Old Car Update

We are still working on the old car.  We have already taken out the gas tank.  It smelled horribly of old rotten gas.  It really is a repulsive smell.  We took the tank to an old fashioned radiator repair shop in La Habra, Ca, near where we live.  It is the kind of repair shop that reminds you that old radiators are not made out of plastic, unlike new ones.  It is the kind of place that reminds you that old radiators are very difficult to replace, so you repair them.  It is dirty, messy, a little disorganized and full of dangerous chemicals.  This shop is one of the few that remain in our area that will recondition an old gas tank.  

The gas in the tank had been there for nearly twelve years.  There was still about two gallons of the putrid smelling fuel left in the tank.  When the owner had us look inside is contained a dark sludge, that was what we left of the fuel.  He removed the fuel level sending unit and showed us the gummy dark sludge that was covering it.  Very sticky and slimy.  The owner promised to remove every trace of the offending fuel, clean the inside, re-coat it with an epoxy to prevent the inside from ever rusting again, and to soak the fuel level sending unit in solution as well to clean it up.  As you can see from the photo he did just that.  We are thrilled.  We have the new fuel lines as well and the tank should go back into the car soon, perhaps after the second carburetor is rebuilt.

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