Day 1 of Operation try to replace fuel tank and fuel lines complete. Car jacked on stands and strap and line clip bolts hit with penetration oil.
Did you find out which bolts you need for the tank? Really curious to know if they are indeed the same as the A bodies that of that vintage. I vaguely remember them being the same when I was working on my 71’s
I'll hopefully find out tomorrow if I can get them out. I'm going to try and take pics as I go along.
QUICK! Grab the gas ax and burn those old bolts off. They'll run right off with a 9/16 deep socket. Do yerself a favor tho, and replace them with some longer bolts, OR, crush the gas tank with the floor jack and make up a bunch of new swear words... been there, done that! ws
Day2 complete. No pics yet as I got a very late start. Between waking up late, having to run errands and it being too HOT out, I didn't even start until like 5pm. I did get the tank out, though! Of course both captive nuts broke on the rear strap mounts, but between a vise grip on one and wrench on the other, I got them off. One thing I did discover is I have to change my plan a bit for the new fuel lines. The line clips along the straightaway of the frame rail are so that its impossible to get a ratchet on them unless you lift the body or drill an access hole in from the interior. I can get just the socket on the bolt head, but trying to grab it with grips was a no go. I might try to find some shallow sockets or passthrough sockets, otherwise I might just have to run the new line over the old and zip tie them.
Yeah... it blows, especially laying on the floor. Theres a few places that were a clean removal and a few parts that were RIP.... Retired In Place, where the zip ties came in handy. Especially around the rear frame bend ends for fuel and brake lines. Oh well, it still beats old and rusty! ws
Okay, so its now week 3? 5? 6?, I lost track, but I have sloooooowly been making progress. So, here are some pics of the old lines Source of the leak. You can see my original "temp" fix from at least 10yrs ago. Progress!! Then Murphy's Law Going to try and fix at my shop with the soldering iron.
I had to slit the boot to remove it so that didn't matter too much. But I did put it over first before connecting it and it connected nice and snug.
So close!! Got the tank in place after an hour of maneuvering it with two jacks and a piece of wood. Went to secure the straps. The screw bolts I got would not grab the strap holes on the back (bumper end) part of the straps. Tried for over an hour. Tried the originals, just stripping the threads. Plan is hit the hardware store and just get some bolts that will fit through the thread hole and secure it with nuts.
