Fuel tank repair 72 Barracuda

[sheetmetaldan]

I have a hole in my gas tank.Not sure which way I should go to repair it. Here are my ideas
1 Fix with some sort of epoxy J.B Weld perhaps.What works the best out there? I would want this repair to basically last forever I don`t want to drop the tank 2-3 years down the road and fix it again when I have the chance to do it right the first time.

2 Weld in a patch. If I decide to weld it what would be the proper way to purge the tank? It`s bone dry and been off the car for about 5 years but I still want to be safe I literally don`t want this thing blowing up in my face.

3 Just buy a replacement tank.How do they compare to original.Is there any baffles or anything different inside the tank between original and aftermarket?What do they cost?

If I go with idea 1 or 2 I would use a gas tank recondition/sealer kit to seal up inside after the repair.I think Eastwood sells something to do that anyone ever try this stuff?

Lastly just out of curiosity what is the thing with the 4 rubber lines hanging off the tank do? It looks like some kind of fuel tank appendix.

One more thing I already know what some of you are thinking, don`t tell me to use the Penny to patch the hole! If I was going to do something like that I would go top shelf and use a quarter from 1972 to keep it correct!

 

[burdar]

That's a pretty big hole. A radiator shop in town does gas tank repairs but I don't think they would repair something that big.

I got a new tank from Rock Auto. They sell the good Spectra tanks made in Canada. They have the best price that I found when shopping.

The thing hanging off the tank is the vapor separator. It was used on the later 72's and all 73-74 cars. It serves two purposses. First, it acts as an overflow tank. If you fill up the tank and it gets hot outside, the gas will expand. The separator is there so the gas has a place to go. Second, there is a valve inside that lets fuel vapors from the tank, travel to the front of the car to be stored in the charcole canister.(round black plastic thing on the passengers side by the radiator)

To see how it works, plug four of the tubes and then suck/blow into the other one. You will hear and feel the valve working. If it is rusted up and not working, buy a gallon of EvapoRust and soak the separator in that.(sold at Harbor Freight and other farm impliment stores) Mine was rusted solid but after letting it soak in the EvapoRust, everything loosened up.

what I started with

soaked in EvapoRust

had no choise but to paint it due to the pitting and pin hole repairs

 

[burntorange70]

Auto parts stores have patch kits. Don't know how well they hold up though. Used one on my tank a few years ago and it is still holding up.


If you ae going to weld it either fill the tank with water first or some kind of inert gas.

A new tank is the best way to go though by the looks of yours.

 

[AlleyoopMgv]

I've repaired the gas tank in this 65 Coronet wagon, because they don't make new ones.
Anyways, it was pretty rusty and full of holes, so I ground it down and used metal tape over some of the bigger holes. Then I used Panel bond adhesive on the entire bottom of the tank.
Worked pretty good and its been quite a few years and still holding strong!

 

[mrees72]

New tanks fit like the old ones for ebody. $160 or so and you don't have to worry about doin it twice.

 

[sheetmetaldan]

Thanks everyone for the help.Upon further inspection there is a lot of loose scale/rust built up on the inside of tank I know I could weld it and it would cost next to nothing then spend $50.00 bucks on the sealer kit from Eastwood and another $12.00 for paint to make it look good.

I checked rock auto they have it for $161.99 "Thanks Burdar" hard to argue with that price.So either spend $62.00 at Eastwood and the time and effort to seal the inside along with the explosion risk,or spend $161.99 and be done with it.The new tank is on the way!Same tank from autozone was $396.99 wont be buying it from them!

The job you did on your vapor seperator Burdar is excellent! I`ll clean mine up too hopefully get the same results.