It looks like updates on this projects are going to come on the order of once every six to ten months!
Seriously, this month my brother and I made some big strides on the project. A few weeks ago we finished installing the disc brakes. The master cylinder was installed, the brakes were bled, and the pedal pressure is good.
Today we tackled pulling the original gas tank. My original plan was to reuse the original tank but after cleaning and resealing it. I changed my plan when I noticed a small gas leak on the bottom of the tank. Some sage advice from board members more knowledgeable than I convinced me that a leaking tank was junk so I ordered a brand new one from Rockauto.com.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures and story of this adventure:
Nothing exciting, 40 year old gas tank held on by 40 year old hardware:
Step one, use a wire brush in a drill motor to clean the threads of the j-bolts so the nuts will move freely:
Step two, some penetrating lubricant sprayed on the threads and nuts of the bolts followed by the use of an air impact hammer gets the nuts off the bolts very easily. Piece of cake!
Step three- remove the straps and have a helper pull the fuel tank fill pipe out of the gas tank while you balance the tank on a floor jack with a tiny head. Then, have some excitement when the tank drops and starts spilling gas everywhere because you were a dork and didn't empty the FULL gas tank before you started this project:
I am saving the "gas" for my pressure washer, so I pumped it out of the tank with a hand pump and took pictures of the inside of the tank as I went. Let's go swimming!
Half empty. About this point I was figuring I was glad I was swapping the tank and I was also figuring a new sending unit was in the future:
Yep, new sending unit for sure:
Wow. Never seen a brass float corrode like this before:
THis is why I am a convert to replacing the gas tanks on cars that have sat around for any length of time. These holes were rusted from the INSIDE out. The car spent most of its life in a dry climate and has only mild surface rust. The outside of the tank has dirt on it, but hardly any rust, except these specs. These holes must have been partialy plugged by rust in the tank that was dislodged in the removal process. Otherwise that full tank of "gas" would have spilled in my garage years ago.
Even the fill tube was rusty!
I saved what I could (fill tube gaskets, sending unit retaining ring and gasket, sound deadening pad) but the tank itself is junk.
So ends the adventure of removing a gas tank on a 74 Duster. Moral of the story is EMPTY THE GAS TNK BEFORE YOU REMOVE IT!
I have two questions though: (1) Should I get a non-rusty fill pipe? If so, where? (2) How do I get rid of a rusty old gas tank filled with varnish residue?
