Builds POTM - March, 2014 - Javelina By Pablo Cruise (1 Viewer)

[PabloCruise]

They cut holes in it and blast it, then weld back up. Coat it inside and out. Pressure test, also.

That sounds awesome.
Thanks Ron!

 

[bobm]

POR 15 makes a product for fuel tanks

 

[PabloCruise]

POR 15 makes a product for fuel tanks

I have seen it, but I have also heard stories about liners that flake off the inside and occlude the feed line. I do not want to pull this tank again any time in the near future...

 

[J Mack]

Why not just make a custom tank out of aluminum

Or you can have one made if you don't have the facility to weld aluminum yourself.

http://www.boydwelding.com/request-gas-tank-quote

 

[PabloCruise]

I have no valid to reply to the question "why not...", other than I am afraid I would screw it up and it would take me a coon's age to complete.

I guess I will go back through your build to find the part where you fabbed yours.

The vent lines are not too tricky, just one for each corner. Return line does not matter that much, just have it drop in at the pass side front corner. Supply line - that one is important! I wish I had an image of a pig tank someone cut open to see where this runs. I would think you want it to pull from the back of the tank, eh? Losing power on an uphill would suck more than losing power on a downhill...

Baffles? Those baffle me.

Fill inlet doesn't have to enter the tank at the floor, does it? Does the overflow line go from fill neck to the top of the tank?

Darn it @J Mack, you got me thinking now...

 

[J Mack]

I have no valid to reply to the question "why not...", other than I am afraid I would screw it up and it would take me a coon's age to complete.

The material is cheap so really what do you have to lose?

I guess I will go back through your build to find the part where you fabbed yours.



...

I will send you all pictures and dimensions you need….

The vent lines are not too tricky, just one for each corner. Return line does not matter that much, just have it drop in at the pass die front corner. Supply line - that one is important! I wish I had an image of a pig tank someone cut open to see where this runs. I would think you want it to pull from the back of the tank, eh? Losing power on an uphill would suck more than losing power on a downhill...



Baffles? Those baffle me.



Fill inlet doesn't have to enter the tank at the floor, does it? Does the overflow line go from fill neck to the top of the tank?



...

Looks like you have at least one junk tank now, why don’t you cut the top off and show us what the inside looks like?

Now is the perfect time to convert your filler to 2” and add extra pickups.

Darn it @J Mack, you got me thinking now...

It’s what I do!

Look at the link I posted and give them a call to see what a tank would cost to have built.

 

[PabloCruise]

I will send you all pictures and dimensions you need….

Thank you sir, PM sent w/ email address!

 

[PabloCruise]

They cut holes in it and blast it, then weld back up. Coat it inside and out. Pressure test, also.

I wonder what would be the best way to cut one of these open? If you wanted to see the inside, and perhaps entertain hopes of maybe putting it back together...

 

[PabloCruise]

Pablo,

I had the same reoccurring rust issue with my M37 tank. Sent it to Renu, no more problems. It's not a cheap fix, but if you want to keep your tank, food for thought. http://www.gastankrenu.com/how.htm

Thanks Ron. I saw there was a Renu dealer in Utah, so I called them.
Gas Tank Renu Utah | Gas Tank Renu
Dustin was super helpful and got excited when I said it was a Land Cruiser tank. Then when I said a 55, he said he had never dealt with one of those. It turns out he knows Kurt @cruiseroutfit and actually imported a JDM diesel 60. He said chances were good that the tank would be fine with a milder treatment than the Renu process. Super helpful!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Thanks Ron. I saw there was a Renu dealer in Utah, so I called them. Dustin was super helpful and got excited when I said it was a Land Cruiser tank. Then when I said a 55, he said he had never dealt with one of those. It turns out he knows Kurt @cruiseroutfit and actually imported a JDM diesel 60. He said chances were good that the tank would be fine with a milder treatment than the Renu process. Super helpful!

Small world. Dustin is a great guy and we refer a lot of radiator/cooling system work down to their shop. Good to know about the Renu too!

Dustin bought an HJ61 via our partners at LCD, he's really getting to know diesels and becoming a great local resource for service work on them.

 

[PabloCruise]

Small world. Dustin is a great guy and we refer a lot of radiator/cooling system work down to their shop. Good to know about the Renu too!

Dustin bought an HJ61 via our partners at LCD, he's really getting to know diesels and becoming a great local resource for service work on them.

That is great to hear! I really enjoyed talking with him. If I make it over for Cruiser Fest (very slim chance) I was going to bring my tank and drop it off with him.

 

[PabloCruise]

In my mind, there are 3 ways to approach the fuel tank dilemma...

1. Find a replacement tank that fits my '74 and get it cleaned
2. Send my '74 tank over to Utah for a proper treatment and sealing
3. Embark on the creation of a custom tank w/ encouragement from @J Mack

Option 1 should be the least time & $, while option 3 would be the most.

Thanks to Ige @nuclearlemon , I am now able to pursue option 1. She did have a tank with the longer fill sub and the 4 vent lines in the same place as mine. I cleaned up that outside of the tank and took it to my local radiator shop to get boiled out and leak checked. Hope they will be finished with it next week.

 

[PabloCruise]

While the tank was out, this seemed like the right time to clean up the bottom of the Pig.
Make no mistake, my Pig is no frame-off resto unlike some of the stellar work exhibited in here. I really liked the look of these body mounts before I bought it, and the bottom is pretty darn clean. No matter how nice it was, the undercoating on the bottom was 40+ years old. When I dropped the tank, I took the pressure washer to the bottom and a bunch of debris came off. Last weekend I got serious about this effort and got after the bottom with a drill-mounted wire brush. Lots of debris rained down on me while I was struggling around under Pig on the creeper. Out came the pressure washer again - more debris falls off! Then a quick dry with compressed air - more debris. Wipe the bottom w/ wax and grease remover - more debris. Wipe the wax and grease remover dry - slightly less debris. Apply some Chassis Saver to what looks like some mild surface rust and go mess with the lawn for 3 hours. Finally shoot the fresh new undercoat and realize I should have bought 3 cans instead of 2!
When I get more undercoat I can do a before and after set of pics...

 

[PabloCruise]

When I was dropping the tank, I got the feeling that the fasteners on the driver side were stock, and the passenger was all messed up.
First off, for my '74, the proper fasteners were M10 x 1.25, unless you were a real ass-hole, and then you could force a M10 x 1.50 into one of those holes, and then you could break off the forward passenger side bolt and then resort to a sheet metal screw to hold up that corner of the tank. I s*** you not...
I hit the JIS fastener store in Denver to get some nice new bolts. I noticed that it looks like Toyota may have set things up to run a longer bolt on the rear of each side of the tank - perhaps so you could sag the back end of the tank and then suck all the fuel out? I don't know, maybe, but I got shorter bolts for the front, and longer for the rear should I ever need to pump that tank dry again (I hope not) I will try this theory. I got an M10 x 1.25 tap to clean out all the holes as well - especially the one that someone crammed the M10 x 1.50 bolt into.
Last item was the broken off bolt. I had been applying Kroil to the top exposed threads in the hope that I could back this out. I grabbed the top of the bolt with some vice grips and was able to walk it up in the threads - then more Kroil. I was going to run out of room to get it all the way out through the top, but at least it moved! So I screwed it down as far as I could and broke out the Dremel to cut a slot in the bolt. It was a little resistant to getting backed out with the screw driver. so I screwed the bolt back in and used that drill-mounted wire wheel brush to clean all the way around the thread. More Kroil and then she screwed right out - nice!

 

[PabloCruise]

At the same time I decided to get serious about 3-point retractable belts for the front. The adjustable were okay, but a little bit of a pain. I gave up on my idea of finding some original belts after thinking about the retractors and the webbing being ~40 years old. Given that I'll have my and my child in the front with me, I decided to go for new. I was really pleased with a set of 3-point belts from seabeltsplus.com:

http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/product/WSCH300.html

I went with this set because the belts were 133" long - perfect, and the buckle end was adjustable out to 25 inches - should be nice when the drives Pig and needs the bench all the way forward.

The retractor housing is smaller than the reference set out of a '76 Pig, so they clear my bench well with the holes I added to my B pillars.

 

[PabloCruise]

About the only other thing going on is I am still pressing forward with the idea of reviving dealer installed AC in conjunction with the 3FE AC compressor. I cleaned up the compressor bracket I got and have been locating the hardware to use this. I found the bolts to mount the compressor to the bracket, and found a used tensioner bolt as the one that came with my bracket was actually rippled! Oye...

 

[scrapdaddy]

A lot of good work! The floor pan looks to be in good shape, you got lucky. What brand of undercoating are you using?

 

[PabloCruise]

A lot of good work! The floor pan looks to be in good shape, you got lucky. What brand of undercoating are you using?

I kissed a pretty big toad before this one, so yes, partially lucky and partially "experienced". You gotta pay your dues, eh?

 

[abqcruiser]

Did you take a picture of yourself after the under carriage cleaning? That had to have been one dirty job! It's bad enough doing it on a rotisserie. Thanks for the info on the seat belts. I'm getting really close to making a purchase for my pig. What have you decided to do with rear seat belts, retractable?

 

[PabloCruise]

What brand of undercoating are you using?

The local paint supply store has been really helpful in my quest to get the 40 painted, so I trust them. The owner likes Evercoat vs. 3M. Says he has been carrying it over 20 years and it is $8/can less expensive than 3M. I guess I'll know in a few years!