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Petrol tank refurb


digs

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Hi - picked up a spare fuel tank that I planned on cleaning up and painting as a good replacement for the one on my 202.

 

anything special I should know about refurbing tanks ? Obviously totally empty before doing anything , but is this sort of thing worth doing or for older tanks and just an external clean and paint is fine ? 
 

https://www.frost.co.uk/how-to-restore-your-classics-fuel-tank/


Thinking also anything for higher ethanol content comparability but guessing not much. fuel pump though, already have after market. 

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Seems to me that the problem with old fuel tanks it that it's difficult to know just how good or bad they are (internally) when you get them.

I bought a USB endoscope inspection camera off ebay for peanuts which is very good, but I've never used it in tank - might be handy.

 

Quite what the future olds in the new ethanol fuel era remains to be seen, but it may well prove hard on fuel tanks.

 

I've never bought any products from Frost; suspect that they may be over-rated and over-priced.

 

I was underneath my Gen7 last week and spotted 4 spot welds on the tank which I guess hold the fuel filter (or something) inside, and the spots showed the earliest signs of corrosion, so they got zapped with zinc phosphate.

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Good idea on the USB camera, will take a look at those as does sound handy!

 

If the inside of this one looks good may just clean up and paint all of the outside and look at anything that is replacable and may degrade to start the process. It's for my 6 which runs on vpower anyway as import 3sgte ecu, but I can see that going the same way over time anyway, so will need to think future proofiing.

 

 

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There used to be a product sold for repairing leaky vintage/classic motorcycle tanks which you poured into the empty tank, once you had removed it. You them swished it around until it had coated the inside, poured off the excess and left it to cure.  It might work as a precautionary measure if you are incertain about the condition of the tank.

I cannot remember what it was called (Petseal?) and, as it was some years ago. it may no longer be available

 

Just checked. It is Petseal and it is available. There are caveats!

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2 hours ago, trophytr5 said:

There used to be a product sold for repairing leaky vintage/classic motorcycle tanks which you poured into the empty tank, once you had removed it. You them swished it around until it had coated the inside, poured off the excess and left it to cure.

That seems just what the POR-15 sealer mentioned in the link by digs does.

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This may be excessive, but, if you know a good welder... Have someone cut it open and do a full on inspection :lol: (obviously needs to be a good welder to prevent crap welds and thus leaky holes.)

Id also then be half tempted to get it hot dip galvanised (block allllllll holes off but ensure whatever used to block it off with, can be easily removed) then you're set until you're old and in nappies again :thumbsup:

Have often thought about it myself, but, for the moment, it's a luxury than a necessity-and no space to store a tank! 

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I think it's hard to say what to do to the inside of an old tank. I have heard of some people putting citric acid solution which will nicely remove the rust and leave a clean(ish) metal surface, which you could then coat with... who knows? How many products have a long track record with E10?

 

If the inside looks half-decent, I think I would be inclined down the route of "If it ain't broke..."

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50 minutes ago, Fuppylodders said:

How come? Other than the obvious potential fuel left in, but surely a proper swirl around with some kind of solution and heat dried out would eliminate that risk..? 

 

I thought the same many, many years ago when I modified my old escort rally car fuel tank to move the fuel outlet away from just behind the rear wheel. Half an hour flushing through with water, then welded a plate over the exit hole.

Near the end, I accidentally blew a hole and there was a quick high pitched pop and I heard a rustle in the nearby hedge. When I'd finished, I realised the filler cap was missing - I found it under the hedge where I'd heard the rustle. I then went to refit the tank and found it was now too big to fit back where it had been, especially the flat sides which were now curved outwards like a ballon.

 

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