52 Studebaker M35 Gas tank woahs!... help

[EAdams]

Drained the tank on my new (to me) 52 studebaker gasser m35. It was like a sand box and the cat had been eating rust! Grit, actual rocks, and lotsa rust. Drained the gas/water mix into a 5gal bucket and then ran water in the tank till she ran clear.

Got 2 problems, the senting unit and the fuel pickup. The screws holding both to the tank are in real bad shape. Painted over, rusted, etc. I cannot get them removed. Need ideas on what to do to remedy this. Help...

btw, I tried removing the pipe fittings from the sending units themselves and no dice... painted and rusted also...

1) How do I remove the tank and units so I can get them off the truck to re-do and...
2) Should I just replace the tank with something more modern? Allumnum semi-tank? If so, source?

 

[pa.rich]

I just went thru this with a 1952 Duece. The tank had an unbelievable amount of crud in there. Could of shoveled it out. I removed the tank and discarded all of it. Got another used tank. It was from a diesel. So the pump put out too much fuel pressure for the gas engine. I bought a fuel line regulator for 35.00. Put all new fuel line and vent line on , rinsed tank out, also put a fuel line filter on it . It runs well now. If your tank has alot of that rusty crud in it I wouldnt use it. If you take out the sender unit and pump unit you will see in there with a flash lite. About the screws holding them in, just grind the heads off , remove the units .If the tank looks good inside, then drill out the screw studs and rethread the next size up. You will need the proper size drill bit for the tap to thread it properly. You will need the gaskets to reinstall the sender unit and the fuel pump unit. But check that tank before you use it . Chances are its bad inside. Let us know how you make out. Rich.

 

[Crazyguyla]

you could drill out tine screws with a small drill bit, chisel of the screwheads, then you can dril out the rest of the screws with the proper drill bit and retap the screw holes. it wony take much to drill off the screweads. i had all my screws except two twist off while i was trying to remove them.

 

[hndrsonj]

Drill out screws and take the tank to a truck repair place for flush. Cheapest and fastest fix.

 

[maddawg308]

I had my truck's tank restored at a radiator shop, that performed the ReNu process on it. Tank was blasted on the inside, and then lined with a rubber-like sealant to prevent future corrosion. A lot of radiator shops can do this...

 

[carguy455]

This is one of those "no fun" jobs in restoration. I have done this on many vehicles. Taking it to a shop is the least painfull meathod, but make sure its a shop that does quality work. I took one to a radiator shop once that just washed it out and put the coating to it , no other prep work. Didn't work out so well in the "crud in the gasline" dept. I have done several myself , I have used chemicals from Hirsch [ see Hemmings and Cars and Parts Mag. for their ads ] , I have used Eastwood products [ greats results but multiple steps, its involved but end results are great ] and POR15 [ easy but EXSPENSIVE ]. Its not a job for everyone, but it is within the relm of the do it yourself-er. A wire brush wheel on a drill should make quick work of the old paint and rust holding you up on the outside, but like many of the guys here have said, you may end up twisting the screws off anyway or having to grind the heads off them. No matter what you have to do something, so try whatever sounds good to you.

 

[JDToumanian]

I'm sure I'm in the same boat here... I just removed the fuel tank on my 1952 V-18A/MTQ, and I can't see the bottom of the tank through the crud. I'll have to determine how bad it is before I decide which way I want to go about fixing it.

Jon

 

[EAdams]

I'm sure I'm in the same boat here... I just removed the fuel tank on my 1952 V-18A/MTQ, and I can't see the bottom of the tank through the crud. I'll have to determine how bad it is before I decide which way I want to go about fixing it.

Jon

Trust me...mine is a 52 and you got 55yrs of crud build up. Mine had as much water in it as it did gas!! I drained into a 5gal bucket, rinsed ALOT with water, and now have it ready to remove the screw heads. Still has alot of BIG pieces in the bottom. Gonna have to figure out if she is worth saving or replacing.

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

The M 52 I am getting soon has the same issue I took out the filler and screen and could dig up complete hand fulls of shellac and crud. Jeff was kind enough to let me have a newer tank off of his truck and I am getting ready to mount that this week. I will restore the other side when I get it home, by taking it off and pressure washing then sandblasting the tank inside. It is very likely that this will perforate the tank in rusty areas but I will then coat the inside with fuel proof paint and put it back on. As far as the screws go the drill out and retap is my method too since the age of them makes breaking them off almost inevitable.

 

[m139h2otruck]

My son has used the acid cleaner that the detail shops use on alum. wheels to remove brake dust and stains. Cleans the metal right down to bare overnight. He then has coated the inside with I think the POR stuff. Done it to three or four ROKON bike tanks that were real bad. Most important thing was the acid wash, and the stuff he used really worked good. M35 tank is a lot bigger than a bike tank, but I think two or three gallons with water would work in two days or so.

 

[EAdams]

I called a local radiator place. $50 to clean and reseal it. Sound good??

 

[rdixiemiller]

I paid 25$ for the last quart of RedKote I bought to seal a gas tank. $50 is a good price if they do it right.

 

[Barrman]

I just did this over the weekend too. I ground the screw heads off one tank. I used a chisel and a BFH on another tank. The chisel method is a lot faster, didn't chew up the tank or thow sparks. I would recommend that method over the grinder or even the drill way.

Once you get the tank clean, the best way to keep rust away is to keep the tank full. Just thought I would add that.

 

[JDToumanian]

I called a local radiator place. $50 to clean and reseal it. Sound good??

Cheaper than I thought a shop would charge... It'll be the price to beat when I start calling around.

Jon

 

[rdixiemiller]

If you don't use the vehicle that often, go to your local OMC (Johnson/Evinrude) dealer and get some marine fuel stabilizer. That and a qt of 2 stroke oil per tank will keep the tank rust free, and privide valve lubrication that went away with the tetraethyl lead in gasoline.