Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Well I checked walmart,kroger,and heinz brands of both white and apple cider vinegar...all of them are 5%...

On another note..the vinegar ain't working...the tank bottom is somewhat clean but it's not cutting anything of the sides or ends....looking more like I'll be cutting holes in it and sandblasting ....

My bottle is a cheap store brand. It's 5% also. I was hoping it would clean the tank. Refer to my signature below.

[8man]

IMG_0176 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
I found this vinegar, but it has some herbicide stuff in it too. I've used it, but make sure it's outside, well ventilated and you don't wash it off near any plant life and you NEED to wear proper PPE when using it. It's NASTY stuff!

IMG_0175 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
This is the vinegar I use when I want to get rid of rust. 9% is as strong as I've seen if it's just straight vinegar. I don't know what it would do for that tank, but it took some chrome off of a wrench that was rusting. I soaked it for a day to kill the rust. It's now black.

Maybe you could look for this on line before you cut into the tank. If you think it's worth a shot. You may be tired of waiting on this tank and be ready to get it done.

[Ol Blue K20]

I stand corrected, sum beach!

[mongocanfly]

yikes !!!!! 20%....thats some stout stuff...

[Scott2]

Maybe just seal/ coat the inside of the tank? You could lock all the garbage I under the sealer?

PS - you’re running all new fuel line - right?

[mongocanfly]

Scott , i talked to the guy i got the tank sealer from and sent him pics of what the tank looks like inside...he says i need to have a almost 100% clean tank for the sealer to work properly...it sticks to bare metal..not the gunk i have...and yep ..all new -6an fuel lines
i got a ruff estimate from boyds tanks on building a custom aluminum tank..but there are a few things that the new tank will have to have to fit properly and work, fill spout location and angle,recessed sending unit and pickup, and theres a locating rib in the tank middle,...all that may drive a new tank price to high...
looks like ill be cutting holes and sandblasting...

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Scott , i talked to the guy i got the tank sealer from and sent him pics of what the tank looks like inside...he says i need to have a almost 100% clean tank for the sealer to work properly...it sticks to bare metal..not the gunk i have...and yep ..all new -6an fuel lines
i got a ruff estimate from boyds tanks on building a custom aluminum tank..but there are a few things that the new tank will have to have to fit properly and work, fill spout location and angle,recessed sending unit and pickup, and theres a locating rib in the tank middle,...all that may drive a new tank price to high...
looks like ill be cutting holes and sandblasting...

That sucks....

[mongocanfly]

Yep Dale...sure does...but....
I couldn't stand it any longer...I talked to my hotrod buddy with the tig welder and we discussed the best way to do this...we were considering doing 4-4in holes in the tank and then sandblasting thru the holes...then we decided it wouldnt be any more welding to just cut the end off the tank....4-
4in holes equals 4ft of welded seam...the tank is 12x12 equaling 4ft of weld....potaters or patotters...all the same...but easier to redo with the end off....
SO....I broke out the matabo and off came the end....now you can see what I was seeing...

[8man]

That's bad stuff. Good luck with the clean up and repair.

[mongocanfly]

In this pic you can see how clean the bottom got with the vinegar....wish it would have worked on the whole tank...but I'll blast it..then tig weld the end back on.pressure test and if good I'll add the lining material I have...and I should be good....fingers crossed....

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Robert.!

[Ol Blue K20]

Yep, it's a bit on the nasty side. I'm glad you have buddy that tig welds. The tank should be better than a new one.

[mongocanfly]

thanks Dale..it better be better than new...cause they dont make new ones.!! ....except custom ..

[mongocanfly]

Well I think I finally got a handle on the gas tank...after cutting the end off I worked on the worse build up with a flap disc on my 4-1/2" grinder...that built up mess was nearly 1/8" thick...no challenge for the flapper though...I got what I could reach,,,then took the tank to work and got it in the soda blaster at work...(like a professional sandblaster but with baking soda)...that pealed the rest out and now I've got a clean tank..
Also thought this would be a ideal time to add some tank baffles...so I made a couple of those out of some 1/16 stainless....I'll get those welded in and get the end welded back on and put the liner in the tank..and itll be good..

[8man]

As always, great work.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Robert....

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks great. The baffles are a great idea too. Another problem solved...

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Dale..!

[Dads79GMC]

Looking good.

[jjzepplin]

Crazy how you go after some things. Looks fabulous!

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Mike and zepp...

[mongocanfly]

Got the baffles welded in ...I purposely made them about a inch bigger than the tank side 2 side....this was so I could bend the ends at angles...the pressure that the angles put on the ends helped hold them in place while I welded...a few heavy tacks and now I got baffles...ideally I would have put 3 in the tank but I couldn't reach far enough in the tank to get one on the other side of the sending unit..so 2 should work better than none...

[Ol Blue K20]

Yep, two is better than none. They look good.

[theastronaut]

Catching up on your progress, it's all looking great! That time lapse axle straightening vid was super cool.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Dale and John..!!...I just wish I had some paint on it...my goal was to have it done and all the bugs shook out and have it at the 30th anniversary IH nationals in Ohio this yr...ain't gonna happen though...so I guess I'll be ready next yr.......maybe