Fuel Tank Question

[Guest Tim Floyd]

Hello everyone, I wanted to see if I could get a little advice. SO I was about half way through getting my 1963 Rivi fuel tank (which was in pretty rough shape inside) stripped and cleaned inside and out. I had the inside looking pretty much brand new using apple cider vinegar, and about a foot and a half of small chain. Once I got to a certain point I did notice several TINY pinholes, too small to see with the eye, but you could see these areas getting a little seep through. So I decided just to make sure it went well I took it to a local shop that is supposed to be the "master" of fuel tank repairs. I explained my situation before I even took the tank in, telling them that I needed it to be done right, and did not want to gamble that me doing the Eastwood/ POR-15 kit may not seal the pinholes. I explained this was a 50 year old tank that was very important to me. They said they could do it all with no problem at all...."We have been doing tanks like this for 25 years, and have never had one come back".

Fast forward a week and a half to the day I go pick it up. Now I am not sure what the swearing policy is on this forum, so I will lean to the safe side and keep it clean, but for all you guys who enjoy a good swear, use your imagination. When I got the tank back I noticed a large round circle (baseball size) right square in the middle of the bottom that had been obviously, and poorly welded in....AND I find that the lower right front corner has a large open threaded hole that is a nut that has been welded in with no drain plug. Needless to say I was livid and would have N E V E R let these idiots touched my tank if I knew they would cut on it....and poorly at that. He straight out admitted that he cut the holes for easier tank clean out and drainage, which I made sure to tell them, was the LAZY way out. With that being said, I am where I am. I had a HEATED discussion with this shop, and they offered to take it back so they could repair it correctly, which I do not trust them, and think any further cutting will only make things worse. Does anyone know a good source to get a nice solid fuel tank? I do not see that they are made as a repro any where......Thanks for letting me rant

[60FlatTop]

Good rant. And you are the first to ever come back. Shops used to tell me that until I just kinda stopped using them or never going back.

I would have cut an access hole in the top of the tank to clean it thoroughly and assess the weakness due to the pitting; access and assess. I wonder if the boys at the shop could figure them words out.

Depending on the extent of the weakness around the pitting you need to make a new section that matches the stiffening ribs and contours of the tank to replace the perforated section. Sealer just won't help the structural loss. Then the top and bottom panels can be butt welded and ground smooth (like body work).

A drain plug should be by request and approval. SAE threads are not good for plugs. They make a bung you can weld in to do it right.

As my car enters it's 50's, I am pretty sure I will be doing the job, too. I can guarantee that is how the tank will be done. The older I get the more I learn about rant avoidance.

On a similar path, rant avoidance, I removed the 1970's installed vinyl top from my car and I am preparing the car for a repaint. With visions of "professionals" attacking my car with 80 grit on DA sanders, I took the roof down to the original primer with about a dozen razor blades yesterday. I bought a nice blade handle that pitches the blade just right. Now it is ready for some #400 on the Hutchins Hustler that I bought, to use with the 80 gallon Devilbiss compressor that I bought and its firat coat of primer in the painting enclosure that I built. I am very sure that the more times I use "I" to describe what I am doing, the happier I will be. I know I liked the results yesterday while I listened to 1990's ZZ Top and the soundtrack from the Music Man.

When it comes down to it a couple of us just gotta do it our way:

Bernie

Edited June 15, 2014 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[Guest Tim Floyd]

I hear ya Bernie. I have to keep learning the hard way that the modern day "professional mechanic", knows about as much as I do. That is not saying I know a lot, it is just to say that I take the time to read, investigate, study, consult, and in short easy terms, make sure I know what in the heck I am doing. Lessons learned I guess. So you said you were removing the vinyl top from a 1970? My #1 favorite cars are the 63 & 64, but I gotta tell ya, the 70 is neck and neck when it comes to my dream car list. I love how it is a very unique one off year design, with little similarity to the surrounding years. The front end is amazing, the rear end is amazing, I love the interior, especially the console option with the arching shifter. Few cars give you that feeling inside like a Rivi....

[60FlatTop]

I am removing a vinyl top from my '64 Riviera that was installed in the early 1970's. I bought the car in 1978 and the worldwide knowledge of correct applications of Riviera vinyl tops has been amazing to me. The only time people don't tell me it is wring is when the car is locked in the garage and I am sleeping. Women have abandoned babies on busy city streets to tel me it is wrong. Men have crawled across deserts, gasping out the top is incorrect before asking for water. Olympic athletes have fallen and become tangled in hurtles when I drove past their practice areas from seeing the vinyl top. I bet the guys whom screwed up your gas tank would even know.

So I figured I would remove it and help take away their angst. All those experts out there for decades and you still can't get a car fixed right.

Bernie

[devildog93]

The way i look at it is like everything else in life. No one is going to care as much about your stuff as you do. What you lack in skill can most often be made up for with desire,determination and attention to detail. The downside is that it may take you 10x as long as someone else or you may have to take multiple runs at it. Someone had to be the first to do things at some point right? I just figure i am resetting that process, but with the benefit of any experience and info. i can pick up along the way. I have had enough things screwed up by other people that i tend to do them myself if it is even remotely possible be it plumbing, auto work, or home repair. I don't even like jumping into the middle of a auto ticket someone else has worked. If i didn't pull it apart then i am missing some of the process before i even get started.

[Guest Tim Floyd]

Haha well I haveto be completely honest so please do not end our nice conversation relationship. When you said you were taking it off of a 64 I had read it a few times, as I don't recall seeing many if any with vinyl tops on them. Don't you just love some of the things previous owners do to these cars? Don't feel to bad though, my cars previous owner thought he would protect the car by putting a nice car cover on it since it set outside.....keep in mind he did not buy the right type of cover, so it was pretty much wrapped up in a big wet sponge. Then he kindly removed the cover and wadded it up in the trunk before the truck came to pick it up for shipping. The trunk got SOAKED. Glad it is safe in my garage now. Sorry about the top though, souns like you got licked though.

[Guest Tim Floyd]

I hear you, I am learning the hard way. Had I not stumbled onto the pinholes I was going to do it all myself. I was just hoping for a " professional" opinion. Lesson learned I guess. It is not over with me and this shop, I am getting some form of compensation.