Cleaning rusty gas tank:
http://www.mopedarmy.com/wiki/Removing_rust_from_a_gas_tank
Have fun!
It will all be worth it when you start getting the looks and questions about the car. That can lead to some friendships with people who have similar interest in old cars. Conversations about the old stuff can be extremely interesting and the learning never stops.
An auction was held near me this past weekend and some amazing stuff went up for grabs. He had stuff stashed all over town. One lot facing a back alley was piled 10 feet high with nothing but old Model A and T rear ends, radius rod suspension units, and so on.
That lot abutted the shop of a piano tuner who had been blind for most of his life. The guy tuned pianos until he was in his 90s and had a relative ferry him around on service calls. Not auto related but no less fascinating.
That is super cool. I love hearing about old brands Ive never heard of. Id love to have land with a bunch of old cars one day.
Cleaned the tank out. Its actually not so bad inside, pretty clean. The sending unit is toast though so I had to order another one.
I would use acid to clean the inside of the tank. After using it, you need to dispose of the acid. You might consider taking the tank to a chemical cleaner. They can handle this task easily. A cleaning/plating shop can do the job in a tank they have at their shop. Just be aware that the tank might have holes when you get it back if the rust is too bad. At least you can repair it if the holes aren’t too bad. No chance of explosions during welding after acid cleaning.
Now that you’re getting the tank, sending unit, pump, and carb in shape, don’t skip the fuel line. Check all of it for corrosion/rust.
Yeah the line has surface rust somewhat but looks fine overall. Luckily if it were to fail its easy to replace, it just unscrews off the side of the tank, runs down the frame, and into the engine bay
If worst comes to worst, a marine fabrication shop will be able to make you a new tank that will be very close to the original…I have seen some restorations where a 10 or 15 gallon plastic marine tank is mounted in the trunk and the hopeless original tank removed…
Yeah, I dance on the line of trying to maintain originality vs hot rodding it. Itd be nice to have a new radiator and a new gas tank, but right now Im just trying to replace whats toast and be able to drive it around a little before I start getting into every nut and bolt.
Smart man. You could put it up on blocks and really get into it. And you might never put the wheels on again. Take it slow and enjoy the ride.
Update. She’s running again. Fuel tank cleaned out, new sending unit soldered up, new hose and clamps connecting the filler neck to the tank. Fuel Pump rebuilt and installed. Intake bead blasted, drilled out, new studs, new gaskets installed, carb rebuilt and installed. This didnt come without a lot of hiccups along the way. But I have it running again. Current problems - the glass bowl where it holds the fuel filter in line has a leak where the gasket is. I think I can put on some gas resistant RTV and reconnect it. Then also, the line that goes to the choke has come loose somehow. I’ve screwed it into the choke no problem but I now have no idea where the other end is supposed to go. Looks like a rubber hose mustve connected on the other end and rotted away maybe. Its just plain metal on the end, no old rubber remaining or anything like that. Some kind of vacuum or heat line.
I wouldn’t RTV the glass bowl, that’s a maintenance item. How about buying some gasket material and cutting one out?
The line to the choke could be from the exhaust manifold. There is a valve on the exhaust manifold called the heat riser valve. This valve directs hot air up this tube to the automatic choke coil to heat the coil and open the choke; I think the line goes through the exhaust manifold.
My inclination would be to install a manual choke on the car. This gets rid of a lot of problems. However, the car would have a choke knob which would not be original if you are keeping the ar that way.
My dad has a 1986 wheel horse garden tractor and it has a manual choke. I’ve always loved manual chokes ever since then. haha. Weird I know. I saw one on a 1969 boss 429 mustang and thought it was super cool. So I’m not opposed to it, hell everything else is manual on the car, but if its a matter of just connecting up some new hose I’d probably opt for that.
@texases I put in a new fuel filter which came with a new gasket, although it was much more thin than the original or “prior” one I’ll say. The prior one was fatter and rubber, which was hard and kind of flakey so I got rid of it and put in this flat card material type gasket that came with the new filter. Not sure its correct, but it is leaking so I’ll have to modify it somehow.
I might be able to just tighten the glass bowl some more. I just didnt want to break it. But if I did they do sell them.
Viton A and Viton B have very good resistance to gasoline. If you need an elastomer, either of these will work fine. They should be available at any commercial plastics store. There may be one in your area, or you can order it on line form Grainger.
in my old ford the line went straight to the block or exhaust manifold to the choke. don t know if you have the same set up using the heat from the exhaust gases to do the job or not. a guy in mass. recommended I install an electric choke instead, but the set up worked fine for me
Read this thread:
You’ll recognize some names. Read it all (only one page). It refutes the myth of exhaust gases going to the choke.
thanks, I now understand better how it worked. but check for a small fitting in your exhaust manifold
Older GM Quadrajets used exhaust gas to the choke housing. It was taken from a crossover port in the intake manifold, through a tube, and then through the choke housing.
Quite often what would happen is that soot would clog up the pinhole in the carburetor (located between the carb body and choke housing) and stop the exhaust gas in its tracks. The gas would reach the choke housing but unless it was pulled on through by manifold vacuum the choke would be balky.