Flood Victim

Used the method I saw in old pics yesterday and laid the engine on it's side and dropped the frame over it. Go that buttoned up and upright and mounted the battery tray, oil tank and swingarm. Should have a roller by the end of the week. Still need to strip and paint the tank and sidecovers.
 
Removed the old paint from the topside of the tank with a putty knife. Found pinholes of rust in one lower side where floodwater must have been until the holes allowed it out. Not sure if it's repairable or I should look for another tank. Might look into having it brazed.
 
Danno said:
Removed the old paint from the topside of the tank with a putty knife. Found pinholes of rust in one lower side where floodwater must have been until the holes allowed it out. Not sure if it's repairable or I should look for another tank. Might look into having it brazed.
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Trouble is it's not just the holes Danno, all of the metal around the holes will be super thin.

I'd look into one of the epoxy liners to fill the holes and add material all over.

Strip all paint off and clean the inside, line it, test it and be happy it's sound BEFORE painting.
 
Are the holes on the sides or on the bottom?

Before I stripped down Muttster, I re-installed my old hirider tank that I had used until getting a nice Interstate tank in the late 90s. The hirider had sat idle for~17 years and so I filled it with nuts and bolts and petrol and gave it a good shake and tumble operation. It immediately started loosing fuel out of the bottom adjacent to the welds. A lot of pinholes surfaced as I was wire-wheeling the paint off and trying to strip the rust. Then a gaping hole (what is a gaping pinhole??) or two emerged. As I only needed a short term fix, and I wasnt going to re-use this tank other than using it as a work-tank, I repaired it pretty well with metal epoxy putty and a rattle can, and it holds well (for now).

I think the only way to fix my tank long term would be to chop out the infected areas and weld in new patches in the base, or an entirely new base.

If it were the sides, I would shit-can it and get a new tank.
 
Thanks for the tips an experience, guys. I will probably have the bottoms cut out of each side and then have new metal welded in. I spent a couple of hours chipping (!) the thick, cracked original paint with a putty knife and the outside top of the tank is perfect. The pinholes are where the floodwater sat until it ate it's way theough and drained out.

I have a few more black parts to paint (brake backing plate, rear shocks and oil filter base) and then I can complete the mechanical assembly. I have a perfect fiberglass Roadster tank that has never seen ethanol. Going to fill up some cans with Sunoco 260 at Barber and I can use the 'glass tank until the stock tank is repaired.
 
Danno said:
Going to fill up some cans with Sunoco 260 at Barber and I can use the 'glass tank until the stock tank is repaired.
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Race fuel doesn't store well for more than a month or two unless carefully sealed container that wasn't exposed to atmosphere for longer than the time it took to transfer the contents.
 
Oil lines are on, as are fenders and wheels. Wiring harness reinstalled, reconnected and tested. Turn signal flasher stuck one way on. Next is to add the primary drive back, then cables, carbs, chain and guard, finish overhauling front brake m/c and caliper. Then I'll put the fiberglass tank on for tuning and testing. If I didn't have so much going on in October, it would be pretty well done by the end of the month, but with Barber and the Daytona race coming up, there won't be much time left over.

Still haven't taken the time to figure out a new photo posting method, but if anyone wants to see any, just pm me your email and I'll shoot them to you.
 
Danno said:
... Then I'll put the fiberglass tank on for tuning and testing.
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Danger Will Robinson!

Unless you have taken all the proper precautions, 'glass tanks are on the outs these days.
 
As long as it's no-ethanol fuel....actually saw a station in Northern Illinois (corn country, John Deere, Caterpillar) with no-ethanol fuel a month or so ago.
 
Everything electrical working but the signal flasher and the instrument bulbs. Lights burning, all switches functional. All the Lucas connectors were replaced. Blade connectors, as well as all switches, bezels and contact areas were cleaned with Electro-motive spray cleaner.

Cleaning, de-rusting and painting have been the bulk of the work. A few nuts and bolts and a couple internal parts in the engine and trans were hopelessly corroded and those have been replaced. Thanks to all the scrubbing, sanding, painting cleaning and polishing, (and a fair stash of usable old parts) this low-mile, matching numbers, mostly-stock machine is 99% original.
 
Flood Victim
completely sandblasted and cleaned off the frame, cradle and other parts to be painted
 
As she sits. When I get back from the ASRA race at Daytona next week, have to install the primary drive, pipes, intakes, carbs and airbox and it should be ready to time the Boyer and see if she'll fire
Flood Victim


Also need to finish the front brake overhaul and paint the tins. The original tank h.as been rust-killed, cleaned, pinholes epoxied and gets a 2nd coat off sealer today. Friday I'll fill it with fuel and see if it's good. If not, a repro tank will be in order.
 
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I checked into cutting out the botom of the tank and welding/patching everything and it would cost as much as the most expensive repro tank. If it doesn't hold fuel without leaking, it'll make a nice shelf ornament. Might even paint it if I have leftover material.
 

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