I found the following at autorestorer.com. Thought it may be of interest.
RAY: Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to remove a dent from a
gas tank. The tank is in good condition (no rust), but it has a 1" deep, 6"
diameter dent in the bottom.
The hole for the sending unit is too small to reach through to gain access
to the inside. I also tried a "suction cup" type dent puller, but that
didn't work. It's not a big deal, but I would like to remove the dent if
possible, as it is fairly visible when looking under the back of the car.
Thanks for any ideas.
RON: Ray,
Before you start welding on that tank, consider this:
I used to have a friend many years ago that thought it was safe to do this
if he first cleaned the tank and then filled it with water.
He was repairing a tank one night this way at the service station where he
worked and there must've still been some fumes present...the short of it was
that it was pretty ugly.
The explosion killed him and a fellow employee, luckily it didn't set off
the underground tanks at the station or it could have wiped out the block.
I'd put something down the hole to see if I could pop the dent out from the
inside, or if it isn't creased, put some air pressure to the tank and try to
pop it out that way.
If that doesn't work, I'd either live with it or find another tank. Your
life, and others around you, are worth more than fixing a dent.
There's my 2 cents, good luck.
Ron
RAY: Thanks for the warning. The tank had been sitting dry for several
years before I found it. But just to be on the safe side, I'll try your
suggestion about pressurizing the tank with air.
The dent doesn't have a crease, so hopefully the combination of the air
pressure and the "suction cup" dent puller that I tried earlier will pop it
out.
PETER: Ray,if you have access to gas welding equipment here is a way.Get
some landscape spikes 10-12 inches long.clean the dented area to bare metal.
Wash out the tank and put in a hefty amount of dry ice,just to be sure, and
seal the dry ice in the tank. BRAZE, Braze the head end of the spikes in a
line along (in) the dent. When cool place a hefty piece of wood along the
spikes and use pliers or vicegips togrip the spikes and lever them up using
the board as a fulcrum. Do a little at a time and work your way back and
forth across the dent. To remove the spikes heat them slowly and they will
release along with the brazing residue.
DOG: I work with dry ice, my two cents is that you never put dry ice in a
sealed container ! You are making a bomb ! The gas or "fog" you see from the
dry ice will make extreme pressure if not allowed to disipate. People have
been killed by putting ice in a bottle or jar and putting the lid on it. It
would be very safe to put the ice in a tank and weld it but leave the cap
off of the tank.
PETER: Hi Dog. Your advise is well taken. I should have mentioned that I
seal the tank with rags not an airtight seal. I have repaired several dented
gas tanks with this method, an old time body man showed me. He would run a
hose from his cars exhaust into the tank and leave the car running while he
did the work. Someone else suggested the dry ice and it works well. But as
always safety is number 1!!!!!!
BOB: I can suggest a simpler version of the repair that Peter has proposed.
Remove the gas tank from the car and purge all gasoline and fumes from it.
Spot braze the edge of a flat washer to the tank at the pinch area of the
crease such that the washer is perpendicular to the tank. Secure the tank
and using a slide hammer dent puller with hooked end inserted into the hole
in the washer pull the dent. After you have finished pulling break the
washer off using your fingers and touch the surface with a sander to remove
any imperfection. You may have to repeat this at several locations to get
the dent completely out.
RAY: Thanks for the ideas. The tank is already off, so that'll make things
easier.
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