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I don’t really have much of a topic of discussion in mind here other than to warn others about using ‘repair putty’ and suggest replacement instead.
I had used such a putty on my tank and thought I had it fixed; stopping leakage from places along the top/bottom halves at the outer edges, or seam, and the outlet pipe nut. The putty is said to be okay for ethanol, too, not just gasoline.So after a car show event over the Memorial Day weekend I realized gas fumes had become overwhelming once again. It was dripping into the fuel line hole below the tank, what I now think of as a drain hole as well, at a rate of about 4 drops per minute. Really worrying me since the car probably sat for several days that way.Sure enough… the interior floor carpets were soaked under the floor mats I had put in weeks ago. Couldn’t be a worse fire hazard!I didn’t think about it before how the ‘firewall’ was situated beneath that fuel line hole. It just happens to cross midway under that, so any dripping gas goes to the car interior instead of outside. Or at least that’s what I’m thinking it must be doing. A builder of this particular kit (VW gas tank in front of windshield) would probably know. I expected it was meant to drain out onto the ground somehow.No doubt plenty to discuss about bad tank repair ideas. In fact, I wondered if it might actually be a bad idea to use other products like inside tank sealants. If that were to fail eventually the same would happen.Anyway… right now I can only believe replacement is the best way to go about it.Didn’t we talk about this before?
Count yourself lucky and buy a new tank.
Please cut no corners on brakes or gas.
I just went through the replacement tank process. Like you, I have a FiberFab titled in 1983 so I assume that you will be using the same tank that I did.
I got this 1961-1967 tank from JBugs for $130. The fill spout had to be cut down because it’s too long to fit under the hood as is. The local welder charged me $40 for that. Had it installed by my VW guy and now I don’t have any leakage problems.Probably the best way to go.Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Hi Guys.
About 2 months ago I had my MGB out for a ride in the AZ sunshine. after some 20 miles when the car was running like a watch I was aware of the hood getting larger????? A large bubble formed on the hood, the car still ran fine. I pulled over and turned the car off, placing the key in the cup holder. At that point a fireball came out from under the glove box and torched the passenger seat. I opened the hood, (not sure what the hell I was intending to do under there) the entire car was in flames by that point. I could see the fire station from that location but by the time the fire trucks arrived there was nothing left of any use. The fire was so hot (very windy at that location) that the windshield melted, as did the carb etc etc.
The point of the story is that, had my good lady been in her usual seat it would have been nasty. Gas leaks are not to be trivialized however small they are. Everything worked out in the end, nobody hurt etc. That’s what we have insurance for isn’t it.
That was a steel bodied car, I hate to think of what would have happened in a FF Migi .I also replaced my gas tank with one like pictured in the link above. I think there is a pic of my effort in a post somewhere on this site. I talked to a weld shop about shortening the filler neck and he wanted about $120 if I recall correctly and somebody here suggested a muffler shop, so I took it there and they cut it and rewelded it per my instructions for $35.
Sam
Info: Some radiator shops will also weld gas tanks. Recovery tanks are somewat like gas tanks.
Yeah Royal, I think so. Was a first attempt back then, I had put the putty onto the threads that time and it leaked anyway.
I discovered small slow leaks at the edge seam in a couple places after that, those are still okay. But when I retired the putty on the outlet nut i added a double layer to the outside, letting it cure between applications. The stuff is just no good and it separated from the metal as though it was under pressure. Although I have a vented gas cap to prevent the tank from pressurizing, interestingly the fuel line from the engine side squirted as if it had some pressure anyhow. Shutoff valve on tank side.I’m always going for the quick fixes and this was not the thing to be doing for this!With any luck I can soak the floor with soapy water to get the gasoline out, hoping it can drain away or else I might be risking using the wet vac– which, as you all probably know, is not for volatile liquids. Maybe diluted sudsy gas doesn’t matter, just would rather drain it.No idea if water drainage exists or was ever considered for these kits but I can imagine for a VW dune buggy kit that would be common (of course a MGTDr is not a dune buggy!)Thanks for the response to this, I mainly wanted to warn others of the danger but I’ve been trying to decide on the correct tank to get and how to go about replacing. Everything helps!LRH2015-05-27 21:15:53
BritinaAz wrote:—>8— I was aware of the hood getting larger????? A large bubble formed on the hood, the car still ran fine. I pulled over and turned the car off, placing the key in the cup holder. At that point a fireball came out from under the glove box and torched the passenger seat. I opened the hood, (not sure what the hell I was intending to do under there) the entire car was in flames by that point. —8<—No doubt a close call there! That’s exactly the kind of thing I want avoided. I’ve seen too many car fires but none my own and consider myself lucky this time my car, me and a passenger wasn’t a casualty too.What’s even more disturbing is that the horn switch for my car uses the signal lever and I’ve seen a spark from that switch when testing the horn, so if conditions were just right… you can guess the rest!
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