Cut open and reweld fuel tank?

[240dkw]

This is what I did. I cut it open with a metal saw and after blasting it there was no issue with welding it back together. I wore an correct mask for lead during the blasting and while welding. 

 

[Namerow]

12 hours ago, ETI4K said:

Tried (the flame) and trusted (the results)"

That's an interesting approach, now that I think about it.  I suppose one could rig up a remote device to drop an open flame into the tank's filler neck while standing a safe distance away.  Maybe one of those birthday cake sparkler sticks suspended from overhead on a string?

[ETI4K]

Very good info guys and links, too - can never have too much info. 

I really like the idea of splitting the tank as @240dkw did.  You get completely unfettered access to everything for cleaning, blasting, and body work and the fillet gives a nice place to run a weld line. 

Going through the top seems less invasive, but really limits access and hammer/dolly work would be much harder around the baffles.

I suppose in the end, if I'm in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.  A weld is a weld and all welds must be done properly with no porosity or voids. So, as @Patcon suggested, welding a 30" perimeter or 100" is really not any harder - just more costly (wire, gas, and time).  Besides, @240dkw missed a chance to measure pick-up height 😉 and (unless I forget) I can do it when I open it up.

Submit requests now 😁

[DC871F]

On 3/22/2021 at 8:36 AM, ETI4K said:

I am attempting to repair some "body damage" to the bottom of my fuel tank.

So far, I have tried hot glue techniques and weld-on pins for use with a puller.  I specifically avoided going with a typical dent puller requiring holes for obvious reasons.  So while pulling on the pins, I've managed to produce two good sized holes.  Annoyed, but not crushed, I can now do whatever I need to remove the dents - including opening up the tank  to permit some hammer and dolly work, as the pulling techniques were a bust.

My thought was I'd cut around the welded seam along the side of the tank and then across middle of the support strap recess.  That way the new weld line will not be visible once installed (try as I might, I cannot get a welded joint to look quite like the ones Trev does on his YT channel - Trev's Blog.  The guy is a wizard).

The tank has the slightest damage from surface rust in a couple small areas including a very small patch inside, so it is completely restorable.  I just can't bear the thought of using it being so beat up.  So I am looking for any advice, suggestions, etc. that anyone cares to share.  Thanks!

BTW, the tank hasn't been wet with fuel for more than 20 years.  Explosion potential is zero - tried and trusted.

I plugged all the holes except two, taped an air chuck onto an inlet and cut the tank all along the seem. Blasted and welded back together.

[Patcon]

On 3/23/2021 at 8:45 AM, ETI4K said:

Very good info guys and links, too - can never have too much info. 

I really like the idea of splitting the tank as @240dkw did.  You get completely unfettered access to everything for cleaning, blasting, and body work and the fillet gives a nice place to run a weld line. 

Going through the top seems less invasive, but really limits access and hammer/dolly work would be much harder around the baffles.

I suppose in the end, if I'm in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.  A weld is a weld and all welds must be done properly with no porosity or voids. So, as @Patcon suggested, welding a 30" perimeter or 100" is really not any harder - just more costly (wire, gas, and time).  Besides, @240dkw missed a chance to measure pick-up height 😉 and (unless I forget) I can do it when I open it up.

Submit requests now 😁

What ever became of this fuel tank?

[ETI4K]

Alas, that tank is still in two pieces.  The job of gluing it back together has been kicked back from the forefront of efforts/work more times than I care to recall.

Absolutely,  cutting it apart was the best (only way for me) to get the metal right.  Fortunately,  there's very little interior corrosion, just bad bruises (which I still cannot figure out it happened).  The one remaining area to straighten that is inaccessible from inside is immediately below the in-tank filter.  I'm thinking of deleting it altogether to get the dents, and I want to slosh around some tank sealant and the prospects for getting fuel the filter look terrible at best.

I haven't been on here so much lately, largely bc of the seriously annoying ad experiences 😉.  I know I can throw money at it to make it go away (mostly?), but haven't gotten there yet.

[Patcon]

What happens to that in tank screen if you coat a tank? It seems like it would become a solid brick...

[Yarb]

I know a lot of folks including myself that have played with these tanks hoping for the best. Myself, I had the tank done twice as far as being cleaned and red coated only to find 3 months later pin holes in the upper part of the tank appeared and ended up throwing the tank away. 
I’m not promoting S30.world’s tanks. What I can tell you is they are amazing. Transfer your rubber cushion pieces over and you are set. Spent along time trying to save my original 78Z tank and was just a waist of time. Keep in mind, What is the red coat doing to the pickup screen. Just my 2 cents. Looking back now I wish I would have cut it open before I got rid of it.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Yarb

[240dkw]

To update my tank, it has not leaked at all during the last 10 years of use and the POR 15 internal coating has caused no issues.

[Patcon]

6 hours ago, 240dkw said:

To update my tank, it has not leaked at all during the last 10 years of use and the POR 15 internal coating has caused no issues.

240 or 280z tank?

[240dkw]

240 so no screen

[Patcon]

Some more pictures of the structures inside the 280z tank would be nice.