I dropped the fuel tank...

[CopperheadandFlash]

...about a month ago. Its not too bad in my opinion, perhaps yall have seen better or worse. Its been empty for ages, which helps. Pretty simple to remove I thought, just had one tricky quick connect that needed to be pinched just right to release. There is some loose rust in there, mainly from the filler neck I think, Ive tried to leave it still to keep from getting it farther in the tank. My main question is, what are some of the common ways yall have rust treated them, and how have they lasted? I see a lot of muriatic acid jobs done, and then some sort of sealer. Also full kits like por-15 type that would work well too. I cant imagine the acid would hurt much, but wouldn't the sealer clog up those small tubes in the baffle area? I feel like it would be difficult to get even coverage as well with that baffle. Seems like it would be tricky. Just gathering some do's and do not's on that topic.

My fuel pump and sender assembly looks like its been at the bottom of the ocean however. I've been reading that the Walbro pumps are the way to go for replacement as the original is like hens teeth to obtain. Ill keep reading on those. I also read a lot about adding a fuel cell to the spare tire well, but I'm not really interested in that route as I'm going more for originality than anything (Lame, I know...). Besides, I want to try cleaning a tank, I'm still new and I want to give just about everything a shot.

[john keefe]

Don't know if you still have shops which do caustic tanking, or muriatic, but that used to be a common start to cleaning one up, professionally. Whether you start with that, or jump right into pouring a sealer, you want to get as much gunk and loose rust out of there without causing more to flake off. Some of the cures use a rust converter than solidifies into a sealant, but there's always the chance that something might flake off over time. Kinda' like what happens sometimes when you use "rust converter" primer on body-repair metal... eventually water (or in this case, fuel) can work its way under some thin area, and then your protection is only as good as the thin layer of sealant. And, as you pointed out, too much might plug smaller baffles.

Got restoration shops doing classic or antique cars? Ask them what they do if they can't find a replacement tank, or who they use for repairs.

Walbro 255 is a great pump replacement solution. More than enough pressure to support what the stock car needs, and plenty of reserve if your upgrades start demanding more fuel. It's pretty easy to bypass the external, in-line pump at the fuel filter along the driver's side rail, and just use the filter.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Eastwood catalog has good products, maybe one product to dissolve rust and then another to seal it. Then a strong epoxy paint on the outside.

[thesameguy]

I'd echo John's suggestion of having it professionally handled - get it boiled and sealed, and it'll be good for a very long time. I would personally not use a DIY method - partly because the process is very finicky to get right, but primarily because if you *don't* get it right and you miss a spot or the treatment doesn't get into a little corner of something you've basically wasted the whole effort.... rust needs only a foothold to totally take over.

I would personally not entertain a fuel cell for a daily driver... they are difficult to implement safely and practically. I think most race bodies now requite a bladder to improve the safety factor, which is just one more thing for you to pay attention to.

Definitely do the Walbro upgrade, there's zero reason not to. And you don't have to go straight to a 255lph pump - they make lots of similar pumps with lower throughput that will do you fine. Ironically, though, the 255lph model is possibly the cheapest... so if you don't mind the slight extra noise, it'll save you a few bucks probably.

[reddy2300]

As far as the rust removal on the inside...white vinegar. No joke. The next time I have to clean one from the inside, I'll go buy 8-10 gallons of the stuff (it's REALLY cheap) and dump it in and let it set.

The POR-15 should be used on the outside. Hit it with some course sandpaper to knock all of the heavy crud off and then start painting the POR-15 right onto the rust.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Plain old white vinegar is amazing. I have soaked an extremely rusty part overnight and it eats away all the rust. But then the part will flash rust in minutes, so I dip it into not one but two buckets filled with clean water. Then dry it really good and oil. It would require what 15 gallons to do the inside? With small tanks, like a motorcycle, people would put nuts and bolts inside and shake it until clean. It may be better to find a good used tank. The last XR tank I opened up looked horrible on the outside, but was not rusty inside at all. This one looks really bad inside. Not saying you couldn't clean the inside, and use something like red coat to seal it. But worth looking into replacing.

[john keefe]

Kinda' forgot vinegar is such a great all-purpose cleaner. Works great with baking soda for kid's large scale volcano projects too. It is acidic and will etch bare metal given enough time, so as reddy mentioned, you want to wash with water, dry and protect ASAP. If you really want to assure you've got all the acid out, add some baking soda to your flush. Think of doing body repair work, and how quickly rust flash can appear on bare metal, and that's only what you can see after its had some time to grow.

Andy, have you used that Red-Kote before? Pour and shake, or keep turning the tank over and pour out the excess? How do you dispose of the excess? How long to cure?

[Ed Lijewski]

Tried white vinegar...does dissolve rust but requires several batches.

For professional service find a place that does "Gas Tank Renu". Pricey, but lifetime warrantied.

YMMV

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Andy, have you used that Red-Kote before? Pour and shake, or keep turning the tank over and pour out the excess? How do you dispose of the excess? How long to cure?

I've seen it used to restore old motorcycles. Ya you just keep turning it over and over then pour the excess back into the container for next time.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Once I cleaned the rust off a 2.3 head and it looked like new. I had a 5 gallon bucket and 2 gallons of cheap vinegar. The only problem was I could only soak half then had to flip it to soak the other half. That's when I discovered the whole flash rusting thing.

[Ed Lijewski]

https://www.gastankrenu.com/

YMMV

[CopperheadandFlash]

Ok, lots of things to consider now. I'll speak with my mechanic if he know anyone who does cleaning, thanks for the link Ed, but the closest is savannah. I'll search for similar closer to me. I can see the benefits of having it done vs diy, so I'm gonna consider all options. I had looked at a eastwood kit Andy, I always hear good things about their products. clogging those little tubes does concern me still. And I hadn't even considered what to do about the exterior. I suppose if the inside is gonna look pretty the exterior should too. Gonna need to replace those foam pads anyway. Not much squish left to them. The walbro pump seems to be a definite plan. I will return soon with updates. In the process of arranging a shop to work on stuff in so that slows down projects a bit.

[reddy2300]

Go to a craft supply store and buy some 1/4" or 3/16" medium or high density foam panels. I did that when I did mine and they worked great. The object is to keep the tank from rubbing against the body.

[thesameguy]

You can buy synthetic weatherstripping at any home improvement store (or amazon) as well...

In addition to keeping the tank from rubbing on the body, it helps seal off the various openings in the tank from the outside, so moisture and dust don't accumulate around the pump etc. openings. Using a dense weatherstripping material will do that better than open cell foam.