Shit.
After all the work, getting it back together and ready for a test ride, I put some fuel in the tank and discovered a new pinhole leak, pissing fuel all over my shop floor!
I quickly pulled the tank off and turned it sideways to move the gas away from the leak. Luckily, I had only put a little fuel in there, so not too much leaked out.
Now, where is the leak and how bad is it? I quickly found the spot, but on a closer inspection, I found a rash of spots that are also about to pop through. In fact, as soon as I touched them with an inspection tool, they popped right through.
I could seal these up with epoxy, like what was done previous to my ownership, but I can see this quickly turning into a horrible game of whack-a-mole.
Shit.
I called on a few vintage motorcycle experts to get some advice. What they said is that I can take it to a radiator shop and have them braze all of the holes, followed by a sand-blast, and finish it off with an interior coating.
I called the radiator shop and yes, they can do it - as long as the metal is thick enough for brazing and sand-blasting. If the tank is up for the job, it will be about $250. Or so.
And the paint will be totally fried, which doesn't really matter in this case.
Shit.
Taking into account the way I see these holes forming, I have my doubts that the metal is thick enough, but I will take it in to have the experts weigh in on the situation.
Otherwise, it's time to find a new tank...
Update:
I took the fuel tank into the radiator shop and they confirmed what I feared - the tank has some areas that are much too thin to braze.
The only option for this tank is to cut out the bad section and weld in some new metal. This would work, but it would not look the same due to the stock shape of the metal. It will always look like a patch.
I will move on and find a new tank.
Once I find a new tank, I can probably sell this one for a few dollars. Even though I am not willing to have a patched tank, someone else just might.
Update:
I found a good replacement fuel tank on eBay, which appears to have no rust inside. The outside is relatively ding-free, so it won't be too hard to prep it for paint.
After all the work, getting it back together and ready for a test ride, I put some fuel in the tank and discovered a new pinhole leak, pissing fuel all over my shop floor!
I quickly pulled the tank off and turned it sideways to move the gas away from the leak. Luckily, I had only put a little fuel in there, so not too much leaked out.
Now, where is the leak and how bad is it? I quickly found the spot, but on a closer inspection, I found a rash of spots that are also about to pop through. In fact, as soon as I touched them with an inspection tool, they popped right through.
I could seal these up with epoxy, like what was done previous to my ownership, but I can see this quickly turning into a horrible game of whack-a-mole.
Shit.
I called on a few vintage motorcycle experts to get some advice. What they said is that I can take it to a radiator shop and have them braze all of the holes, followed by a sand-blast, and finish it off with an interior coating.
I called the radiator shop and yes, they can do it - as long as the metal is thick enough for brazing and sand-blasting. If the tank is up for the job, it will be about $250. Or so.
And the paint will be totally fried, which doesn't really matter in this case.
Shit.
Taking into account the way I see these holes forming, I have my doubts that the metal is thick enough, but I will take it in to have the experts weigh in on the situation.
Otherwise, it's time to find a new tank...
Update:
I took the fuel tank into the radiator shop and they confirmed what I feared - the tank has some areas that are much too thin to braze.
The only option for this tank is to cut out the bad section and weld in some new metal. This would work, but it would not look the same due to the stock shape of the metal. It will always look like a patch.
I will move on and find a new tank.
Once I find a new tank, I can probably sell this one for a few dollars. Even though I am not willing to have a patched tank, someone else just might.
Update:
I found a good replacement fuel tank on eBay, which appears to have no rust inside. The outside is relatively ding-free, so it won't be too hard to prep it for paint.
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