Re: gas tank rebuild story

[Dodger7998@xxxxxxx]

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"


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[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.