Adventures in gas tank restoration. '36

[Viv W]

David is right about you being lucky not blowing yourself up. I usually fill a tank with a strong solution of water and laundry detergent and slosh it around a while, before flushing it thoroughly to remove all trace of petrol fumes.
Running an engine exhaust into a gas tank can work, but remember a diesel engine gives off carbon monoxide that can give you a severe headache, a petrol engine gives off carbon Dioxide that can kill you if you breathe too much of it.
I saw an article warning people about sandblasting or media blasting gas tanks. If you look at sandblasting metal at night, certain grits light up like a firework sparkler and can also lead to exploding any residue left in a tank.
I usually flush out the tank, then cut it open as you have with a cut off wheel, then I get a plating shop to tin/tern plate the tank to get it cleaned and fresh, then I give it to a radiator repair shop to solder it back together, because they will pressure test it for leaks once done.

My 35 had either a 36 or 37 gas tank fitted with the 36 electric dash guage and sender unit. The filler pipe had been cut thru and then joined with a piece of rubber hose. I thought they had done this because they could not unscrew the filler pipe. After getting the pipe unscrewed, I welded the filler pipe back together, fitted the tank back into the vehicle and then tried to fit the filler pipe. No matter what I tried it would not line up and it fouled the bodywork. I then tried my friends new pipe that came from USA, same problem. THE CAST PART that you screw the pipe into is at a subtley different angle. I had to cut out this area and take one off an old rusted out 35 tank, to solve the problem
Viv

[Mick35]

Thanks Mart, reckon I'll have to shop online to get as close as I can to the original slotted pan head screw. I don't suppose you know what the length of these screws ought to be? When I first removed my sender, there were no two screws the same.

[Mart]

I think they were more of a round head than pan head, but one of the experts will be able to give you the exact type if you want full authenticity. Anything around half to 5/8 long is plenty.

Mart.

[swedishsteel]

I have a D6 caterpillar that plugged the fuel line up--discovered the tank had a LOT of varnish and gunk in it. Did some research and learned that lye works good as a cleaning agent, so I put about 10 lbs of lye in the 75 gallon tank and filled it with water. Then I washed some small pea rock and put a couple gallons of that in. Strapped it to my tractor wheel/tire and rotated it by hand a couple times a day. It got real clean, but still had some rust from condensation over the years, so i filled it up with a solution of molasses and repeated the process. Just monkeyed with it when I thought about it so this was over a month or so, but the tank came out really clean. Did cut a 4 inch round access hole in the top because there are baffles inside, and made a 1/4 inch aluminum plate cover for it that can be used in the future. Once the molasses solution is drained out, put some fuel or WD40 in and slosh it around, or surface rust will start on the newly bare metal. It was a whole lot less labor than wire wheel etc, and with that size of tank it would have been impossible.

[Mick35]

Thanks Mart. For those on this side of the Pond, I found these stainless steel screws at Classic Fasteners in South Australia.

[DavidG]

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For the screws try Michael Driskell at Third Gen Automotive (35fordtn above).

[Frank Miller]

I've cleaned out tanks as best I could but there were still fumes in there. A match or glowing wire from the MIG cleared them and removed a few dents. I live a little more dangerously than some.

[JanP]

Has anyone a pic for me how the fuel pick up line looks in a 36 tank on the inside of the tank? I don't get enough fuel out of the tank. And as the tank filling part does not move I can't take the tank out of the car to have a look from above....

[19Fordy]

I can't help on the pick up line question but, be sure and keep us posted about what you use for a fuel tank sending unit plus photos.
Good luck.