RE: gas tank rebuild story

[Steven Charette <stevec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

They taught us how to repair tanks in school but with all the horror stories
they told while demonstrating the process I've never even tried it.  The
instructor had a large soldering "iron" which was in fact about 1 1/4"
square with a conical tip on one end, a shaft and wooden handle on the
other.  He would heat the iron with a torch some distance from the tank,
then use the hot iron to apply flux, then solder to the tank.  Of course the
area to be repaired had been cleaned and prepped.

My ex brother-in-law (admittedly not the brightest light on the string) was
attempting a repair on his '66 Satellite, and decided to use epoxy in lieu
of any kind of heat in the name of safety.  In order to plug the hole, he
decided to thread a screw into the hole in the tank, then epoxy over the
top.  The screw wouldn't quite go in, so he grabbed his trusty drill, and...

The car and the garage were a total loss, along with siding on adjoining
houses.  He escaped with minor burns but his buddy was scarred. 

On the other end of the spectrum, I once worked for a guy who worked in the
motor pool when he was in the Army.  As he told the story, they were not
supposed to smoke in the garage, and kept all the jeep gas tanks filled to
the top of the neck.  If an officer came into the garage, he said they would
ditch their butts into the tank and replace the cap.  I never quite bought
the story but he swore by it...

Bottom line, use extreme caution whenever working with a gas tank.

SC



-----Original Message-----
From: Gary [mailto:mopar413@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 1:52 PM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Tom Watters
Subject: Re: gas tank rebuild story


The idea of using exhaust is the safest and best way to weld a gas tank.
Just be sure to let the exhaust run a few minutes before welding.  I use a
brass rod. Gas weld.
---- Tom Watters <tomwatters@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> 
> Soldering Gun or Iron.  Pretty good idea.  No Spark, can control fire.  
> I'll have to remember that. 
> 
> 
> Dodger7998@xxxxxxx wrote:
> > For what it is worth I have welded on gas tanks before, have found 
> > that it can be done with the right precautions,,,,,,,what has worked 
> > for me in the past  was the water rinse, and then to put a hose on 
> > exhaust of a running vehicle and  pump it into the tank, I said 
> > weld, but was really brazing with brasse rod, have  also known of 
> > friends that use a soldering iron and soldered the holes shut, but  
> > that is not my method of choice,,,,,,,,
> >  
> >  
> > In a message dated 1/26/2010 7:48:45 P.M. Central Standard Time, 
> > spigot2039@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> >
> >
> > A  while ago we had a long discussion here about repairing gas 
> > tanks, which we  concluded *can* be done--if done correctly. If not 
> > done right....I'm forwarding the below story from the current Rock Auto
Newsletter.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Gary H.
> >
> > ============
> >
> > "A friend of  mine visited a car wash after we had just upgraded the 
> > exhaust system on his  1991 Dodge Spirit R/T. The exhaust caught on 
> > the wheel positioning guides for  the automated carwash, pushing an 
> > exhaust clamp into the gas tank and  puncturing it. In a matter of a 
> > few miles he went from a full tank to barely  making it up his driveway
before running out of gas.
> >
> > "My friend had  just purchased a MIG welding setup, so we decided to 
> > fix the hole by welding  it shut. We removed the gas tank, filled it 
> > with water as much as possible  using a garden hose, and rinsed it 
> > carefully. We couldn't fill it completely  with water due to the 
> > positioning of the fuel filler neck, but figuring we  were safe, we 
> > settled down on his front lawn to weld the hole shut.
> >
> > "As  soon as he pulled the trigger on the welding torch there was a 
> > sound reminiscent of a fighter jet blasting overhead just over the 
> > treetops. I had  been standing, but when the noise stopped, I was 
> > laying on my back and couldn't recall how I'd gotten there. My 
> > friend was also flat on his back, welding torch still in hand, 
> > looking stunned. His neighbors came outside and were all looking around
wondering where the thunderous noise had come  from.
> >
> > "Apparently the small space in the tank that was not full of  water 
> > had sufficient fumes in it to ignite causing the explosion. The 16  
> > gallon gas tank had emptied itself completely of water in a fraction 
> > of a  second, leaving only steam wafting out the filler neck hole. 
> > It had also  doubled in size, expanding like a balloon, but 
> > fortunately hadn't blown to  pieces. We avoided any injury beyond the
ringing in our ears and wounded  pride.
> >
> > "Needless to say he bought a new gas tank and we never attempted  to 
> > weld a gas tank again.
> >
> > "Matt in  Washington"
> >
> >
> > ----
> > Please address private mail -- mail of interest  to only one person 
> > -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car  transactions and 
> > negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the  
> > intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This 
> > practice will  protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and
fine tune the  content signal to Mopar topic.
> > Thanks!
> >
> > 1962 to 1965 Mopar  Clubhouse Discussion  Guidelines:
> > http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and 
> > http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> > ----
> > Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person --
directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations
as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to
the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy,
reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar
topic.  Thanks!
> >
> > 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
> > http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. 
> >
> >
> >   
> 


----
Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person --
directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations
as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to
the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy,
reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar
topic.  Thanks!

1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. 


----
Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!

1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.