Cleaning the fuel tank
 

I have just taken delivery of a Model A I imported from the US. It had lots of crap in the fuel tank, both vegetable (leaves and twigs) and rust. Maybe that's why the previous owner sold it. I put the rust down to the crap fuel I have read so much about on this forum and the way it absorbs water.
All is clear now and I hope no more stops at the most inconvenient time. FWIW. Here's how I did it for those who might find themselves in a similar situation
For the vegetable matter, I drained the tank completely and used a little grease on a stick to pick it up piece by piece, a slow process but IT WORKED. Most of the fuel, I removed by syphon. I used a long hose with a great height difference between the tank and the lower end of the hose so I could use it like a vacuum cleaner. There was a procession of nasties going down the hose. This will have taken out some of the rust too.
For the rust, I SECURELY attached a pair of magnets from my club name badge to a stick about 1/4" square. (Now I'll have to buy another badge!!) The stick was trimmed to the same length as the end of the magnet. I poked and prodded about in the bottom of the tank, each time picking up a great lump of rust flakes. Whenever the magnet attached itself to the wire for the fuel gauge, I released it by simply turning the stick to separate the magnet from the wire. The same thing worked for getting the magnet off the side of the tank. To just give it a yank, the stick gave such a whiplash that I'm sure some of the flakes I had already collected would have come loose and dropped back into the bottom of the tank. I added some fuel and rocked the car so as to work as much crap down near the outlet as possible so I could get it too.
After removing what seems like a wheel barrow full of rust flakes, I'm down to just a little fine powdery rust which I think the filter will remove. (I'll carry a spare filter and I have put a magnet in the glass bowl.)

Re: Cleaning the fuel tank
 

Thanks for this info... Do you think there is globs on the other sides of the baffles? What about running the filter in the glass bowl? Here in the US we would get heavily fined for transporting fruits or vegetables from another country:eek:....keep us posted and good luck

Re: Cleaning the fuel tank
 

Mitch, The filter in the glass bowl was full of rust - it had been doing its job but was overwhelmed. I left it out.
The rust seems to be concentrated in the bottom of the tank (where water would settle out) I'm hoping that there is little or no rust on the other sides of the baffles. If there is and it finds its way to near the outlet, I'll just have to repeat the magnet process again.
There are heavy fines for unauthorised importation of vegetable matter here too but only if you are caught! I think being soaked in fuel for who knows how long would render any bugs harmless.

Re: Cleaning the fuel tank
 

Did you mean the wix 33039 or the bowl screen?