new fuel tank install question

auto_cran · Postby **auto_cran** » 03 Dec 2014 12:13

I'm getting ready to install a new fuel tank (along with new fuel tank sending unit, new straps, new fuel filler neck). Everything purchased from Rimmers Brothers. I have the entire rear end out of the car (painted it, will be installing new bushinsg & shocks).

The new tank is painted (POR15) and the new sending unit is in place.

My question is this: Once I get the tank installed, before I proceed with reinstalling the rear end, should I fill up the tank with fuel to assure no leaks?

Any other tips on installing the new tank would be a greatly welcomed! I thought raising it up and installing it would be a snap - but it quickly proved me wrong.

Chris
'76 Java Green FHC â€“ a continued work in progress

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 03 Dec 2014 13:55

There is no such thing as "installing is a snap" but it can be done. Checking for leaks before installing a new tank would seem to be a bit of overkill. Personally, if you are planning to keep the car long term I would consider sealing the inside of the tank with POR-15 tank sealer system,

http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Fuel-Tank-Repair-Kit_p_62.html

not just painting the outside as they rust from inside. Down the road you would eliminate all those filter blocking problems. If you sell the car down the road it would be a good selling point. Even with a new tank I would flush it with cleaner, Metalready it to prove zinc coating as well as providing a "key" for the sealer to grip.

One caveat is the sealer must be drained out so it can properly cure. As the sender hole(s) are not at the low point you have to get a bung welded in at the low point. In my case it had preciously been done in upper front left hand corner (not practical to drain any condensed water later, but no leaks if bolt doesn't seal properly).

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

Hasbeen · Postby **Hasbeen** » 03 Dec 2014 23:53

While I agree with Spyder that sealing the inside is a sound idea, I did not bother when I installed my new tank a couple of years back, for 2 reasons.

1/ It took 27 years for the first tank to give internal rust trouble. In another 27 years I will be 100, & am unlikely to be driving. I thought it would be unfair of me to deprive any new owner at that time the fun of replacing the tank.

2/ Before I found the water, & repaired the rust in my tank about 10 years ago, I had been using Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant in my fuel for a few months. This preferentially disperses in water rather than petrol I found. The water was an oily mixture heavily loaded with the stuff which would not be capable of causing rust. Merely touching it covered your fingers in oil. The inside of the tank was similarly coated. I had a big cleaning job before welding in new metal to replace the rusty part I'd cut out.

Well that's my reasoning [excuse] for being too lazy to POR15 treat my new tank.

Hasbeen

john 215 · Postby **john 215** » 04 Dec 2014 05:11

Hi,

One thing I have done all the tanks I have out, is cover the chassis rail either side on there top surface with waxoyl its so much easier to get to that area with the tank out. Plus replace the rubber hose they are normally in a very poor state. Plenty of copperslip on the studs that hold the tank straps, in another 30 years you will be glad you done that !!

Cheers John

LIVE LIFE A QUARTER OF A MILE AT A TIME!

1976 Speke FHC BEAUTY FITTED WITH OVERDRIVE GEARBOX

1979 3.5 FHC CURRENTLY GARDEN ART !

1982 2.0 DHC NOW A 4.6, BUILT NOT BROUGHT !!!!

auto_cran · Postby **auto_cran** » 04 Dec 2014 11:25

Thanks all.

Hasbeen - I had the same reasoning - it took 35+ years for the tank to get into the state it was in (and that includes the car being neglected for many of those years). The only reason I painted it was because it arrived in an orange/rust color - and that wouldn't look good when installed.

John - I did do something similar. I cleaned all the rails and surfaces, applied POR15, then added an undercoating. Came out great. I also painted the new tank straps (silver) as they arrived in an unpainted/bare metal state. The rubber fuel filler hose was hard to find, but did get one in a few days ago.

Chris
'76 Java Green FHC â€“ a continued work in progress

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 04 Dec 2014 13:23

All good points about the gas tank. But since mine was the twin hole FI tank, had been previously sealed with something that didn't last (it had to be cleaned out, no easy job) it was money and time well spent as it will never have to be done again. Since everything was like new in the tank area I just sprayed everything with a wax oil equivalent, mixing it 50/50 with turpentine and using compressor and engine cleaning wand that would suck up the mixture and spray it out in a fine mist. If the metal was rusty I would have POR-15'd it but there are so many nooks and crannies I don't know how you'd get to them all.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

DNK · Postby **DNK** » 04 Dec 2014 13:46

Geez Hasbeen- Fuels are different know with all that Ethylene

Don
Stick a Wedge In It
80 TR7 V8 Kick in the pants

dursleyman · Postby **dursleyman** » 04 Dec 2014 14:11

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by FI Spyder

All good points about the gas tank. But since mine was the twin hole FI tank, had been previously sealed with something that didn't last (it had to be cleaned out, no easy job) it was money and time well spent as it will never have to be done again. Since everything was like new in the tank area I just sprayed everything with a wax oil equivalent, mixing it 50/50 with turpentine and using compressor and engine cleaning wand that would suck up the mixture and spray it out in a fine mist. If the metal was rusty I would have POR-15'd it but there are so many nooks and crannies I don't know how you'd get to them all.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I like how your metal is all nice paint where mine is covered with underseal and I still had to treat the top of the chassis rails.

Russ

1981 TR7 Sprint DHC
Dursley
UK

http://tr7russ.blogspot.co.uk/

Hasbeen · Postby **Hasbeen** » 04 Dec 2014 14:51

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by DNK

Geez Hasbeen- Fuels are different know with all that Ethylene

Don
Stick a Wedge In It
80 TR7 V8 Kick in the pants

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

You have my sympathy Don, with that junk in your fuel. Fortunately we have not been that stupid here in Oz. We added up to 10% alcohol for a while, it was not mandated as it is in the US, & as it was a poor seller most service stations stopped selling it quite a while back.

I don't know if you could find it anywhere in my state, Queensland, at all now.

I don't know what effect it would have on upper cylinder lubricant, nothing good I would expect.

Hasbeen

DNK · Postby **DNK** » 04 Dec 2014 15:15

Well those people who made that decision to stop should tell our law makers a thing or 2

Don
Stick a Wedge In It
80 TR7 V8 Kick in the pants

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 04 Dec 2014 20:07

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dursleyman

I like how your metal is all nice paint where mine is covered with underseal and I still had to treat the top of the chassis rails.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's how it came from the factory. There was some underseal in the front wheel wells how ever. After some scrubbing to clean I retouched them up. The appraiser that I had appraise it this spring for collector insurance couldn't believe what he was seeing on a car that hasn't been restored and had travelled 104,000 miles. Check out these tank studs.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

darrellw · Postby **darrellw** » 04 Dec 2014 20:30

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by FI Spyder

[quote]Originally posted by dursleyman

I like how your metal is all nice paint where mine is covered with underseal and I still had to treat the top of the chassis rails.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's how it came from the factory. There was some underseal in the front wheel wells how ever. After some scrubbing to clean I retouched them up. The appraiser that I had appraise it this spring for collector insurance couldn't believe what he was seeing on a car that hasn't been restored and had travelled 104,000 miles. Check out these tank studs.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

The joys of cars originally from dry climates. The tank studs were about as clean on my car when I dropped the tank (also originally from California). But the factory was pretty lax in painting the underside of the front light panel on my car, looks like they were hoping paint fumes would coat it. I spray it annually with cavity wax, because there really isn't any way to get up there to paint it without major disassembly.

Darrell Walker
66 TR4A IRS-SC CTC67956L
81 TR8 SATPZ458XBA406206
Vancouver, WA, USA

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 04 Dec 2014 23:05

You are right the front is pretty lightly painted in areas. When I had my bumper off I brushed on paint extender. It's kind of like a varnish. It's added to oil based paint. I had never heard of it before but local paint store carried it. I got that tip from MG site. Don't know what I was doing there.

I also sprayed wax oil in the front holes (for lack of a better term) and it fogged up over the wheel wells between the inner and outer fenders and you could see it fog out of the holes in the bottom of the front sill between wheel well and A post. Air is normally circulated through there, high pressure at the front and low pressure at the exhaust triangles (see picture below). As we can see from some of the UK pictures that is a problem area.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

silverseven · Postby **silverseven** » 05 Dec 2014 01:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Originally posted by dursleyman

I like how your metal is all nice paint where mine is covered with underseal and I still had to treat the top of the chassis rails.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Mine too and its a Canadien car ... appears to be form of spray-on brown/blackish sealer/undercoat much like ziebart/waxoil type of treatment all over most of the chassis and inner panels. I remember as a younger kid helping my Dad clean if off the most visable area under the hood and trunk lid when he first bought the car new....

Ron.

dursleyman · Postby **dursleyman** » 05 Dec 2014 09:35

Those shiny tank mounting studs are amazing! Most of us have to battle with them being rusted solid so they twist-off with the strap and you have to replace it all. Must be a joy to work on that car.

Anonymous

new fuel tank install question

new fuel tank install question

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