Can this gas tank be saved? OR - bondo fest!

[tdskip]

The gas tank bottom has a bunch of bondo slopped on it which was then painted with some sort of black paint. The tank continued rusting under the bondo. The trunk floor under the tank also has a bunch of bondo under the repaint. Oh joy…

 

[DNK]

Yuk

 

[mrv8q]

Hey, TD, the hardest part is done.... pulling the tank. Funny, I just picked up my cleaned/boiled out gas tank yesterday from Mac's Radiator in Bellflower, CA. I wanted to start w/ a clean tank for the TR6. Mac's is a RENU franchise. They charged $250 to go thru the tank and seal inside/out.......

 

[dklawson]

Almost anything can be saved. The question is where to draw the line.

If you chemically remove the bondo (and likely fiberglass) how much metal is left? Even if it's a maze of pin holes, a tank coating might be possible. Check your local yellow pages to see if any of the radiator shops do that sort of work and get their opinion and a quote.

If the shops won't touch it you could consider coating this yourself. I've coated three tanks and been pleased with the results on two. The tank lining kits from POR are the best I've used so far and they would be worth trying if a new tank or professional lining is out of the question. For more information on that process (and tank cleaning) use the search feature on the forum. There have been numerous thread on the topic... most of them in the Spridget and MG side of things.

 

[kodanja]

I wouldn't try to save it!

 

[angelfj1]

not worth your life

find a replacement

 

[Guest]

TD, life is short enough. Get another tank.

 

[foxtrapper]

Beware fiberglass repairs and modern gasoline. The two don't mix well, at all. The alcohol content disolves the resin, leaving you a nice leaky gas tank.

Were it my tank, I'd scrape/brush off the mess and look at the base metal to make my decision.

 

[DNK]

You got me interested in the Renu people. Dang,nobody in WA.

 

[svtmikey]

It looks too far gone to save...maybe you can ask for new tank for your birthday if it's coming soon.
Of course Valentines day is coming up as well......

Mikey

 

[rotoflex]

Send it to Moyer's Fuel Tank Renu.
https://www.gas-tank.com/

They've been repairing gas tanks a long time, have done a few for me, & their work is excellent.

 

[DNK]

How do you send a gas tank through UPS?

 

[tdskip]

How do you send a gas tank through UPS?

Once it is drained, really rinsed out, and vented for a while it is just metal.

I've decided that I'm going to bring mine to get chemically dipped to properly access how bad off it is.

 

[dklawson]

Having the tank professionally dipped to clean it may be throwing good money after bad, particularly if after it's cleaned the shop tells you it's not worth saving.

On the MG or Spridget forum of this board there were a couple of threads during the past six months that discussed boiling out a tank at home. The process involves nothing more than water, a gas grill, and patience. That will clean the inside. Removing the Bondo and fiberglass... I'd think chemical paint strippers (before the grill) would work wonders and cost less than shipping and dipping this tank.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

A good radiator shop will give you an assessment before they boil it out. I had mine, albeit no where near as ugly as yours, boiled, minor holes repaired, pressure tested, and internally coated for $200. At the same shop, I had a heater core boiled and pressure tested for $20.

IMO, at the least it is worth some time to have it looked at.

 

[rlandrum]

I had the entire bottom of mine replace for about $200. It was actually a pretty easy job, given the simplicity of the tank.

 

[tdskip]

Thanks guys - I appreciate the help and coaching.

So I did drop the tank off at Strip Clean (chemical stripping) today because all the local shops indicated that they don't touch gas tanks anymore. Not sure if it is an Orange County CA thing, but no one wants to touch these tanks anymore. If I had an option like you found Ray I would jump on it.

I took a screw driver to the fiberglass and it was actually pretty solid under there. It almost looks like the DPO did this preemptively.

There is a bit of rolling of the dice here, but even if I have to get some welding done I think I'll still be under the cost of a replacement tank.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

Sorry to here that the shops in your area stop doing gas tanks, but do allow chemical stripping companies to exist. Here in Santa Cruz it is the other way around. Still have not found a paint and rust stripping company up here.

Oh, the radiator shop here fixed the few holes in my tank with solder and metal patches.

Waiting to see the results...

 

[TR3driver]

The tank in my 3A looked worse than that when I got the car in 84. Once I got tired of the constant smell, I fixed it myself with torch, solder & a flattened tomato can; still doesn't leak (tho it does shed some rust into the fuel).