Well, I finally had some warm weather and time to do a little more work. This week, the gas tank got put back in. I sent the tank to Spike's Radiator (I'm not kidding) to have it service. It didn't seem to be all that bad, but I had it done anyway. Spike's drills a small hole in the tank and media blasts the inside and outside. Then, they apply some sort of plastic coat to the inside. I asked that they not paint the tank so I could apply some of Eastwood's Chassis Black on the top and Tank Tone on the bottom. The Eastwood paint goes on really well, even with a slight breeze. I got the tank painted during one brief warm stretch.
After the tank was painted, I applied some camper shell tape I bought at Check Auto. It went on real easy and just needed a little trimming. Next, went on the new rubber drain (I bought ten years ago) and the sending unit.
I had salvaged some of green tubing from another spider as my car had something else. The vapor canistor, with one piece of the tubing attached, went in first. Then, I installed the door and gasket. Installing the tank without scrathing the paint requires a little patience.
I've never encountered camper tape before; I wonder if that would work as well or better than the weatherstripping under the Carello headlight covers recommended in another thread? For my car, being silver, it would probably be less noticeable to have a grey foam than white.
The tank looks great. I can't wait to see pictures when the car is finished. I've enjoyed seeing every step.
I once found a reference somewhere online to a company that makes or stocks the green tubing, but I couldn't find it on their website (and probably would have had to order several miles of it anyway), and now I can't even find where I jotted the name down. My car isn't pristine by a long shot, and I know I should just be happy with the clear stuff that's easy to find, but . . .
I looked and looked for the green tubing. I decided not to wait any longer and just went with what I had. The stuff was hard as nails, but became persuasive with a hair dryer.
Thanks for all of the kudos. Anybody passing thru Colorado is welcome to pop by for a visit and a beer.
Here are some photos of my gas tank as a counterpoint to Osso's fantastic renovation.
I pulled the tank out over the holidays, as I had been getting some dirt in the fuel filters. Emptied something like half a pound of rust out of it! Also realized it has a large dent.
I was going to treat it with POR 15, but seems like it is going to need more drastic remediation. Anyone know of a place in the SF Bay Area that I can use? Am I better off trying to source a replacement tank? Are spider tanks interchangeable across different years?
I've seen very similar clear green tube used in Aquarium applications. I don't know if it would be petrol or oil resistant but if it only carries fumes maybe!!!??? It's fairly cheap so it may be worth checking out your local Aquarium Shop and doing yourself some experimenting.
I recently replaced my tank. Someone on the BB (Jr. Z) suggested camper tape, but warned to only use closed cell foam so it doesn't hold water. This sounded reasonable, so I went through 3 or 4 different brands before I found one that I was comfortable with. I immersed little pieces of the tape in water for a few minuted to see if it it soaked any up. I finally ended up using generic "weather stripping tape" from an auto parts chain, which seemed to be more like rubber than foam.
Thanks Steve. I have scratched the paint. I did it with my VW. It's hard to get three cars in a two car garage, but I do. I've have always known a trip to the paint shop would be needed after I get it finished. I got a small amount of paint for touching up as I go. I've managed to chip the paint off around a couple of screw holes in the engine compartment. So, the touchup paint came in handy.
116_Veloce said:
Osso,
[Fill in words of praise, as I am out of them already ]
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What color code is your car? I'm wondering if I have a DUCO paint sticker I can give you.
The best picture I have is an old fashioned photograph with a ruler in the picture. The ruler can be used to properly scale the image. I'll try and get it to you, soon. Thanks for the kind offer.
BTW, I have some other stickers that need to be done. Are you interested? I really need the oil sticker seen in this thread.
Thanks for posting images, and the great info for a tank restoration. My tank was leaking terribly and I recently had it cleaned and welded up. I just finished painting it and now Im off to get some of that fancy camper tape and some mounting hardware.
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