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MG MGB Technical - Danny Jacob

I have pulled the fuel tank off my 1970 MGB… surprised but found rust/pitting mostly on top right quadrant. Why is that I wonder? Have taken it down to bare metal , primed and repainted.
Also, see what looks like light rust in fuel tank… it was sitting with about 5 gallons of gas for over 5 years… fuel sender unit looks totally gunked up… was wondering if I would hurt the tank if I dumper muratic acid in it and maybe some pebbles to clean it up before reassembly? Any better ideas?
Danny Jacob

Some radiator shops will boil out tanks. If the rust is minor, then you might be able to get away with that. If not, you'd be better served by just buying a new tank.

Gordon Strickland at the BHive sometimes has them on his Wednesday specials. I bought one from him a while back that was good quality galvanised steel -- should last a long time!
http://bhive.tierranet.com/
Rob Edwards

Danny - Theinterior of the tank should be cleaned with some kind of caustic cleaner to get all the rust out of it, then It should be sealed up with on of the sloching/sealer compounds available today. If you don't seal the tank, it will just continue to rust and the rust particles will bet into the fuel pump and carburetors, where it will eat into the alloy and really make a mess over time. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

I don't think you can clean the tank properly. It is made out of what is called tern plate which is like a galv. Now if the plating is rusted it will continue to flake off no matter how cleaned. You can perhaps extend its life by inserting a filter before the tank but I think you'll ultimately have to replace it.
Iain MacKintosh

I believe that Ian means a filter before the fuel pump. If you can't get the tank sealed properly to stop any rusting/flaking, the tank should be replaced. I would not recommend placing a filter between the tank and the fuel pump. If a filter in that position gets clogged up it will cause the pump to stall in a current on condition, which if left powered up for any period of time in that condition, will cause the internal swamping resistor in the coil to burn out. This in turn will negate any arc suppression circuit, be it a capacitor or diode and result in a greatly shortened life for the points (even new points that may be installed to replace ones that have burned out. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Heard this one before. There is only one answer then. New Tank
Iain MacKintosh

OTOH I etched and slushed a perforated tank in my '67 and it works splendidly still. Did the job in Ooooh, '86?

Why toss a good tank for a little mess? Small investment can prolong its life a great deal.

Mike!
mike!

Your tank has a non-removable wire mesh screen on the fuel pickup. Get that screen clogged with slushing compound and it's off to the welders or buy a new tank.
David

A local radiator shop did this for me using this system on my mga. They did a great job. http://www.gastankrenu.com/welcome.htm
Mark
MLS Somers

This thread was discussed between 08/02/2005 and 12/02/2005

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