Gas tank cleaning for survivor car?

[scuncio]

I bought a 67 GTO convertible a few months ago that has been sitting for ~7 years. It is a pretty decent survivor car that I'd like to preserve as best I can. Eric went through the original Q-Jet for me, but I am wondering what to do about the rest of the fuel system, especially the tank and sending unit. Years ago I had the original tank on my 70 Chevelle cleaned and coated by a radiator shop. Is this still a viable option? Look forward to your thoughts.

Tony

[bergy]

I just went through that with my '70 Boss 9 Tony. The car had the original tank that was in great exterior condition (after I removed 1/4" of undercoating).
One of the restoration guys may have a better answer, but here's what I did:

1. Drained the tank & removed it.
2. There was lots of semi loose crap stuck to the entire interior. So I rinsed it out good with degreaser & let it dry.
3. Put a couple of pounds of 1" clean gravel in the tank and shook it all around for about 10 minutes. This knocked off all of the loose stuff inside of the tank.
4. Emptied out the gravel & washed & rinsed the inside of the tank.
5. Used Eastwood's 3 step tank sealing system.
6. Put in a new sending unit & good to go.

[scuncio]

Thanks Bruce. Sounds a lot like what I've done on motorcycle tanks in the past. I'll give that a shot.

Nice Boss Nine, BTW....

[JRSully]

Try apple cider vinegar, it brought the formerly rusty inside of my Porsche tank back to nice shiny bare steel, stuff is a modern miracle. Google/You tube procedure

[Mr70]

2nd the apple cider vinegar idea....It works.

[scuncio]

Thanks for the tip guys. I have used the vinegar trick on motorcycle tanks. Would you recommend the Eastwood coating afterwards to prevent it from rusting?

[bbbentley]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: scuncio</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for the tip guys. I have used the vinegar trick on motorcycle tanks. Would you recommend the Eastwood coating afterwards to prevent it from rusting? </div></div>

Eastwood, yes, I endorse this product. I have used it on a Model A Ford. Will even seal small pin holes. Rust or holes would be the only reason I would seal though. All the other suggestions IMO were acceptable good ideas and I have tried everything mentioned in this post. The Eastwood product has you rinse a diluted muriatic acid solution. This works faster than the vinegar. See if you can get one of those flexible scopes that allow you to see inside (as long as it is not a long neck) and that will tell you the condition so you will know how to proceed. Of course if tank is out, take out the sender and look. That sloshing with gravel or a handful of nuts out of the bolt bin that Bergy mentioned is great for knocking of loose scale. I have used a small mortar mixer and strapped the tank on it and let it rotate for an hour or so.

[scuncio]

Thanks, good tips there. I'll let you guys know how this works out.