Skunk tank salvage underway

[chuck hahn]

S







Pics of first step of the recovery procees. ill make a post detailing my steps

[1978GS750E]

Please give us details! I've attempted repairing a tank that looked like that and failed miserably! (Maybe I just need more practice?)

[nvr2old]

There was a time that you would just throw a tank like that in the garbage but they're so rare now as you know. You got your hands full, Chuck. After you get it all welded up, maybe take it to a radiator shop and get it boiled out, tested and sealed. I've had great success with that.

How's the S clone coming along..?

[chuck hahn]

This is the famed 78 1000 tank rot. Ive talked much about salvaging them but never took pics so here it is;

First thing is to use die grinder with wire wheel to super clean the metal and also tear thin spots unseen by you away.
Second,, Smear flux along the tank and into holes
Third... Get the propane torch and adjust it down really low till just a little blue flame tip is seen.
Forth.. Get solder at the hole and apply the flame. WATCH CLOSELY FOR SOLDER TO MELT. Just as it melts quickly move the torch. Youll most likely overheat it and the solder will fall in...dont worry. Just let it cool 30 seconds and retry. May have to reclean the area and reflux it too. It will take a bit to perfect your form and get the hang of it. Small pinhols can be done with electric soldering gun.

Just keep at it and slowly work all the holes shut. This took me over 5 hours to do and ive done more than a few tanks in my day.
Once the soldering is done you ca use a shop vac to suck debris out of the tank and then just go about derusting and applying tank liner as you normally would. Seeing the largeness of some of the holes o filled this tank will get the Caswell 2 part tank liner. HOWEVER i will be saving a little of each chemical and doing a second application down the repaired seam to ensure a good thick patching job. Let forst coating set 3 or hours and do round 2

Last thing is to use several sizes of double cut carbide burrs in the die grinder to remove tge heavy solder and reshape the tank profile. Work at this slowly and carefully because solder is softer and it wont take much to go too deep and risk going into tank liner. Get it 'GOOG ENOUGH' and finish sand it with some 380... again carefully. Fill it with water and set it on some clean cardboard for a day or two to leak test it.

[chuck hahn]

Larry... S clones about to get some CPR, Spent a few months doing a Frame off on a 80 1000G. Its about done less paint so ill soon be back to MY junk...lol

[1978GS750E]

This is the famed 78 1000 tank rot. Ive talked much about salvaging them but never took pics so here it is;

First thing is to use die grinder with wire wheel to super clean the metal and also tear thin spots unseen by you away.
Second,, Smear flux along the tank and into holes
Third... Get the propane torch and adjust it down really low till just a little blue flame tip is seen.
Forth.. Get solder at the hole and apply the flame. WATCH CLOSELY FOR SOLDER TO MELT. Just as it melts quickly move the torch. Youll most likely overheat it and the solder will fall in...dont worry. Just let it cool 30 seconds and retry. May have to reclean the area and reflux it too. It will take a bit to perfect your form and get the hang of it. Small pinhols can be done with electric soldering gun.

Just keep at it and slowly work all the holes shut. This took me over 5 hours to do and ive done more than a few tanks in my day.
Once the soldering is done you ca use a shop vac to suck debris out of the tank and then just go about derusting and applying tank liner as you normally would. Seeing the largeness of some of the holes o filled this tank will get the Caswell 2 part tank liner. HOWEVER i will be saving a little of each chemical and doing a second application down the repaired seam to ensure a good thick patching job. Let forst coating set 3 or hours and do round 2

Last thing is to use several sizes of double cut carbide burrs in the die grinder to remove tge heavy solder and reshape the tank profile. Work at this slowly and carefully because solder is softer and it wont take much to go too deep and risk going into tank liner. Get it 'GOOG ENOUGH' and finish sand it with some 380... again carefully. Fill it with water and set it on some clean cardboard for a day or two to leak test it.

Chuck,

What type/brand flux and solder are you using? Or does it matter?

[chuck hahn]

just off the shelf flux and solder for elecrical use. nothing special

[chuck hahn]

WOW!! Has been years since i started soldering the entire left lower seam to rebuild it. At this point i finished the soldering, shaped it, wire wheeled the tank bare and ordered some JBWELD TANK REPAIR as a topical skim coat to final seal it before doing the Caswell tank liner. Ill take pics of the finished soldering tomorrow. Object was solder fill the entire seam, seal to have it hold the tank liner then primer it for storage.

[Big Block]

Im probably going to be doing my 79 when I get back home. Its a lot worse than this one but I'll give it a go. Thanks for posting this. I'm tempted to fill it with water and weld some new pieces in. Its a hassle.

[chuck hahn]

Big Block. seeing the 79 tank is not as rare as the 78 tanks i would first try to source another tank. This was VERY time consuming and if it was a 78 AND repairable it would have been scrapped outright.

[chuck hahn]

So after soldering and shaping and then hitting any more exposed pinholes from the sanding I have applied the JB Weld tank repair and allowed it to cure overnight. Next step is sand the epoxy smooth without burning through it. This will allow for derusting internally and applying a Caswell 2 part epoxy tank liner. Im doing Caswell because its thicker and will be thicker in critical areas.

SAM_2338.jpg