Gas tank restoration

I dropped the tank in my '67 Electra and found rust, crud, etc in it. It's a big tank (25 gals) and has baffles in it. I was going to try the nuts/bolts with degreaser method, but I'm concerned about getting all the nuts/bolts back out of it.
Has anyone tried this on a big car tank before? Thanks in advance.

 

Take the tank to a radiator shop and let them clean it.

 

The tank is out of my '59 (20 gal). It has just 2 'strengthening walls' inside it, but the real question is how deep does the neck go into the tank; to get the nuts out? You could possibly vacuum them out of a far corner.
Have you considered using Evapo-Rust? My tank only has light rust at the horizontal seam, but E-R says you should put gas in the tank soon after rinsing it... and I'm not ready for that yet. Meanwhile, I had a drain plug welded into one corner to aid in draining it when I do.

 

Do most radiator shops do that? I have a couple that are close, but wasn't sure.

 

Most radiator shops do. Give them a call and see if they can.

 

I've used Bill Hirsch sealant with success. Slosh it around after cleaning and no more issues. It will even seal pin holes.

Sorry - can't get the pic to paste....

 

Thanks for all the input. I’ll post the results.

 

What type of connection holds the filler neck to the tank itself? There is so much undercoating sprayed on it, I can’t make it out. Thank in advance

 

I took mine to a radiator shop. They soldered up a couple holes, cleaned and sealed the inside. No leaks in the last 7 years. Of course I've never put gas in it either, so this may not be the shining recommendation you are looking for.

 

The filler neck is attached to the tank with Solder. I would not try to remove one from a with an open flame torch. Take it to someone that knows the danger involved.

 

Hey @67 Electra Cvt I see you are in MA. Rogers Radiator in Medford does Red Kote. They did my wildcat this fall. I've also been told by greg h on the board that Vans in Wisconsin (mopar guys) are planning to start making these tanks. They just started making some Rivera tanks and some earlier years for our cars. I tagged @vansauto as they posted back in august. http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?th...sabre-wildcat-fuel-tanks.348946/#post-2969963

 

I've used Bill Hirsch gas tank repair kits in many tanks. Cars , Trucks and Motorcycles with great success . Just make sure the tank is dry before poring in the coating . I sat my tank in the sun for a week to really get it dry .

As far as getting the rocks out after cleaning . Isn't there a sender unit you can remove ??

 

Thanks for this. I will give Rodgers and Vans both a call.

I have the sending unit out now and my tank has baffles on both sides of the the opening. Because I haven't removed the filler neck, getting rocks out from behind the baffles is more difficult. As Dave said, I don't wan to remove it until i have a person who can re-solder it properly.

 

Shawn, @67 Electra Cvt I used Rodgers partly because I could not decide how to dispose of all the chemicals I would need to clean it.. In theory, if you used a bunch of steel nuts as aggregate you could use a strong magnet to drag them around when you needed to remove them. FYI, you also have to be careful you don't seal up the vent tubes.

 

What did Rodgers do and what did they charge?

 

They cleaned the tank and put in a couple of coats of red kote. I believe it was $200. Sorry I forget the exact cost.