Can't tell a book by its cover

Well, you can't tell the condition of a fuel tank by the looks of its exterior either. A year ago, I bought a 1948 Chevrolet 2 dr. sedan at a yard sale, and now it's time to get her running. After totally replacing the brakes (master cylinder, wheel cylinders, lines etc.) I tackled the fuel system. The underside of the tank looked to be freshly painted, and I assumed (there's that word) that the tank would be O.K. Upon removing the drain plug, no fuel came out, only a black goo, which slowly (very slowly) dripped out. The "goo" had the appearance and consistency of hot tar, and trained mechanic that I'm not, I immediately suspected that something was "amiss or amuck". I dropped the tank, and the first thing I encountered were holes rusted through the tank around the fuel level sending unit mounting area (See the third photo, which shows the interior view of the mounting area). After draining what little fuel was in the tank and letting it air out for about 6 weeks (minor injury and surgery interjected itself into the process) I cut the opening in the top of the tank that you see in the first photo. I then took some interior shots ... what a mess. I'm guessing that it resulted from an attempt to line the tank which went badly wrong. The result is that I ordered a new tank from the "Filling Station", which fit perfectly.

I changed the oil and coolant, now to sort out some ignition problems. Should be simple ... yeah, sure!

Cheers,

Grog

That's the problem with old cars and buyers. If it looks good (nice paint and chrome) people assume it's in good shape or has been all restored. (very poor assumption) I can point to several cars, some frame off restorations where they cleaned up the motor and put it in without rebuilding it and it was tired. (this is especially common in the wood boat world.)

People will walk right by a car like my Plymouth convertible and buy a freshly painted car assuming they can fix what's mechanically wrong with it. (it's rarely a tune up or the previous owner would have done that.) With a motor rebuild running upwards of 4,000. A brake job for parts running around 1,000 and other inherent problems like overheating that are sometimes very hard to correct one doesn't understand the value of a well sorted car that's truly turnkey until they have been burned by a pretty car. I've learned.

Auburnseeker,

Yeah, I agree, unless you plan to totally rebuild a non running car, it's best to buy something that runs ... even if it is lacking from a cosmetic standpoint. At my age (I just turned 70), if I buy any more cars, they will be "runners" so that I'll have an idea of what I'm getting into. My days of "heavy lifting" are over. From now on, it'll just be routine maintenance (I hope). If it won't stand up to a good road test, fuggeddaboutit!

That's a nice looking Plymouth convertible that you have there. I believe it is now convertible season in Upstate New York.

Cheers,

Grog

Of course you can tell a book by the cover. The cover has the title, the author's name, if it is a paperback or has a dust jacket it may even have a colored picture illustrating the contents.