'62 Monza convertible "Ralphie"

[Dennis66]

It was inevitable. The gas tank had to come out. I mean the car had been in storage since 2005. While it seemed dry, it's been in humid Florida for the last few years. I had thought it seemed pretty clean, I had put a gallon of gas in it, and pumped it out through the outlet, and while that came out a little brownish at first, it was pretty clear. I borrowed an inspection camera from work this last week. There really wasn't much light down in there, but it was enough that what I saw made me realize I needed to clean the tank.
In spite of what the Youtube videos show, getting the tank out sucked. This one's even been out before, I could tell just by looking at the hose clamps on the fill tube. I wrestled and carefully pried and finally it came out enough that I could undo the clamps on the fill tube hose, which was dry and cracked. Imagine my surprise when I pulled it from under the car and there on the top front was written "Dennis". Almost like the scene from the original Star Wars "I've been waiting for you Obi-wan Kenobi". Fact is, before 2005 this car belonged to a guy named Dennis. He died while it was in the shop and when all the legal stuff cleared years later it was bought by a guy named... Dennis. He had health issues and the car went back up for sale to be purchased by ME - Dennis #3. The car has been through some kind of restoration in years past as many parts, including the heater control I removed last week have the VIN engraved on them. I'll be working to clean the tank this week and see if it needs a liner coat or just cleaning. Dennis

Gas tank

[Dennis66]

Update: Still working on cleaning the tank, been doing vinegar soak and rotating it. Will probably do a stone tumble this week. The Caswell liner kit arrived yesterday. I also finally made room to park it in my workshop yesterday. Hated to, but had to keep it outside and covered up over the last year. I kept two UV treated covers over the top, and a single "breathable" cover over the entire car. The Corvair takes up 2/3s of the workshop, but still leaves a little room at the workbench on the other end of the shop.

I also took it for another spin around the block (about two miles) on the little gas tank yesterday. Kind of light on the steering, pulls a little to the right when braking, and still getting used to the old 4 speed pattern after years of 5 speed driving with reverse on the opposite corner. Dennis

[Dennis66]

So cleaning the fuel tank continued. I had made a "tank rotisserie version 1" using a pair of split pipes to clamp on the side flanges. Didn't work too well. I came up with 2.0 using a couple of 2x4 sections with blocks screwed to them and boxed the whole thing in. The trunions can be swapped from the ends to the sides. This worked real good. I started with gravel. this got a lot of crud out (dried gasoline residue and rust). Yesterday, I switched to drywall screws, worked even better. I got a lot of powdery rust and funk out of it. I then did two vinegar baths, then two or three water rinses, then the hot water and Dawn dish soap. Then finally I let it dry, cooled it off in the shade, plugged the holes and sloshed about a quart of Lacquer thinner in prep for the Caswell sealer. I mixed up the sealer and poured it in and sloshed it all around. That's when I found the pinholes. Fortunately, Caswell is very good at sealing holes, and they cover this in their instructions. I will let it cure for several days while I have all the hoses and sender seal on order from Clark's. Then I will put a few gallons of gas in it and slosh to make sure before reinstalling it. Caswell is the best stuff I have ever used and is not affected even by ethanol. Definitely glad I decided to check and clean and seal the tank. Dennis

[66vairguy]

I've been done this road a few times. Now I just put in a new gas tank when I get an old car. In the long run it pays off - just me.

Over the years a few folks have posted that eventually the gas tank liner material breaks down and plugs up the system. Just what I have read.

Good luck.

[Dennis66]

If I'd known about he pinholes, I probably would have gone with a new tank up front. The cost of the Caswell kit was a good fraction of the cost of a tank. Hindsight. The Caswell stuff is good stuff though. I once used Red Kote on a motorcycle tank. It lasted a year or so (ethanol) and then I noticed the liner dripping down around the filler when gassing up one day. to make matters worse, the tank started rusting where the liner had separated. Had to clean it multiple times with Lacquer thinner to remove the Red Kote, then drywall screws and vinegar to remove the rust. The thorough cleaning and a Caswell treatment. Still strong several years later (and only non ethanol since, although Caswell is ethanol proof). Dennis

[Dennis66]

The snowball effect continues: I let the tank cure for a few days, then I thoroughly cleaned the outside and gave it a good coat of cold galvanized spray. I started thinking about the install and I thought "that gas fill area sure looks nasty". While the car had received a "re-spray" some time between 1962 and 2005, all the original paint that hadn't been sprayed has yellowed with age (doorjambs, under hood and trunk). Cleaned everything up, taped off, and sprayed. This led to also cleaning the gas fill tube (removing nasty undercoat) and painting it too. Now when all put back together it will look nice without having to be taken apart again. Dennis

[Dennis66]

"I don't usually swear, but when I do, I'm installing a Corvair gas tank."

Glad that's done. Dennis