Awhile back (last month?

) I was dealing with fuel delivery issues and found a fuel leak in the cab, which has dissolved the floor paint.

Maintenance program commenced: remove passenger seat and fuel tank and find this:
View attachment 3407771
Yep that ther iz rust-through. . . Found the oxy-acetylene gas supplier had retired, but another garage picked up his inventory so I exchanged the empty bottle for a new one and proceeded to re-learn my molecular joining skills with mild steel 16 ga. thickness. Then after carefully isolating the under-cab fuel and brake lines with spare pieces of metal roofing and wood blocks, I cut out the rusty bits and located some sheet steel which turned out to be too thin- burning excess and not getting good welds. They broke apart easily when I hammered them (F%#@c£).
Then I got inspired by looking through the odds and ends of junk metal and found the struts from an old BBQ grill were the exact thickness of 16 ga. (1/16”), ground off the rust to shiny metal and got a couple good tacks and FIRE

(undercoat began to burn), hearty breathing put that out

Then I got underneath and scraped it off around the weld site and started over again. Welding is tough with oxy-acetylene torch and rod. Probably will search for a good value MIG setup.
Here’s the fuel tank:
View attachment 3407796
I installed it back in ‘99. Obviously it hid moisture underneath which led to the rust.
Mid-project right now, and I’ll post up photos after welding is complete. UPS is delivering new welding rods . . . I’m still waiting.