Gas Tanks!

Dateline - 06/01/2013 - decided to start working on the gas tanks as well as more center console work.  Here is a reminder of the "Saga of the Tanks."  The XJ6 has two 12 gallon tanks, one in each rear fender.  The filler caps are on the top of the fender and recessed into a small cup.  The cup has a drain to let the water that collects there drain out.  But what ends up happening is the drain gets clogged with leaves, dirt, etc. and soon the cup turned into...well...a cup that holds water.  Once the water level gets high enough, it will drain past some vent holes in the gas cap and soon you have a significant amount of water in the tanks.  The specific gravity of water is heaver then gasoline, so the water will settle to the bottom of the tank and eventually rust it away.

Now, in a car that is being used all the time, there is enough jostling to keep the water from settling in one place, and in general, you use both tanks, so you are continually putting new gas in.  However, my car sat for several years outside and that did the tanks no good.

A couple of years ago, I took the tanks to a radiator shop to see what condition they were in.  The driver's side tank was in okay shape (it was still able to hold gas when I drove the car).  The passenger side tank, however, was Swiss cheese!  So I went on ebay and bought a passenger side tank.  I also bought a tank sealer kit from Eastwood that I planned to use on the driver's side tank.

Fast forward to this weekend.  I pull the tanks out from under the car (where they were being stored) and the new tank is in great shape.  So I masked off important areas and painted the tank.  The drivers side tank though had continued to rust, even in the dry garage environment.  I tipped the tank over and bunches of rust came out!  So, girding my loins, I pulled out the Eastwood tank sealing kit and started to read the instructions.  OMG.  I needed to buy muriatic acid, acetone and then follow a 12 step process to seal the tank.  I just wasn't up for that!  So, I went on ebay and bought a drivers side tank too!  So, at least I will have two brand new tanks, brand new sending units and fresh fuel hoses.  What price serenity!

I also spend some more time with the body filler this weekend.  I've just about got the center console done.  I have a little more sanding and fitting to get the radio to work correctly, but I should be able to finish that soon.

Finally, I did some filler on the chin piece of the car.  This is the last piece of bodywork that requires bondo work, so, I'm pretty pleased.