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.
