'57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

[Bob A.]

Hey all you knowledgeable people!

I have the Gas Tank out of a '57. The tank looks very good but it has a very bad, stale, old, rotten, gas odor. What should be done to this tank...inside and out? Who is good and reliable to do this type of work? Also, there are two holes in the fiberglass under the gas tank (approx. 2.5 inches in dia.). What are the holes for and should they have plugs in them? If plugs are required, what are they called and where can they be purchased?

Thanks again and Best Wishes!

Bob Adams

[Wayne P.]

Re: '57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

Any good radiator shop should be able to clean your tank, inside & out. The holes are for ventilation.

[Christopher R.]

Re: '57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

You can clean it out yourself. Although then you will be faced with a how to get rid of the stuff you used to clean it with problem. Radiator shops used to "boil" out tanks. Maybe they still do. Usually the tank is rusty, and the big problem is whether and how to treat that. But if you're only concerned about the old gas and its deposits, something more volatile, acetone or lacquer thinner, will clean that out. Pour some in; block off the holes: and, shake. Builds strong muscles. Your '57 tank does not have baffles. You should be able to get a brush in from the filler and the gauge sender holes. You can also put a length of chain in there (with a string on it, so you can get it out). Shake the tank around with chain in there to help clean the insides. All the time you'll be developing upper body strength. If you find rust and other filter clogging junk in there, consider buying a new tank. If you don't want to buy a new tank, Eastwood makes a kit for around $100 that'll coat the interior of your old tank. Some (me included) have had good results using this process. Other have not been so fortunate. New tanks go for a little over $200 delivered to your door. If you buy a new tank, get the '62 version with the internal baffles. No one can tell the difference.

[Richard P.]

Re: '57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

I had the same experience with my '56. The gas was 23 years old. I drained the tank, rattled some gravel some gravel around (great for upper body)and spent quite a while getting the stones out. There are baffles in the tank.I was not convinced however that I had removed all of the crud in the tank.
I then did what I should have done in the first place. That is, take it to a radiator shop, get it boiled out and coated with an epoxy product that seals any small holes as well as coating the interior of the tank.
One note of caution. Remember to tell the radiator shop not to paint the tank exterior when finished.
My $.02
Rick

[Eugene B.]

Re: '57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

Bob,
Bill Hirsch has an excellent fuel tank restoration kit. It is a three part system for cleaning, etching, and coating. You can get info. at www.hirschauto.com.

Regards,
Gene

[Dave Christensen]

Re: '57 Corvette Gas Tank Restoration

Bob,
The tank on my '56 looked very clean on the inside and had a little bit of rust on the outside. The areas above the two holes you references and in the area that the tanks straps were. I spent a lot of time cleaning it, and doing the Eastwood thing to the inside.

I put about 3 gallons of gas in the car to start the motor and get it running. Finally when the car was sort of road worthy I drove it to the gas station and put about 5 more gallons of gas in it and drove it home. When I got out of the car at home I noticed the puddle of gas running across my garage floor from the pinholes about half way up the tank. (Just to really make me uncomfortable, it dripped down on the mufflers first.)

After finding the fire extinguisher and hosing everything down, I pulled the tank and did what I should have done in the first place. I bought a new one with the baffles in it. It was less than $200. Considering the $$ for the Eastwood stuff, the labor in cleaning, installing and removing a tank, the importance of a good tank, and that these tanks are almost 50 years old, I would never put an original one back in again. It does not make sense.

Thats my $.02 on this subject.

Dave Christensen