A couple a weeks ago I ended up buying some parts for the '36 off Craigslist. The combo of $50 and close to my brothers house was a deal I couldn't refuse.
For $50 I got two leaf springs (which I don't think are '36), two rough bumpers (one of which I think is a '35), one running board and a gas tank.
Of all of it, I really wanted the tank. I have useable running boards and bumpers already. The springs *would* have been a bonus and the tank I already have is a huge question mark.
New tanks go for around $225 so $50 made it seem like a steal.
I found the listing a week before we were headed out on vacation so I had my brother pick up the stuff and hold on to it for me. Upon return I ran down and picked it up and stuffed is under the car till I could shuffle it into the deck.
Flash forward to earlier this week when I drug the tank out for inspection.
It has plenty of surface rust but hefts pretty heavy and sounds solid. Nothing rattling around or anything.
I've read many different threads on Ford Barn and Jalopy journal about tumbling rocks or chain around in a tank to loosen all the rust/crap up, but one thread stuck out in my mind where someone just flat cut the top out of the tank to clean it and welded it back up.
Challenge accepted.
Fist off I wanted to take the sending unit out. It's clearly shot and I planned on a new one anyway. A little PB blaster and pow! the first screw came out.
"Hey! This is gonna be easier than I thought..."
Nope. No one else wants out that the easy. I started with a small file.
And ended up using a cutoff wheel, which I had out to use for cutting open the tank.
All in all it was fairly painless getting it out. It looks like no other fuel sender I've ever seen. It has some kind of little drain bowl system. Anyway. Bye!
I scribed out three lines thinking I could do 3 sides and pry it open. Turns out it's
way sturdy and so I cut the forth side.
I started with a cut off wheel, but my compressor is small enough that it didn't have the balls to keep up. Metal blades for the jig saw it is. It turned out being a much more stable and quicker means anyway.