32 gas tank

[RB]

After a carb. rebuild I thought it best to pull my 83 year old gas tank & give it a good look-see inspection...sure enough while a super straight tank, a years ago applied sealer was curling up & coming loose. A trip to a reputable radiator shop quoted $150. to strip $ reseal, however an additional $100. to remove the remaining sealer as it will require a heat treatment to reduce it to ash & guarantee it's removal in & behind the 3 baffles. While I was able to remove most all visible sealer using a heat gun the inaccessible areas probably will remain a possible source for future issues. A new tank upgraded to 14.5 capacity from 11 for $340. & free shipping appears to be the logical choice. Has anyone had liner removal success ??? Thanks,Ron

[Bruce_MO]

After a liner failure on my '32 tank 3-4 years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and use the "Renu" process. They cut a bunch of 1" dia. holes in the tank and blasted the inside. Then the welded up the holes and coated the tank with some really heavy stuff. They were great to work with... I had to specify where they could NOT cut holes, made sure that the patching was "flush" so I could do final bodywork & painting. And I made sure to specify that they're only to coat the interior! I was really surprised at the workmanship... final dressing & bodywork around the welds was minimal. It was about $300 as I recall...

I may be wrong, but I thought I heard that the flange on the new tanks where the pick-up/sending unit screws in is drilled for a modern fuel sending unit. Maybe they have some sort of adapter.

[rockfla]

Fortunately for our 32 the tank is completely covered so we just cut a square access hole in the top, big enough to get your hand all in and around the tank, cleaned it and welded the top back in, ground the weld, filled with water to check for leaks and put back in car after coating.

[RB]

Don't see much hope to guarantee that all old sealer is removed without the shop recommended heat treatment to reduce it to ash, or cutting into the baffle area's. The issue with reducing it to an ash beyond the cost, is the fact some of the soldered areas if any, could be compromised. I did place some of the removed material in a container of paint remover (zip strip) & it did break it down & reduce it to a rather chunky slurry, however it would probably require a significant amount to reach all areas of concern. This I might add, was after testing various solvents such as acetone,mineral spirits,etc.

[TJ]

When you do the math a new tank is the only way to go. I gave up on fixing old tanks a long time ago. It's very difficult to find anyone who will strip the inside properly.

[RB]

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I'm inclined to agree a new tank is the best option, just thought I would stay with what original parts I could, fenders etc. are original to the car.

[TJ]

You might find someone in your area to strip the tank. I live in California which is the "land of fruits and nuts" and anyone who uses any type of chemicals is considered the devil. Radiator shops are getting harder and harder to find out here. We lost our shop and two just 13 miles down the road. Chrome shops are just as rare.

[Strick]

not to hijack, but:

so I just got a new repro Vintique '32 gas tank and the mounting flanges are too narrow to line up with the holes in my frame rails. original unmodified frame....anyone else experience this problem?

[Kahuna]

Strick
Where do you get the tank from?
Directly from Vintiques?
Reason I ask is that there were some earlier tanks produced that had problems:
Gas filler in wrong location, etc.
Recent tanks do not have problems, and a friend of mine installed a new 14.5 gallon tank without any problems at all in his 32 roadster.

[Strick]

Kahuna - yes directly from Vintique (C.W. Moss). It's the 11 gallon one that according to the ebay ad was retooled with new dies. Said they are closed on Mondays otherwise would have called today. Will call tomorrow and report back findings. Thanks.