Gas Tank - Restore or Relocate

[Bill O'Brien]

My gas tank has a leak above the petcock. At this point it seems the way to repair the leak is to remove the tank and seal it. not an impossible job but kind of a pain...

My other option would be to relocate the tank and either go with a 32 tank or try and install a tank / tanks under the chassis.

To me it seems a bit easier to relocate the tank. Also, I like the idea of moving the fuel system to the outside of the passenger area. I want to take my wife and two small sons for rides in the car and I don't love the idea of having the gas in the dash...

I know the focus of this forum is originallity and resotration but I would appreciate any ideas on this.... has anyone else relocated the gas tank??

Thanks gents!

[ford1]

you know of course when you change one thing you have two more to change, run new fuel lines, add an elecric fuel pump, switch, and a saftey switch to turn off the pump when the engine dies a fuel pressure regulater, model a carbs and floats were designed to be gravity fed, i would just pull and repair the orignal tank, they are safe unless you hit something hard enough to rupter it, if you hit something that hard you probably wont be around to notice it

[SSsssteamer]

Life is a gamble, and a gambler plays the odds. When is the last time that a Model A Ford's gas tank was ruptured in a wreck with fire resulting? Can't remember of hearing of one? Neither can I. Those are pretty good odds of never having the problem of a ruptured Model A Ford gas tank in a wreck. Don't worry about it. Restore it. There are a lot of other more important issues, like the fellow ahead of you that stomps on his 4 wheel disc brakes, and you are following too closely with your model A Ford mechanical brakes. Or the person that pulls out in front of you not leaving you enough room to slow down in time. Or the plate glass side and rear windows that are like swords in a car wreck. My Aunt Mable lost her left ear in a car wreck by the plate glass side window. Her Model A sedan rolled over a bank on the Heart Lake Road, and the rest is history.

[Larry Seemann]

Bill, Many years ago I had a similar problem except the leak was where the choke rod bracket is riveted to the tank. Upon the advise of an old Model A'er I drained the tank and dried it out thoroughly using a hair dryer. then I jacked up the left front of the car as far as I could go and poured into the tank some POR-15 tank sealer. The sealer settled to the appropriate spot because of elevating the left front. After it set up - no more leak! That was about 12 years ago. In your case you don't have to jack the car up because your leak is at the lowest spot already. You'll need to remove the shut-off valve and put a 1/4" tubing standpipe in it so the outlet is kept open. Then after setup pull the standpipe and put in the standpipe screen that the vendors sell.

[Bill O'Brien]

Larry - Great idea! No need to remove the tank... I will definitely try your idea! Thank you

[ford1]

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at best por 15 is a temporayr fix, and a crap shoot, you will never know when it will start leaking, probably a couple hundred miles from home, dont mickey mouse a fuel leak, take a few days and do it right the first time, you were worried about your wifes saftey in your first post, dont get lazy now, do it right

[Tom Wesenberg]

If it was my car, I'd clean the area around the leak and use a heavy copper soldering iron to fix the leak. No tank removal needed and the fix should be permanant.

BTW, I never give the tank a thought, but do believe it's one of the safest locations it could be in. Just as the gas tank behind the seat in my 1949 Chevy truck is very safe, plus it's out of the elements, so it shouldn't rust from the outside like so many others do.

[johnbuckley]

Great idea Larry, 12-15 years for any fix is good and will probably outlast many of us anyway.
Make sure that you don't blow up empty tank with a nearby electric motor. Maybe safer to let it stand in the sun for a couple of days rather than use a hair drier, I'd have thought!

[Kirby1374]

my uncle has a very funny story involving a case of beer, a Model gas tank that needed cleaned and a shop vac. Let's just say that the beer was consumed and the vacuum was used to clean out the tank and the exhaust on the vacuum ignited and turned into a jet engine

[Milton]

"My other option would be to relocate the tank and either go with a 32 tank or try and install a tank / tanks under the chassis."

If it was a Pinto I would agree. Since it is a Model A I would go with Tom Wesenberg:

"If it was my car, I'd clean the area around the leak and use a heavy copper soldering iron to fix the leak. No tank removal needed and the fix should be permanant."

[Roadster62]

I've never given the cowl mounted gas tank a thought safety wise, hundreds of Model A Fords and other cars have burned to the ground due to bad wireing. Electrical problems are what scare me.

[Bill O'Brien]

Ok, pulled the gas lines, drained the tank and removed the petcock. Took a flashlight and looked down into the tank. (Maglite 100XL - a must own!!!)

The tank looks great inside. I think there is no need to coat the entire tank. Sure, it would probably be the better way to go but at this point I want the car on the road... it has been 2yrs plus working on getting her road worthy. (pregnant wife once... twice! ... 2 kids within those 2 years!!! Tought to get into the garage!!!!!)

It just seems the spot where the petcock fitting is riveted is leaking a slight bit. I will pour some POR 15 Tank Sealent down there and that should do the trick.

What size (diameter / threadcount) bolt should I install in the petcock hole so it stays clear during the sealing process??

[Tom Wesenberg]

"(pregnant wife once... twice! ... 2 kids within those 2 years!!! Tought to get into the garage!!!!!)"
There's a fix for that!............. Spend more time in the garage.

Don't use a bolt, as it's a pipe thread. Use a 1/4" pipe plug.

[Special Coupe Frank]

I heard a scary thing a month or so ago at the local Model A Garage - apparently no one is making repro gas tanks for the Model A, due to liability issues that would go with an OEM style cowl-mounted tank...

So one current option is a "street rod" tank that mounts underneath the running-board splash-aprons...

So what happens when the tuner-kid or distracted soccer-mom in the SUV Tee-bones the Model A wearing these saddle-tanks ???

Wasn't there a big hulla-baloodle about 25 years ago over GM pick-ups with the fuel tanks mounted outside the frame rails ?

If I am the victim of mis-information, please let me know ( nicely ! ), so that I do not perpetuate a myth....


Thanks !

SC Frank

[1931 flamingo]

They're called saddle tanks I believe. Mount behind the aprons, cut hole in apron for filler. Lots of them out there. They pop up on eflay every so often. Need an elec pump.
Paul in CT

[John S]

Originally Posted by Special Coupe Frank

So one current option is a "street rod" tank that mounts underneath the running-board splash-aprons...

So what happens when the tuner-kid or distracted soccer-mom in the SUV Tee-bones the Model A wearing these saddle-tanks ???

Wasn't there a big hulla-baloodle about 25 years ago over GM pick-ups with the fuel tanks mounted outside the frame rails ?

If I am the victim of mis-information, please let me know ( nicely ! ), so that I do not perpetuate a myth....


Thanks !

SC Frank

Yes there was.
I had a friend that was burned alive in a 1982 Chevy Pickup when it was hit in the driver's side at freeway speed.
When I first got into the school bus business in the late 80's we had to have all of our older buses fitted with a cage around the fuel tank. All of the tanks back then were mounted outside the frame and most were not protected in any way.
I'll take the stock tank location on a Model A any day rather than take a chance on a tank mounted on the side of the frame.

[Pete]

"I know the focus of this forum is originallity and resotration but I would appreciate any ideas on this.... has anyone else relocated the gas tank??"

To answer your question, yes.
My original tank is like new but I wanted to carry more gas.
I put a 17 gallon foam filled racing fuel cell under the back of the car.
Since I have a trunk on the back, the tank is almost invisable.
I have a frame mounted and braced 3500 lb hitch and saftey plate behind the cell.
Unless you get down and crawl under, all you see from the back is the hitch.

[ldj1002]

John, sorry for the loss of your friend. I think it was just a 1 in million accident. This following article pretty well tells it. Actually they tried a number of times to get an explosion before they they went to a complete lie and made up fiction and reported it as fact. Further more, besides you, has anyone known or known any one who knew anyone Or knew anyone who knew anyone who new anyone that ever that happened? I'll bet not.





General Motors v. NBC

Dateline NBC aired an investigative report on Tuesday, November 17, 1992, titled “Waiting to Explode”. The 60 minute program was about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to the poor design of fuel tanks. Dateline's film showed a sample of a low speed accident with the fuel tank exploding. In reality, Dateline NBC producers had rigged the truck’s fuel tank with remotely controlled explosives. The program did not disclose the fact that the accident was staged. GM investigators studied the film, and discovered that smoke actually came out of the fuel tank six frames before impact. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation/libel lawsuit against NBC after conducting an extensive investigation. On Monday, February 8, 1993, GM conducted a highly publicized point-by-point rebuttal in the Product Exhibit Hall of the General Motors Building in Detroit that lasted nearly two hours after announcing the lawsuit.[3] The lawsuit was settled the same week by NBC, and Jane Pauley read a 3 minute 30 second on-air apology to viewers.
The law suit and subsequent settlement was arguably the most devastating blow for NBC in a series of reputation damaging incidents during the 1990s and early 2000s. Within NBC, Michael Gartner, who resigned shortly after the incident, was the source for much of the blame. Then-NBC News President Reuven Frank stated Gartner was hired in 1988, despite no TV news background, in an attempt to satisfy parent-company General Electric by replacing current journalists with cheaper, less experienced reporters and producers.[4]
The following Dateline NBC producers were dismissed: Jeff Diamond, executive producer; David Rummel, senior producer; and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the reporter involved in the segment, was transferred to Miami station WTVJ. Michael G. Gartner, president of the news division, resigned under pressure.
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[Bassman/NZ]

I would imagine the 32 Ford tank mounted in the rear, outside of the car, would be far more susceptible than a Model A tank. As someone said, if you're in a crash where the tank is ruptured, you're probably gone-burger anyway.

[JD Miller]

When the year is 1955, you are 15 years old and you've been given your Grandfather's 1931 Briggs SW Town Sedan you'll do whatever it takes to get it on the road.

The sedan had set at my Grandfather's garage, on an unused wash rack from early 1944 until 1949. In 1949 Grandfather put a rebuilt motor in the car. For the next three years the car was once again used as a service car around the garage and gas station.

The car was placed back in storage and stayed there until 1955 when I was given the Model "A" to get running and drive. The gas tank had pin holes in the face of the tank and would weep gasoline. What to do?

Grandfather sent me to a local junk yard to find a tank that would fit under the back of the sedan. I found a tank from an old Chevy truck. Bought the tank and a filler neck.

Grandfather and I added the filler neck and installed the tank under the back of the sedan. We used an AutoPulse fuel pump. I know that electric fuel pumps are designed to push gasoline. We mounted the pump on the firewall where the sediment bulb had been. An on-off switch was installed under the dash panel and I was good to go. No gas gauge but I soon figured out the fuel supply was good for around 125 miles or so.

In 1957 when I redid the car an new, never used, still in the crate gas tank was installed. I didn't have the heart to connect this new tank so continued to use the rear mounted tank until 1989. Never had any problems with the rear mounted tank. In 1989 I connected the new tank and pulled the fuel line from the rear mounted tank and decided to leave the tank installed under the rear of the car.

So when you are a kid and want to get your "A" on the road the rear mounted tank worked just fine and continued to do so until 1989.

Would I do this again? Probably if I was once again 15. However, I would not recommend doing this when a good, clean, unrusted cowl tank is available.