onto the opening of a portable cement mixer, throw a bunch of BB's in there and let it go for a few hours. Adding some water, diesel or kerosene would be a plus. With the cement mixer you can adjust the angle of rotation easily to cover different areas of the tank. I did the same thing to the gas tank of my 48 Chrysler. No baffles in it so I used 3/8" nuts and it worked spectacularly. If you don't have or know someone that has one they can be rented for a reasonable amount.
Getting the BB's out will be the biggest challenge. A magnet placed inside should get most of them. A few left inside probably wouldn't be an issue.
 
The caustic tank in the radiator shop should clean baffles and all. When the price of good originals gets high enough some one will make them I bet. I saw a u tuber who suspended his tank by ratchet straps between the garage door tracks with cleaner in it and rotated it round one way , then another.
 
I took mine off the car and used rust removers, and then washed it with the pressure washer.
 
If you are anywhere near a redi strip you might contact them. I have taken engine blocks, sheet metal, rusted solid 1 cyl gas engine carbs. Was always amazed with the results. I used them for a later model gas tank that had calif emission and not available, it came back like new also. Myself I'm getting to old for the drive to drop off and return trip.
 
Brent in Tn was a savant on gas tanks wasn't he? I think he said he had a setup to completely redo a gas tank but wanted to stop doing it. He was willing to to let someone on here have it if they were interested. Never did get back to me on that so no idea if he's still doing it.
 
If I remember right, you wanted to get this truck up and running as quick as possible. I wouldn't pull the tank in that case. If there really hasn't been any gas in it for 50+ years I would vacuum out any loose stuff you can see and then get a gallon of Rust911, one gallon of concentrate makes 16. Then fill the tank right to the filler neck. Wait a few days, drain, flush, install a pencil filter in the valve and you should be off to the races.


I also would not seal the tank. Too many bad stories. If you keep the tank full of gas there won't be much new rust created and what does form will be kept in the tank by the pencil filter.
 
Don't end up like me in someone's front yard broke down because you ignored a rusty fuel tank issue. Yea that's me draining my tank in what is now a friend's yard trying to get the car back on the road. I got it cleaned enough I was able to drive the car back home. I used the Eastwood kit : https://www.eastwood.com/por-15-fuel-tank-repair-kit.html. I have had good luck with it. You can see the before and after pictures of my tank. I did all those other recipes of using vinegar, marbles, and any other home remedies to fix the issue with no resolve. I used the kit and have been back on the road worry free since. The last picture is the sealer.
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OMG! Don't waste your time and money on any of these fixes! There is only one way to do it right. Use a cut off wheel and cut the tank along the seam. Have it sand blasted then have a good welder put it back together. Then use a good tank sealer like Por-15.
I know this from many tractor tank cleanings.
 
If you are going to paint, find a place that does acid stripping and have it cleaned then seal. We have a place between Portland and Salem Oregon that tin plates the tank after cleaning. Only problem is the outside gets tinned too, but with some work it will clean up and be printable. The can ship.
 
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