'65 Formula S Fuel Tank "Autopsy"
Before re-installing the fuel tank that was purchased ten years ago (and painted a RustOleum John Deere green) I performed an inspection and test.
The paint held up well. The new tank had an oily film when it was shipped. I was surprised the paint adhered so well, I must have worked had cleaning it off back then. I had placed a sheet of cork gasket material on the tank before placing the used factory pad on top. The tank was still rust free under the pads. I had forgotten that the cork pad had two strips of clear silicon to hold it in place. I will probably reinstall the pads in the same manner, but this time I have a new factory style pad (and I will see if I can find another cork gasket sheet).
The fuel filter/screen was disengaged from the fuel inlet and was just bounding around inside the tank. It had hardly anything stuck to it when I fished it out. I might just leave it off, since I have no reason to pop off the sending unit. I checked the sending unit and found ohm readings of 98 empty and 15 full. The specs I found (internet search-wise) call for 73/10. That's close enough for me. Only concern now is how to ground the sending unit properly with so much paint on the outside of the tank. Oh, the inside of the tank was still clean and shiny!
I decided to spruce up the bottom of the tank with some "colonial red" RustOleum I purchased last week. I washed the tank down with Simple Green, then scratch pad to remove the shiny old paint, wax and grease remover, gray RustOleum primer on the few scratches, then the top coats. The opposite/upper side of the tank will remain green without re-painting, but I will apply some car wax to give it a little protection from the elements.
I have some fresh 5/16" fuel hose. One of the small hose clamps broke (it did not even look rusted), so I will need fresh clamps, too. I have been using double clamps on my fuel lines lately, not a bad idea when I see this new junk just ups and quits without notice. I have a stash of old clamps which I will have to throw out now that I find they fail even will in storage.
P.S. I forgot to mention there was some dried dirt on the opening of the fuel tube on the outside of the tank. Must have been those darn mud wasps again. I used my vacuum and a small screwdriver at the same time to clean it out, ran a strand of stainless steel wire through a few times, and then a final rinse using brake cleaner. (I found the same thing in the weep hole of a water pump in storage-plugged by an insect of some kind).
Before re-installing the fuel tank that was purchased ten years ago (and painted a RustOleum John Deere green) I performed an inspection and test.
The paint held up well. The new tank had an oily film when it was shipped. I was surprised the paint adhered so well, I must have worked had cleaning it off back then. I had placed a sheet of cork gasket material on the tank before placing the used factory pad on top. The tank was still rust free under the pads. I had forgotten that the cork pad had two strips of clear silicon to hold it in place. I will probably reinstall the pads in the same manner, but this time I have a new factory style pad (and I will see if I can find another cork gasket sheet).
The fuel filter/screen was disengaged from the fuel inlet and was just bounding around inside the tank. It had hardly anything stuck to it when I fished it out. I might just leave it off, since I have no reason to pop off the sending unit. I checked the sending unit and found ohm readings of 98 empty and 15 full. The specs I found (internet search-wise) call for 73/10. That's close enough for me. Only concern now is how to ground the sending unit properly with so much paint on the outside of the tank. Oh, the inside of the tank was still clean and shiny!
I decided to spruce up the bottom of the tank with some "colonial red" RustOleum I purchased last week. I washed the tank down with Simple Green, then scratch pad to remove the shiny old paint, wax and grease remover, gray RustOleum primer on the few scratches, then the top coats. The opposite/upper side of the tank will remain green without re-painting, but I will apply some car wax to give it a little protection from the elements.
I have some fresh 5/16" fuel hose. One of the small hose clamps broke (it did not even look rusted), so I will need fresh clamps, too. I have been using double clamps on my fuel lines lately, not a bad idea when I see this new junk just ups and quits without notice. I have a stash of old clamps which I will have to throw out now that I find they fail even will in storage.
P.S. I forgot to mention there was some dried dirt on the opening of the fuel tube on the outside of the tank. Must have been those darn mud wasps again. I used my vacuum and a small screwdriver at the same time to clean it out, ran a strand of stainless steel wire through a few times, and then a final rinse using brake cleaner. (I found the same thing in the weep hole of a water pump in storage-plugged by an insect of some kind).
