Clean my old gas tank or buy a new one?

[robroy]

Good evening,

Last weekend I pulled my old gas tank out of my truck. My truck just got back from a six year vacation in the yard (sitting under a redwood tree), and it's getting a nice new engine so I didn't want to risk pumping all kinds of garbage in to it!

The tank was about half full during these years (and it's the original tank).

Of course it's difficult to see the inside of the gas tank, but it looks fine from what I can see. At least I don't see anything horrible right around the inlet!

I mentioned my plans to a buddy to hire a radiator shop to clean it out, and he suggested I buy a new tank instead. He said that radiator shops can't really get the tank super clean, and I naturally don't want to risk pumping crud in to my new engine.

Does anybody have words of wisdom on this topic?

Thanks!
-Robroy

[BobbyFord]

I have had tanks cleaned by radiator shops with some very good results, I've also bought cherry clean used gas tanks from the local truck boneyard for $25.

[convincor]

pulled one from a parts truck that had been sitting for 7-8 years. Dumped the old fuel, pulled the sending unit out to get a better look inside and it was clean. Besides that flush your lines out.
Another thing, if your running a duel feed holley, I like to run these filters.
Mercruiser uses them on all there big HP motors like the 500HP, 650SC and the 700HP

[robroy]

Good morning BobbyFord and Convincor,

Thanks very much for the suggestions! Maybe I'll have a closer look at the insides of my tank before choosing to buy a new one.

Convincor, thanks for the photo of the nice filters! I'm going to be running with an Edelbrok carb so these may not work for me, but I do plan to install at least two aftermarket filters between the tank and the carb regardless.

Thanks also for the suggestion to clean out my lines; I removed all of them from the truck and was planning on taking them with the tank to a radiator shop to have them flushed out.

Does anybody else have any opinions or suggestions?

Thanks!
-Robroy

[derek7871]

I bought a new one. $200 from LMC. It fit perfecty, was easy to install, and I now have the peace of mind that my entire fuel delivery system is new.

Cooter

[robroy]

Hello Cooter, thanks very much for your reply!

Do you know where the LMC part is made? Since LMC won't tell me over the phone, the only way to find out is to ask somebody who ordered one.

Thanks again,
-Robroy

[derek7871]

I really don't know. I replaced it about a year and a half ago, so the box is long gone. I'll flip the seat up and see if I can find "Made in........" stamped on there somewhere.

Cooter

[robroy]

'Evening Cooter, that's really nice of you to check it out--thanks very much!

-Robroy

[derek7871]

I'm at work now, so it'll be tomorrow evening before I can reply.

[derek7871]

I looked on the gas tank and I could not find a "Made in ....." stamp anywhere. Sorry...


Cooter

[robroy]

'Evening Cooter, thanks for checking it out! -Robroy

[derek7871]

No problem. Regardless of where it was made, it was made well and worth $200.

Cooter

[robroy]

Great! Thanks Cooter. -Robroy

[tsherry]

I have a '67 F250 that sat with a half-tank for 10 years. I drained what I could, dropped it with the rest (turned out to be sludge), and bought a cleaning/sealing kit from POR15.com.

Stuff is like magic. Cleaned out all the varnish, sealed up all the rust, and worked like a charm. Have used it 3x on some of my other ancient Fords. I swear by the stuff.

[robroy]

Good morning Tsherry, thanks for the advice! I may check that stuff out.

I heard back from Dennis Carpenter about their gas tank. They said it's made "overseas" and that it has emissions control connections on it. I replied to try to get more information on what "overseas" means--I'll post whatever they come up with.

Thanks!
-Robroy