Tank Options - Interstate

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My 72 Interstate (glass) tank has been weeping from rear left corner somewhere - can't find the actual leak but it is there. Fuel drips down the frame onto the ground, unless I put a folded paper towel under the left rear corner, and this gets yellow over night. Lately I've been simply emptying the tank via the l/h petcock connection, and refilling before each ride - not very convenient. The whole garage stinks from gasoline.
So do I!

I've been in touch with Kan Armann and he offered to reline the tank for a very reasonable cost. But it is still a 35 yr old fiberglass tank......

Meanwhile I'm thinking of replacing the tank with a steel one, or some other (new) glass tank. Then prehaps send my tank to Ken prior to selling it on eBay. Have looked at "Glass from the Past" - they have a pretty cool extra capacity tank for $450. Also considering a new Manx 5 gal glass pattern tank from Frank at Clubman Racing, which would need to be used with his cafe seat - about $570 for the set. Looks pretty cool. Hmmm.

Also saw a steel tank on eBay from Belgium, but passed on it. It had not been used and condition was questionable. It sold for about $350 (plus 90 for air ship). Meanwhile, that party has offered me a "perfect condition" steel Interstate tank for $550 including air frt. :?: Comments?

Stuart Ostroff
 
Why not just get your existing tank repaired ?

I assume the paint job/gel coat is OK ?

Otherwise I guess you could sell the f/g one & put the cash towards a steel one. For $550 US, I would expect a decent paint job on it.
Is the paint job going to match ? .....................

Decisions, decisions !
 
I had Ken line my glass tank and it's worked well. However the tank was not leaking. I had it lined to protect it from fuel rot.

If you keep your glass tank I think it would be a good idea to patch up the leak before having it lined. I don't think the lining alone will get the job done. I'd imagine that will involve routing out the rotten fibreglass and putting in a patch.

Steel tanks are expensive. An Interstate tank that's good enough to put on your bike as-is will probably cost $800 - $1000 USD. Old tanks with bad paint and bondo sell for $300 and up on ebay. Then you have the cost of a paint job on top of that. Plus the fun of cleaning out all the rust.

Have you considered buying a new alloy tank? They look pretty nice all polished up and you won't have to worry about rust! That's what I'm eventually going to do on my bike.

Debby
 
Glass tank repair

I decided to have a go at repairing my Interstate fiberglass tank myself. I chose the POR-15 heavy duty kit, which contains a stripper, a "marine clean", a "metal-ready" (not used for glass), and finally the sealer in a tiny can. Spoke with Ben at this supplier (in Indiana) and he explained the process in great detail. It took most of the day to get thru this process - first the stripping, then using the marine clean with mixed with very hot water, then flushing out many times with hot water. I used and air hose to get out most of the water (?) and then a heat gun for about half an hour, til it was fully dry (I hope!). Finally, poured in the sealer, moved it around for about 15 minutes, and left the tank upside down so that any excess could drain out. Ben told me that this can of sealer is designed for a 6 gal. tank, so don't expect much excess to drain out. It needs to dry for a few days before use - so I'll just my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile I have investigated just about every tank option - new fiberglass Manx tank from Clubman Racing which would be used with his seat, several alloy options - about $6-700. And the guy in Belgium who sold one steel Interstate tank on eBay for about $360 plus shipping. He tells me he has an even nicer one which is "perfect", absolutely no rust, nice finish, etc. (sent me pix). This would be $550 incl air freight. Hmmmm.

If my tank does not weep after this repair I will likely just keep it. If it still weeps - not sure. . . . .

Stuart Ostroff
 
Tank sealing follow up

The sealing job with the POR15 kit worked fine - no more weeping! And the tank never left my garage.
 
where did you get the kit, i have not put fuel in mine yet, but the tank has some damage to it i am going to repair, the cosmetics are not an issue for me, but i figgured i would seal the inside regardless just in case, i would not want a leaky tank after i spent time on a repaint

AB
 
Sealing Kit

Fuel tank repair kit from:

PRP POR-Store www.prp-porstore.com
Call Ben at 877-548-9323 or 219-531-0929 Indiana

You may not need the heavy-duty kit if you don't think you need to strip out any previous lining. Review with Ben. Plan a few hours for this procedure.

Stuart Ostroff
 
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