Gas tank issues

[drlogistics]

The tank on my 211 has considerable debris/rust on the inside. So I am considering 2 options.
1. Cut some access holes in the top of the tank so I can get in there with a pressure washer and really clean it up. Then close up the holes and run 2 filters to keep junk out of the carb.
2. Fab up a new tank.

What do you guys think??

 

[clinto]

3. Have it professionally vatted and resealed.

 

[MWMULES]

3. Have it professionally vatted and resealed.

 

[Gunfreak25]

Well I have been told I have balls of titanium (thanks Jim), but if it were mine I would cut a large section of the top out (using as thin a wheel as possible), power wash around the baffles and weld it back up. Start with spot welding all 4 corners first. Then work your way around the tank adding a spot weld as far away from the previous spot as possible. Stop after 6 or 7 spot welds to let things cool for 10 minutes. You'll eventually reach a point where the spot welds are spaced so close together each new spot weld joins them together.

Key is patience to keep things from warping and uniformity in weld duration on each spot made. When your all done, grind your welds down and finish them to suite. Fill tank with water and carefully watch for any wet spots.

Or just have your local guy weld it back together. Shouldn't be more than $50.

 

[drlogistics]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am not one to do things "professionally". So I think Ill be chopping the top. Thanks for the welding advice gunfreak. I will be posting pics of the project soon.

 

[Gunfreak25]

Try not to cut out the fuel pump mounting area. Otherwise you risk miss aligning things when you go to reweld the top back on. Other than that, should be a pretty easy job. Good luck! Had I not filled mine with diesel already I would probably pop the top off, pop out the dent and weld it back up. Future project, I suppose.

Oh, I sent your piston rings today for the 302 compressor.

 

[silverstate55]

Go to a pool supply store and purchase a gallon or two of Muriatic Acid (the concentrated stuff, NOT the diluted stuff from Home Depot or Lowe's). Pour it in your tank and let it sit for 15-30 minutes per side that needs to be cleaned.

Afterwards, wash it out carefully with cold water (it is acid, after all) and dispose of said acid responsibly. Rinse thoroughly to ensure that all debris & cleaner are removed. Let dry, and you can purchase fuel tank sealant at any auto parts store.

 

[drlogistics]

I may have found option number 3. Let me know what you guys think. There is a company that rents a small portion of warehouse space in my building. I'm not sure exactly what they do but it is some sort of testing facility related to the automotive industry. They recently had a large roll off dumpster dropped off that they filled with various styles of plastic gas tanks. I asked one of the employees why they were throwing them out and he said that they were done testing them and they had to destroy all of the prototypes. So they were using a sawzall to cut large holes into each tank before they went into the dumpster. Pity, I thought, because some of the tanks they had would fit perfectly inside the deuce tank. Well, I did some dumpster diving early the next morning. And sure enough they didn't destroy all of the tanks. So I pulled out 5 or 6 of the various sizes. Here is my plan: Cut the top off my old tank and simply drop in a fresh new one. Pics of the new tanks will be posted tomorrow.

 

[drlogistics]

Here's some pics of the tanks. The third pic is the tank that I plan to use. I'm not sure of it's capacity. Best guess is 15-17 gallons.

 

[hendersond]

I had the same thought only using a fuel cell. Decided it was easier to take it out and clean it up with a garden hose and reinstall. Once you get the fuel pump out, you can stick your arm in there. I've done 3 now. One was really bad. I ended up using the inline aftermarket $50 24v fuel pump. It works very well. I had to solder some holes. I never did recoat it. Maybe next year.