1935 Gas tank repair

[Mick35]

Does anybody know if early Ford tanks were plated for rust prevention? My understanding is that modern tanks are nickel plated. Is a mild steel patch panel suitable material to welded in to repair a leaking (not rusted) 1935 gas tank?

[alanwoodieman]

do a weld repair on a solid tank then coat the inside with pour 15 tank sealer-works great

[4t8v8]

Originally Posted by alanwoodieman

do a weld repair on a solid tank then coat the inside with pour 15 tank sealer-works great

Did mine this way to use it until I could afford a new tank. 30 years ago and still going strong.

[Kurt in NJ]

They were plated inside--- I think it was called terne plated, mostly lead I think---- I was looking at my 36 tank to clean as it was rusted inside--- then found near nos used one still shiney inside

[rotorwrench]

Terne plate process was a lot like hot dip galvanizing except it had no zinc. It was mostly lead with a small amount of tin melted in a vat with the newly cleaned & prepped tanks taking a pass through with enough heat to just tin them and not leave a lot of terne plate on there. This acted to seal and protect the tank for a while. This material didn't last very long in service.

[Mick35]

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Thanks guys. What happened was that I exposed four pin hole size leaks along a welded repair when I blasted the outside of the tank for a respray. Someone previously had gone to a lot of effort to cut open the gas tank completely, separating everything below the gas pick up line for cleaning, and then welding it back together. Only one of the holes would not seal with the mig weld. Will try silver solder next rather than cutting out and patching the section.