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Cleaning tank - bad gas

C

coshoo

Well-known Member
Trying to get my '66 Cutlass running after 20 years- tank will be a mess, of course- Anyone got the magic bullet to dissolve the schlock out of the tank and lines?
 
Went through this with a Ttiumph Spitfire a couple years ago. Used e85, then lacquer thinner.
 

Drain what you can, and then put in some FRESH gasoline. E10 is better than just gasoline, and E85 is the best. Your Olds will run on E85, but will be a bit cold-blooded. It will LIKE E10.
 
Buy a new tank, blow out the lines, new filters and carb kit. Or, no matter how many times you think you've cleaned the tank you will still be getting rust contaminating your fuel system.
 
(quoted from post at 14:41:29 06/27/16) Trying to get my '66 Cutlass running after 20 years- tank will be a mess, of course- Anyone got the magic bullet to dissolve the schlock out of the tank and lines?
Click to expand...

Cleaned MANY. I tried virtually everything and some were bad enough that they had black, tar-like residue in bottom.
After dumping out what you can, Remove tank and drop in a double handful of sheetrock screws or length of chain.
Then add a abundant amount of Acetone. SHAKE AND ROTATE VIGOROUSLY! Let it set--repeat.
This is bad stuff and must be handled with caution! !
Drain and repeat until clean. If there is rust, use Muriatic Acid to remove rust and then coat inside with "Tank Sealer"

Many times, I used an electric fuel pump to clean out the fuel lines.
To do a good job--It is time consuming.
May be better to just replace tank.
 
I did one out of a old ford pickup.
Put some rocks (I like the sheetrock screw idea) strapped it to my backhoe tire, dropped the outrigger and let 'er spin for awhile
 
It might not be as bad as you think. I have a car that had sat for at least 15 years (probably closer to 20), and I pulled the tank thinking it would be a gummed up mess, and in fact it was not bad at all aside from the gas being bad,and dark in color. I dumped the gas, and put it back as pretty much everything was still liquid and dumped right out fairly clean. I opened the line, cranked it over to flush the lines before hooking everything up and fired it right up on the new gas, without issue. I actually mixed the old fuel into my lawnmower and burned it. If I would have known, I could have plumbed in an electric fuel pump and just pumped it out without the pain of dropping the tank. Carb was a different story, and had to soak it and rebuild. Make sure to replace the fiber float.
 
Ron-MO, you had it right. Car was in a garage for 20 years, no extremes in temp because the air distribution system for the heat pump was also in the same garage, and it leaked enough to keep the temperature moderate. The guy working on it called today, and said the gas smelled more like kerosene, but was not sludgy, and thinks the tank and lines will be fine. Carb is also OK, because he got it running with a gallon can (with new gas) hooked with gravity feed to the fuel pump. For once in my life, this may be less expensive than I was expecting.

Thanks to all who replied.
 
Oh, and one other thing- He found a 3 foot length of green garden hose in the tank- "Do you know anything about that?" Nope, can't say as I do- but I'm reminded of a story my sister told, after kissing a guy she wasn't really too impressed with. He asked, "Where did you learn to kiss like that?"? She replied, "Siphonin' gas."
 
If the tank is not rusty, just pressure wash it inside. If it's rusty take it to a radiator shop and have them cook it in their acid tank, then use pour in sealer. If it's too rusty get a new tank. Just Tanks is the most reasonable company I have found.
 
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