Hello,My name is Al and i am new to the site.I recently got my ranchero fired up after it rested since 1971.It runs great,but currently has a temp one gallon gas can ty-rapped under the hood.I need to order new tank,but the one i removed has a spare tire recess.I am guessing that would be for a wagon.Wondering if i can remove the extra sheetmetal under the bed ,and order a tank without the recess.I think i have seen both available while shopping on line.
Thanks Al
Al the tank is for Wagons and Rancheros 1957 - 1959. The fuel filler is on the drivers side, other tanks that you see for 57 - 59 series of Ford cars have the fuel filler in the rear. The sender is unique to that tank as well. If you have fabrication skills and tools a 1973 - 1976 F-100 rear tank will fit in the hole left after the spare tire well is cut out. You will have to fabricate mounts for the F-100 tank, the fill is on the correct side.
Wow, that was fast.just went out to the garage for a bit and bam! Thanks ..good info. now i got decisions to make.Yes i think i can handle some fab work. Thanks for the response.Just starting this project and sure to have many more question in the coming year. Happy hloidays! Al 57 ranchero project.
Welcome to the site. You found the right place for alot, if not all your questions...although they don't always come that fast...LOL.
What are your plans for the Ranchero? sitting for 42 years..wow. Inside storage? Have you owned it all those years, or is it a recent aquisition from somebody else that had it that long?
Thanks for the welcome.I trailered the car home from sacramento 15 years ago and garaged it.Yes its taken me quite a while to get going on it.Bad priorities,work,house,kids, college.'ha ha'.Anyway i plan to completely restore it ,and drive it all over the place.Love original rigs,but want to add creature comforts,and reliability.I do plan on road trips.The 312 fired up with minimal effort and feels strong.I would like to stick with it,and have a mild rebuild.The only stock items missing are the steering wheel,and headlight rings which were stolen during storage.
What engine code is it? I have only seen a few D-code rancheros. I have sorta been looking for a D code one, as both of my rancheros are C-codes, and most I look at are C's.
I am not positive.I have not yet been able to view numbers under manifold.The guy i bought it from told me it was a 312,and since i got it running i have had one guy say its a 292,and another say its a 312,the data plate serial number is psfh129365,the p being the engine code according to what i found on line.I do need to dial it in because if its not original i may decide on a modern engine
whooops thats not my serial number,its one i got on line when i was trying to figure out what i had.
When I first got mine I filled the tank only to find it leaking, at first I thought it was the Oring on the filler neck but I couldn't be that lucky. The recess in the floor for the spare was rotted away and so was the top of the tank. I cut both out and my son welded in a flat section of stainless on the top of the tank and some 18 gauge on the floor, it holds 24 gallons now.
sorry suedes,my data plate says c code,so now i need to get to those block numbers and see if its original
hiball,nice work on the custom tank you and your son built.That would work well on the road trips.I dont think i am up to that task of welding gas tanks,but maybe i could get help.I will have to check out the rest of the tank,but its sound like mine went the same way yours did. Thanks for the thought. Al
I was going to buy a tank but I only found one place that had one. But I really didn't want to spend $300. The patch job we did on the tank and floor was maybe $25. My son is pretty good at MIG welding and I'm not :003:. Some previous owner had put a bold and nut in the drain hole which trapped the water causing the floor to rot and eventually the top of the tank :005: This is what the floor section looked like.
jim,
Thanks for the ideas.I looked over mine a little harder and i think it might be better than i thought.I only found a few pinholes.We have a performance radiator shop that does them,but the last time i took them one for my 66 ford they wanted way more than a new one.I know new ones are about 425.00 plus s/h.so i will use that as a guide.
Thanks again Al
Al, lets us know what your radiator shop quotes you. I had it priced at a local shop here, they wanted to sand blast, repair and line it and it was as much as a new one. I was surprised that the inside was spotless which helped toward planning to do it our self.
Al
Welcome to the site.
You are going to get a lot of help and good advice here.
Jay
Thanks Jay,
I am sure I will need lots of that advice and info.I am planning on this taking me at least a year,and although i do have good mechanical skills and a well set up garage this will be my first real complete resto.Thanks for the welcome
Al Al.http://57fordsforever.com/smf/Smileys/default/burnout.gif
Jim"Old Man",
The radiator shop wanted 500.00 to blast,weld pinholes,and redcoat line the tank.Looks like Dennis carpenters 425 is a better option.After looking how good the rest of my tank is i think i am going to try your weld a new top on and create a 24 gal.tank.My brother-in-law is a welder and is exited to do it for me.Thanks again for your support.I will let you know how it goes.We plan to do it this weekend,but i may run new fuel line before i install it.
Al
Quote from: electricalan on 2013-11-22 16:22
Jim"Old Man",
The radiator shop wanted 500.00 to blast,weld pinholes,and redcoat line the tank.Looks like Dennis carpenters 425 is a better option.After looking how good the rest of my tank is i think i am going to try your weld a new top on and create a 24 gal.tank.My brother-in-law is a welder and is exited to do it for me.Thanks again for your support.I will let you know how it goes.We plan to do it this weekend,but i may run new fuel line before i install it.
Al
FWIW I went through all this a couple times, trying to patch little pin holes. I have used that red pour in sealer in the past and have yet to be impressed, especially when you consider the cost.
My new routine to use the battery charger and run electrolysis on the tank for a day or two(google it, I get the PH decreaser from Lowes for 6 bucks and use some rebar and electrical tape to make sure the electrode doesn't touch the tank, dump to old liquid in the yard as its non-toxic!). After that it done, wire brush the outside of the tank to see where all the pin holes are. Cut this out and weld in a new patch. You can seal the small holes with JB quick if there are any in welds. Paint with rustoleum.
I've tried all the other patch and seal options to no avail, this method has yet to fail me, and is the most cost effective. I would buy a new tank if this method isn't available to you for some reason. I left the spare tire well indentation in my tank as well, wasn't that hard to fit a patch.
Quote from: electricalan on 2013-11-22 16:22
Jim"Old Man",
The radiator shop wanted 500.00 to blast,weld pinholes,and redcoat line the tank.Looks like Dennis carpenters 425 is a better option.After looking how good the rest of my tank is i think i am going to try your weld a new top on and create a 24 gal.tank.My brother-in-law is a welder and is exited to do it for me.Thanks again for your support.I will let you know how it goes.We plan to do it this weekend,but i may run new fuel line before i install it.
Al
BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS FUMES CAN BLOW A TANK APART! We rinsed the tank several times with soap and water and then marked the area we wanted to cut out, plugged the fuel line outlet and filled it with water, then cut the section with a cut off wheel.
Thanks for the responses. Yes we did clean tank very well,plasma cut the well area out,and welded a new top on.It appears to be very solid.I did order "damon industries",red coat tank liner,and exterior tank coating,both claim to seal pinhole size leaks.This is the same product the shop that gave me the quote uses.The tank does not leak and the metal on the inside looked new.I am thinking by the time i coat inside and out it will be a bit better than new.I do have pics to post.I will have to figure out how to do that,but not sure i will get to it on turkey day or not. Thanks Al
Great! I always like when someone is willing to tackle a problem on their own rather then just throwing money at it. I'm sure the money saved can be used for other parts and pieces..
I used a tank sealer kit from KBS coatings, I didn't have holes, but I didn't trust the cleaning job results.Turned out great, I had some left over product that dumped out of the tank, I filled some holes rotted below the windshield corners . Hardest product I've ever seen, bonded like no other. The tank has been used for about 3 years with no problems. I painted the outside of the tank with they're rust seal, Mark
Quote from: electricalan on 2013-11-27 23:01
Thanks for the responses. Yes we did clean tank very well,plasma cut the well area out,and welded a new top on.It appears to be very solid.I did order "damon industries",red coat tank liner,and exterior tank coating,both claim to seal pinhole size leaks.This is the same product the shop that gave me the quote uses.The tank does not leak and the metal on the inside looked new.I am thinking by the time i coat inside and out it will be a bit better than new.I do have pics to post.I will have to figure out how to do that,but not sure i will get to it on turkey day or not. Thanks Al
I hope you have better luck than me with that stuff. The last tank I used that on I ended up throwing away. The stuff never set up. Maybe it was something I did.
I had an old timer explain it to me like this; when ford made the tank in 57' they didnt use any goo or sealer. as long as you have clean metal inside, there is no reason why a solid tank can't make it another 56 years. That made me cut out the obvious bad parts, remove the rust fromt he rest and put it back in.
Tank pics. Happy Turkey day!!
(http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/electricalan/ranchero008_zps87bc2d3f.jpg) (http://s1012.photobucket.com/user/electricalan/media/ranchero008_zps87bc2d3f.jpg.html)
(http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/electricalan/ranchero006_zps83547a9b.jpg) (http://s1012.photobucket.com/user/electricalan/media/ranchero006_zps83547a9b.jpg.html)
(http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/electricalan/ranchero011_zps89d09623.jpg) (http://s1012.photobucket.com/user/electricalan/media/ranchero011_zps89d09623.jpg.html)
That's exactly what I did. I didn't have access to a bead roller so we just tacked a few small strips across the new section so it wouldn't flex, don't know if it really need it or not..