Shakadula Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Bought new gas tank straps and installed them back in May 2024. My gas tank dropped yesterday while pulling into a gas station. Fortunately, I was able to get into a parking spot, put 2 ratchet straps on the tank to hold it up in place and limped home 3 miles. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Now to figure out why the failure. 1. Maybe the straps stretched during the month of use and the bolts at the rear of the car slid out. I should have gone back and checked the straps after a few drives. New straps were correct length and from OPGI so I don’t believe it was a strap failure unless they did stretch. 2. Maybe I didn’t tighten the bolts enough when I installed the new straps. 3. I did have a hard time with one hanging bolt as it would not stay in place without me holding it in place to attach the strap. So what I need help with is: 1. General thoughts overall 2. Fail safe for the tank in case of another failure. 3. Anyone weld those strap bolts to the frame permanently and is it worth doing that? 4. One thought I had on the hanging bolt that would not stay in place was to use JB Weld to create a lip where the bolt slides into the slot on the frame. This is assuming I didn’t tighten the bolt enough and it moved out of the slot. I know this is long but I have to get this fixed for good as I may not be so lucky the next time. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 My impression is that the strap bolts were either not tightened enough or not set in the slot. In my experience those bolts are long so the nut can get started and then the nut is driven practically to the last thread. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 And if I may make one additional point, there are, literally, millions of cars on the road that use this system successfully. Unless your trunk pan is disintegrating there should be little need to jury-rig a solution. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I agree with John. A LITTLE of topic but sorta the same? I drove trucks cross country, coast to coast, border to border, and then some, for many years. On one that had many, many miles on it, a similar thing happened, and almost same temporary fix . Only it was the battery box, which held 4 large batteries. I used a ratchet strap, much larger than I see the op using, to support it until I could get to a repair shop. In this instance, fatigue had reared it's ugly head. Ben 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 Well I worked on the tank today for 3 hours and learned the following: the bolts would not stay seated in the slot while tightening so I ran a washer and a nut all the way up to insure the bolt stayed seated. Then put the strap on with another nut. my deep socket was not deep enough so I suspect that even though I thought the nut was tight; it was not. Thank you all for your input. I’m gonna let the car sit overnight and check it again in the morning to make sure I didn’t miss anything. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Doesn't this fixture use carriage bolts? Rounded head with a square block that slides into the slot? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedRush Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On my '55 Special, the straps (which look as old as the fuel tank so they could be original) are held by J hooks each of which seat into a hole in the rear frame crossmember. As someone mentioned, the threaded bolt area is long (2.5 in, or so). I can neither say nor deny this is a factory setup as this car has an unknown history. But the tank, straps, and J hooks all look very old and do their jobs well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 The back side of the strap hooks into the body bracing. If the strap is hooked incorrectly, it will fail. The strap needs to go into the rearward most slot, and come back OUT the front slot. Then the bolt needs to be driven in completely. Need some pics to confirm you installed them correctly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 On 6/17/2024 at 11:09 AM, Ben Bruce aka First Born said: I drove trucks cross country, coast to coast, border to border, and then some, It's the possibilities for "and then some" that has my imagination going. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 22 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said: It's the possibilities for "and then some" that has my imagination going. LOL! Simple Bernie. And then some was Canada. A time or two. I did not try coast to coast and then some. The bridge to HI is still under consideration. Ben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 Yes it uses. Carriage bolts with a rounded head and is squared off just under the head before the threads. I installed new bolts and tightened them thoroughly. After tightening, I double checked the that the other strap ends were still seated in the rectangular slots. The tank seems to be solid so I am working on a fail safe option in case of another failure. I just don’t like or trust the hook in design of those straps with a 57 year old car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Something does NOT look right in those pictures. Looks like the strap will slide right out of the slot it is in. Maybe something to what Smartin said.👍 Both holes need to be used. It is a puzzle that needs to be solved, so another tank drop does not happen. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Yes it uses. Carriage bolts with a rounded head and is squared off just under the head before the threads. I installed new bolts and tightened them thoroughly. After tightening, I double checked the that the other strap ends were still seated in the rectangular slots. The tank seems to be solid so I am working on a fail safe option in case of another failure. I just don’t like or trust the hook in design of those straps with a 57 year old car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 I agree something does not look right. There is no locking mechanism that I can see. They simply slip into that slot and are secured by tightening the bolts in the rear of the tank. That’s why I am working on a fail safe solution. anyone with a 67 GS care to help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 That strap looks suspiciously wrong. It should insert through that first hole you have it hung in, and then back out of the other slot. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 The change in width implies to me that the upper portion probably passes through both of those slots, as others have suggested. Could the strap be installed 'inside-out'? What if the strap is flipped over and inserted into the rear slot so that the 'hook' grabs the forward edge of the front slot? Then tighten the carriage bolt to take up the slack and force the hook to bite harder? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 According to the OPGI website those straps should have been pre bent. But considering the shape needed to go in one slot and out the other, it looks like the wrong straps alltogether. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 Thank you for the reply. I can tell you that the straps from OPGI matched the old straps I removed and may have been original. With that said, I am the second owner and the straps I removed lasted for 22 years. I believe I have the correct straps from OPGI. Regardless, I plan to install a backup system in case of a failure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 I had no idea that gas tank straps could be so complicated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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