Rusty fuel tank.
- Thread starter jdp8402
- Start date
Bruce Adams
Well-known member
Before you put too much faith in magnets, particularly "cow Magnets" which are very powerful and have been used by Model A owners, check to see if YOUR tank's rust is MAGNETIC. Many have tanks rust not affected by magnets.
BILL WILLIAMSON
Well-known member
A COW MAGNET on the steel gas line will cause flakes to pile up there & PLUG the line!! When you remove it, that PILE will flow down & plug up the filter in the top of the Zenith carb!!!
To me, tank sealing crap is SCARY, I always remember when Gene was pulling LOOOONG STRINGY Grey bits of it out of his gas tank, with a wire coat hanger!!
AGAIN, just get out what you can & use the "pencil" filter.
Bill W.
H. L. Chauvin
Well-known member
Hi Bill,
Per your reply no. 63, if a Model A owner bought some cows ........ and if a Model A owner bought some Cow Magnates ......... in your opinion ....... would the Cow Magnates be strong enough that this Model A owner would never have to worry about "When the cows come Home".
Just wondering.
Per your reply no. 63, if a Model A owner bought some cows ........ and if a Model A owner bought some Cow Magnates ......... in your opinion ....... would the Cow Magnates be strong enough that this Model A owner would never have to worry about "When the cows come Home".
Just wondering.
Last edited:
I ordered mine from Bert's Model A Center. They cost about $4. Here's the link to the site http://parts.modelastore.com/ .
Thank You so much.
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
Ummm, just a little heads up here based on my experiences, the Bill Hirsch stuff is Permatex Gasket Sealer. Ask for the MSDS on it and you will get a copy of the Permatex sheet. Some people do not have issues with it while many others do. What I do know is hot caustic makes Hirsch's sealer gummy however it will not dissolve it totally. The other big failure that I see is many that seal a tank never get all of the tank coated inside. Often times when they are cut open, we find the bottoms and the tops are somewhat coated however the baffles and other parts do not get coated. Guess what happens then. (see pix below)
One point that I will make on this for the ones who are choosing the "no sealer option" is, when you have cleaned all of the rust out of the tank, what keeps it from re-rusting inside? Most fuels today have oxygenizers and all kinds of additives which like to encourage rust to form on bare metal. Do you think a constant-full tank is the answer??
And finally, a thought for some to ponder on. When you have your engine restored (i.e.: rebuilt) you naturally want it to last for awhile but most realists would agree that at some point it will likely need rebuilding again. The same for new tires & tubes. We spend nearly $1k on quality tires & tubes however most folks realize they are only for a time until they will need to be replaced. The same applies to paint, upholstery, chrome, etc. So why do people skirt the idea of restoring a tank, ...and when they do attempt some type of repair/restoration, it upsets them if there is a possibility for it needing to be redone somewhere in the future.
Granted, not every car needs the door latches, window regulators, and speedometer restored, ...and likewise not every Model-A gas tank needs to be restored either however, just like the latches and speedometers, many do!
.
.
Attachments
Big hammer
Well-known member
Brent, after you open up a tank, how do you remove the rust, and how do you prevent it from rusting. Do you have any after pictures?
john charlton
Well-known member
In extreme cases a tank can be cleaned out by cutting part of the top panel out . The baffles are spot welded to the bottom of the tank so the top will lift out clear . I did this on a tank where the tank had been out in the weather for a long time with no gas cap on . It was full of debris and a bees nest/comb. I cleaned it out and seam MIG welded the top back in . A skim of bondo and just looks fine in my AZ red 30 pickup and no junk in the filter after 5 years . BE SAFE !!! you cannot do this if any gas vapour is still in the tank or your hobby will come to an abrupt halt . Mine was for sure gas free as the bees had checked it out for me .
John in warm humid sunny Suffolk County England .
John in warm humid sunny Suffolk County England .
Last edited:
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
We media-blast the tank after soaking it for several days in hot caustic. Once it is clean, it is placed in a fixture and re-welded together, then pressure tested and sealed.
.
Attachments
Big hammer
Well-known member
WOW!!! Beautiful work!!! That's the way to do it right. Thanks for you time and posting the pictures.
I'll be sending my tank to Brent for that treatment sooner or later, when I get around to pulling it out of my truck. It's a late '31 tank, and that horizontal outlet fills up right away with sediment and rust. I'm going to spend the money and have it done right, once and for all.
Got the Rust 911 concentrate worked as advertised, filled tank to the top let it set for two days drained and I now have a clean tank. I'm sure many have mentioned but make sure you have installed the filter that goes into the tank, kept me going even though I had a lot of junk in the tank prior to the Rust 911".