57 ranchero gas tank

[electricalan]

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 

[410ranchero]

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.

[hiball3985]

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.

[electricalan]

 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

[hiball3985]

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..

[Frankenstein57]

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

[410ranchero]

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.

[electricalan]

Tank pics. Happy Turkey day!!

[hiball3985]

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..