How to disassemble a VL gas tank

[Steve Slocombe]

I just had two left hand VL tanks repaired and he used two old fashioned giant soldering irons alternately heated by an oxy-acetylene torch. A big heat reservoir helps when putting that fillet of solder along the tank top inside. It would be less challenging to modify pre-1936 small twin tanks rather than use later WLA tanks.

[Buster]

I used propane torch to dissassemble. I am not qualfied to put one back together. The tank I took apart was beyond saving, just had salvage parts and I needed the tube for oil primer.

[Shaky Jake]

There's more to those tanks than you would think.
Do you coppers, or a torch? What kind of solder do you use?


Kevin

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[Buster]

More photos. My VL is a mix match of parts. Last photo shows how I am adapting 45 flathead tanks with oil lines rerouted for VL. I needed tub for oil primer to make a outside oil primer.

[Buster]

I got the tank apart. Attached photos show double wall tank seperator, witness holes in seperator, and inside of tank. Tank interior had been cleaned by radiator shop twice and soaked with methylene chloride based paint stripper for three weeks, but still dirty. This tank has a very large patch soldered on to rotted out bottom, however I wanted to salvage remaining usable parts.

[Steve Slocombe]

Bob's pictures show one of the well engineered features in the VL left tank. That is a double-skinned divider wall between the oil and gas sections, with witness holes to show which side is leaking. It is not in the repro tanks and must have been hard to install. There are also inner stiffeners in the right tank side, and filters over the oil and gas outlets that will likely get blocked by tank sealer. Usually the left tanks last pretty well as they contain oil at the front and the rear reserve tank is not filled too often. The right tank usually shows pitting underneath where water drops have separated from the fuel and gone through the tinplate.

[Jim]

Do yourself a favor and take it to a radiator shop for disassembly and reassembly.

I had unsoldered the RIGHT side tank "inner" panel on my 30VL. I did NOT unsolder any other parts of it. After I cleaned it out, I soldered it back on but I had a leak at the top that I couldn't get to "seal". So... I ended up taking it to a radiator shop and they finished soldering it and then they put a pressure test on it when they were done. Would I do it again? hmmm.... I'm not sure.

[exeric]

Good luck.

[Buster]

Thanks for the photos Big Lake. I will take some photos, if I can figure out how to post them. It appears the part that I did not understand is the flat panel next to the frame rails is in two peices. I understand now. Thanks!!

[BigLakeBob]

Do these help?

[Chris Haynes]

Do yourself a favor and take it to a radiator shop for disassembly and reassembly.

[exeric]

Buster, can you take pictures of your progress?

[harleytoprock]

I disassembled and assembled my 1927 JD tanks. Its not all that easy but not all that impossible either. There are two seperate panels on the flat inside surface on the tank ( one for gas, one for oil). With the panels off, you can then desolder the tube and then the seperator. I'm not sure if this helps you.

[Buster]

The tank I am disassembling is no fixable, but I want to salvage parts. The oil primer tube is th main part. Do not want to destroy good part of panels, might have use for then in future. I cannot figure how to get exterior panels loose if oil and gas tank separator is soldered to them from the inside all the way around tank. The primer pump tube is soldiered to the separator section inside the tank.

[exeric]

Buster, I think you're in uncharted territory for almost all of us. When you get this job finished, you will know more about the insides of a VL left side tank than any of us. I have messed with J tanks, which are fundamentally the same as VL tanks. My 1916 J had a slightly crushed oil primer tube and the top, and bottom fittings would not screw in. Coward that I am, I did not want to take the left side tank apart so I worked the primer tube from the outside. I made a tapered mandrel to fit the I.D. of the tube and carefully tapped the outside of the tube to make it round again. Eventually I was able to get the top plunger assembly, and the bottom check valve assembly to screw back into the tube. My personal advice is to not go any further with your disassembly. Also, when you go to reassemble, and re-solder your fittings, you must use a heavy soldering iron. I use big copper irons that I heat with a propane torch, and use 50/50 solder, and liquid flux. Everything has to be super clean.