C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source???

[James W.]

Hello,

Does anyone know of a vendor that sells a replacement gas tank bladder for a 1975 Corvette? Quanta only sells the outer tank itself as does Paragon.

Thanks,

James West

[John H.]

Re: C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source?

James -

As far as I know, no supplier has taken the financial plunge to tool up to produce the bladder.

[James W.]

Re: C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source?

John,

Other than possibly putting in a another used tank with a good bladder, is there any other year Corvette gas tank that would work as a replacement? Thanks for the response.

Regards,

James West

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source?

James-----

There is no other tank that would be a direct fit. However, I suppose that an earlier tank could be adapted. It would involve more than just finding a way to fit the tank to the car, though. I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND this sort of adaptation, however. We're talking about a fuel system here. This has BIG TIME safety implications. Modifying it is asking for trouble and exactly the sort of trouble that you least want to have.

It's VERY unfortunate that bladders are not currently available for 75-77 tanks as well as the fact that there is no replacement for 78-82 tanks with integral bladders. As I've mentioned before, I think that this results from the safety implications of such parts and the expectation about the performance of same (that some lawyer could "explain" to the satisfaction of a jury in a product liability case). So, these components would likely carry a very high product liability cost. Considering the size of the market, that may prove the reproduction of these to be impractical.

I hope that I'm wrong, though, and that these components do come on the market in the near future. There are a lot of 1975-82 Corvettes that are going to start to need fuel tanks as the bladders deteriorate. Although the bladder material is highly resistant to gasoline, it is NOT 100% impervious to it. In time, the contact with gasoline will degrade the bladder material. It's absolutely inevitable.

Without the availability of SERVICE components, folks may feel forced into some sort of adaptation as you suggest. That could result in the creation of a SERIOUS compromise to safety.

[mike cobine]

Re: C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source?

Since I did some research on these back in the '90s regarding their safety and build requirements, I found they were quite similar to the bladders used in most fuel systems, like racing fuel cells and some bladder-type aircraft tanks, most havign the same FIA specs on rubber type and construction.

As such, you may be able to check with racing fuel cell manufacturers to see about a custom bladder. ATL and Fuel Safe are the most well-known two. Since a custom built cell ran about $500-$600 last time I checked for roughly 24 gallons, you can probably get a bladder cheaper as you are not buying their outer container, foam, and labor.

Check with them, it only costs a phone call.

[Paul B.]

Re: C3 (1975) Gas Tank Bladder Replacement Source?

...took my "bladder" ot of my '75 coupe back in '94 and in the last 30K miles it's been perfect-even wrote an article for the Corvette Restorer back in '95 on how I did it. Very simple to do, had mine out in about 2hrs, tank back up in the car and driving the same day. Without the bladder, it's just like a '53-'74 Corvette, which DID NOT have a bladder. I even used my original tank, which even at 121,000mi was in nice non-rusty shape. Car now has 151,000mi and I drive it NEARLY daily.