Gas tank removal & cleaning 1962

[John F.]

Pulled the gas tank after syphoning most of the gas. Only broke one hold down strap bolt. Will have to drill and easy out the old one. Will soak with WD-40. Removed the sending unit and prior owner must have messed with. No gasket on sending unit to tank. A little gasket sealer or something. Also the float bulb was missing or stuck in the tank somewhere. The tank appears to be original and pretty good shape. How would you flush it? Thought about taking it to a car wash and just stick the high pressure wand in the top and filler neck. Water only, no soap. Then try to blow out with compressed air. The original sending unit was toast, see pic. Will replace the filler hose, and gas tank to fuel line hoses. I will add the additional ground when reinstalling. Am I on the right track? Any suggestions?

[Dennis C.]

Re: Gas tank removal & cleaning 1962

John,

If you can find a radiator repair shop, they are equipped to boil out the gas tank. I would also suggest using Kroil Oil on your broken bolt.

Regards,

Dennis

[Christopher R.]

Re: Gas tank removal & cleaning 1962

You can get a long skinny bendable brush in there to clean part of the tank. The long skinny one used to clean clothes dryer vents.

You can put a length of chain in there and shake it around.

I used the Eastwood kit on mine. Part of the cleaning procedure was to slosh lacquer thinner around in there.

Test how accurate the guage reads before you button up the tank compartment. The arm on the sender can be bent to adjust.

[John F.]

Re: Gas tank removal & cleaning 1962

Thanks Dennis and Chris. Chris, I also responded to your sticker on the W/W top. I am also missing one of the rectangular hold downs (rectangular washer with a hole in it) for the strap mount. Would you guys happen to have a spare laying around?

[John F.]

Re: Gas tank removal & cleaning 1962

My gas tank should be cleaned out by the local radiator shop tomorrow. Tried to drill out and get an easy-out into the broken bolt. No luck. Went underneath and got a set of vise grips on the end of the thread of the broken bolt. It won't budge and not much room to work with. I have doussed with WD-40 and now some Kroil PB blaster. Will wait a day and see if it breaks loose. Now I need a bolt and the rectangular washer that fits under the head of the bolt. See picture of the good side (the other bolt with a UR on the head). Any ideas of where to get one bolt and washer?