Dirty fuel

[danp1800]

What are anyones thoughts on new petrol tanks?

Had a 1963 p1800. Beautiful car, love it. It was given me problems so I got the fuel tank replaced with a reconditioned one 18 months ago. Remarkable improvement in performance. Then it started to deteriorate again...

Left the car inside in a garage for 3 months. When I get back it won't start. RAC look through everything. Eventually they look at a sample of the petrol. It is filthy, yellow and rusty. No need to even test it.

It's got to be the fuel tank. The fuel pump has been replaced. The carbs have since been cleaned out. That means the fuel tank has rusted.

I thought the inside of the tank was treated (turns out the mechanic says it isnt). Even so, it seems something was wrong with it.

Anyone know where you can get quality fuel tanks that won't rust again??

[TomTom]

There was a thread called "Refurbishing fuel tank" in April of this year which gave some suggestions. Also make sure that you have two filters, (i.e. one before the fuel gets to the carbs - mine is nicely visible in the engine bay) to stop as much crud as possible from stopping you in your tracks.

But surely you should remove the fuel when you know the car will be standing for long periods and top up when you get back. No more bad gas!

Tom

[asneddon]

I always store cars with a fill fuel tank. If the air cant get to the metal, neither can the rust!

With the old leaded fuel it was good for at least 5 years (from experience). It would tend to go red, and not give much performance, but at least it would work.

I'm not so sure about the new unleaded rubbish.

[stevo48]

I was reading the above posts and wondering, is there any possibility there might be a company out there that makes or can make the plastic type fuel tanks for the P1800 as per our modern Volvos?

[classicswede]

It would be possible to make a plastic tank, but personaly I far prefer a good steel tank. If you think about it most of these tanks have lasted a good 40 years.

Leaving the tank full of fuel is a good idea to stop corrosion but modern petrol only lasts about 3 months!

You say the tank was a recoditioned one? What was done to recondition it?

I know brookhouse sell new tanks but never had the need to replace one.

[Derek UK]

Sounds like "reconditioning" in this case was a 10 minutes, or less, with a hose pipe and maybe a lick of paint. Fail! I'd certainly call on them again, if they are still in business, and see what they did. Maybe you got the "basic" clean and not the "de-luxe/recoat" one. If you think you can trust them, you might be able to do a deal. It's just a pain getting it all out again.

Frosts do a tank reconditiong kit which includes an acid wash and a final recoat of the inside. You'll need a couple days, access to a hose and water and somewhere to do a dirty job.

Plastic tanks are AFAIK always enclosed inside the metal body whereas the Amazon/1800 ones hang out of the bottom. A plastic one wouldn't last long there. Considering the price of a new tank, LOTS, it might be possible to make the top of the old tank removable and put another simple steel or alloy tank inside, maybe even a fuel cell. You'd lose a gallon or so but that's not too much of a problem.

Some years ago a friend had an Amazon which had an extra tank fitted up against the wing where the spare wheel was. Thay just laid in the boot. Tanks were connected together and filled from the top of the wing. Apparrently the original owner drove London to Edinburgh once a week and preferred to do each leg non stop!

[capt jack]

The fuel tank on my 1800ES was / is quite rusted inside, although doesn't leak and looks fine on the outside.

Removing the tank isn't a big job, but it's not nice having to deal with the contents!

I've considered the following solutions, but not yet found the perfect answer.

1. Buy and fit a new tank from one of the Swedish specialists suppliers - hellish expensive!

2. Have the old tank 'refurbished' by a specialist - couldn't find anyone I was willing to trust.

3. Have a complete new tank fabricated to fit. It wouldn't look quite right, but it would work! This option is still under consideration. I like the thought of a 'tank within the original tank'. That would overcome a lot of practical problems - and retain the original appearance.

4. Use one of the tank cleaning products - Frosts, or De-Ox granules etc. Sounds fine, but it looks to be a VERY messy business, and there's a warning on the De-Ox data sheet against using the product on anything containing zinc - like the brass fittings in the tank for example! Couldn't find so much info about the Frost product.

Present interim solution has been to remove the tank, put some pea gravel in and blast it through with a water jet, get it all thoroughly dry and put it all back. (You have to be sure to get the gravel out too!). Using the car frequently helps keep the petrol fresh.

I felt it was a bit odd that the original set up has a filter after the pump, so as well as retaining this I also fitted an in-line fuel strainer between the tank and the pump. I've arranged this so that it can very easily be removed and flushed out. Given that the car is an injected model, tracking down a strainer that is OK with the higher fuel pressure, and has tails of a big enough diameter to take the fuel pipes, was not easy. Finally found one from Classic Car Accessories, on the web. They are based in Manchester and provided exactly what I needed for less than £5! I keep a close eye on it for leaks, but so far it has worked fine.

I did try putting the original style filter before the pump, but the pump wouldn't pull enough petrol through to maintain pressure at the injectors, so I had to drop this idea. Funnily enough, on the very early injection models the filter was fitted between the tank and the pump.

Hope this ramble is a bit helpful. At least you know you're not alone in having dirty fuel concerns!

Cheers

Jack

[classicswede]

Just for info plastic tanks are very rarely inclosed in the body. The difference with plastic tanks is that they are located between the axles rather than behind the axle.

[brucelee34]

The issue with cleaning these tanks is that you never quite get rid of all the crud. I must have used thousands of litres of water and yet the brown stuff would materialise. I used the por 15 kit and no problems since. They also supply an additive with the kit which apparently keeps the petrol fresh although modern unleaded is barely a fule these days but that's something for another post !

[B20F]

Scandcar sells new petrol tanks, but not cheap!
http://volvoklassiekeronderdelen.nl/...79c5f2a8bce8c3
Or you could use tank cure:
http://sitekreator.com/toxic/tank_restoration.html