My 1950 VH

[Steven.Carter]

Yes, well done !

Me too, very tidy

[Keith.owen]

Thanks guys!

What could possibly go wrong now................

I'm going to check rocker clearances before fitting the tank because it is easier with it off and I might as well take advantage of the opportunity.

Then, fingers crossed, there should be no petrol leaks and...................

keith

[Keith.owen]

I don't know what made me make that statement about petrol leaks......................

yes, you will all, who are reading this have guessed; After savouring putting everything back again as it was I wheeled Betsy out of the garage and carefully put a gallon of petrol in the tank. First observation - although I had replaced the corks in the petrol tap with some neoprene ones (from Drags), the tap was weeping (blast!).

Then, horror of horrors petrol dripping off the back of the tank and onto the battery. Drain tank, fit known good tap (an Enfield lockable type). refill - leaks again. not sure where it comes from since petrol is accumulating below the tank rubber. Remove rubber, no its not coming from the fixing. Get mirror, and look - can't really see where its coming from but its not from the union of the tap with tank. It looks like its from around the join of the bush into which the tap fits with the base of the tank.

I have now removed said tank. I will get my facts right before having what is not going to be a very pleasant discussion on Tuesday; so much for my paint job.

Keith

hey ho; I guess its back to that horrible Indian tank for the foreseeable future

[Steven.Carter]

Ohh Keith, I feel your pain.

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

This stuff is tops , (Epoxy hars) I have done 3 tanks with it till now and absolutely o.k.
Sorry it's in Holland! https://www.wilsor.nl/produktengroot.htm look for 'Epoxy hars'
It withstands modern fuel,
3:1 mixing rate
2.5 hour moving the tank to get it all evenly on the inside.

[simon.holyfield]

Keith, did you see my blog post about sealing tank leaks on the W/NG? Here is a link.

http://ariel-square-four.blogspot.co.uk ... -tank.html

You might be interested in my test program

http://ariel-square-four.blogspot.co.uk ... -test.html

It's been leak free ever since.

[Keith.owen]

Hi,
I have spoken to Drew who undertook the repair and he has said that He'll fix it immediately (whilst I wait) if I take it back. Also that he is confident he can do it without causing too much heat damage. Fingers crossed!

I shall however treat the tank but this will require some form of preparation I imagine to remove rust etc. The stuff Vincent talks about looks promising and seems to last. I have seen POR15 but have no case histories. Has anyone any comments?

Keith

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Hello Keith, getting rid of any rust inside the tank can be some work...
I have de-rusted a Ariel tank by strapping it to a Shimpo electric potters wheel, but a concrete mixer can also do the job.
Fill it with ± 80 M6/8 nuts and demineralised water, make sure that you have the same amount of nuts afterwards, (those from the tank! for our Freudian inclined readers)
Dont used bigger nuts as they can make dents from the inside.
Then fill the tank with fosfor acid dilluted to ± 70% and leave it standing overnight.
Empty and save (ofcourse!) the acid for the next tank and rinse with hot water and use a paint stripper blower to heat up the tank to get rid of all water in the bottom groove and other nooks.
Close of tap outlet and cap, I use conical rubber stoppers I bought from a DIY wine brewery shop. (yes, a big one for the petrol cap)
Mix up the Epoxy and leave it standing for a while to have the bubbles raising from the mixing and then pour it in.
Make sure you have at least nothing else to do for the coming 2.5 hours as you need to move the tank around.
Otherwise you have a very thick layer on the bottom....
I used 400cc for my last tank - W/NG- that was maybe a bit much, but it now has a nice thick coat all over the inside.(300cc epoxy/100cc harder
Good luck..

[Keith.owen]

Vincent,
I'm certainly going to have a go. Just have to get the materials.

Keith

[john.whiting]

The method using nuts is good,but see if you can find the old fashioned square 1/4" nuts.They are much sharper than hex.When we were kids we used sharp crushed gravel.Straight off the driveway.Not our drive ,it was dirt.When you are down to metal inside,you can change to "carpet tacks',the kind with the sharp point and heads,once called "cut tacks".These clean out the seams.You need reasonable quantities,say 1 to 2 lb.Phosphoric acid does dissolve rust,but very slowly unless its at boiling point,which is very hot.Never put hydrochloric acid in anything you dont want to wreck.20 minutes of vigorous shaking is also required,more suited to young relations.