Monday, July 14, 2014

Gas tank and sending unit

Hi folks,
  It's time for another progress update.  I mentioned in my last post that my sending unit was not here yet.  Since then I did receive the sending unit, tested it by connecting it to my car, and even installed it in my fuel tank.  This is when I first pulled it from the tank:


As you can see, it was pretty gunky and the brass float had completely disintegrated. There is a piece still hanging onto the wire float arm.  And here is a pic after I tried to clean it up slightly using carb cleaner:
Even with a lot of the gunk cleaned off, it was still pretty rusty.  This is what it looked like after I received it from Mr. O'Hara at Tri-Starr Radiator


He did an excellent job!  There was some deep pitting in the metal, but that could not be helped.  Otherwise if looks like new.  The tank that I purchased came with a new lock ring, so I did not have to purchase one of those.  Here is a pic of it installed in the tank with the new lock ring:


As you can see, I decided to paint the tank black.  The original tank was covered in rubberized undercoating, but I really hated to go that route.  I did however want some protection from rust.  So, with a lot of prep work, I went with a semi flat black paint which was applied via spray cans.  It turned out pretty well:

BUT, it didn't last long.  I had a little bit of trouble installing the tank and scratched it all up.  Just a tip for those who may try this:  if you don't replace the tank straps, be sure to loosen the nuts on them all of the way before starting the install!  I did not do this and it took a few extra steps to get it installed.  Here's a pic of the installed tank with it's scratched up paint:


I should be able to touch it up a bit now that it's installed, so no worries there.  As you may be able to see, I also just painted over the undercoating on the tank straps.  I probably should have just replaced them, but they had absolutely no rust and were still in really good shape.  And I almost forgot to mention the tank pads that go on the top of the tank.  I couldn't find any replacements, so I just cleaned the old ones up the best I could and reinstalled them. 


As for the fuel lines, I also opted to not replace them either.  I just used my oil mixing syringe that I used earlier in this project and squirted a half and half mixture of Seafoam and gasoline through the lines.  Most of what came out on the other side was just old gas.  There were a few pieces of rust sediment, but it was really minimal.  I installed an inline filter just before the fuel pump, just in case.  I let that mixture sit while I installed the tank, then followed it up with straight gas.  I also replaced all of the rubber fuel lines and clamps.  No pics of those as they are pretty generic.  And that is basically it!  I was able to put some gas in the tank and start her up!  I even drove her, very carefully, around the block.  I think I smiled for two days straight afterward.  But this is just the beginning.  There are a lot of rubber components that need to be replaced and she still needs a general tune-up, and a transmission.  That will all come in time though.  OH! I almost forgot to post a pic of my helper:


And don't worry, she was kept away from all gas and chemicals. 



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