Tank repair

[cubman]

This may not be the right place for this but does anyone have pointers for repairing a left side tank? The oil compartment is fine but the gas has a thousand holes I would like to cut out the bad spot and put in a patch. Any thoughts? Thanks Mike

[flat-happy]

gas tank repair

hello---well you gotta understand we don't know what your skill levels are and i wouldn't want you to get yourself in trouble by welding on a gas tank that still had gas fumes in it but that is what i use repop tanks for. also most bike shops have some sort of tank around off a wreck that they will give you. just find one that is not dented where you need the metal. any reputable body shop can cut out the rusted metal and weld in the new without any trace of the repair. hope this helps---stillman

[koanes]

I assume that you are speaking of a VL or RL tank. If you put in a patch you will have to be very careful to control the heat so that it doesn't affect soldered joints in the immediate area. Even if you don't melt any solder at a nearby seam, the joint can be weakened and cause you some grief down the road.

[Chris Haynes]

A radiator shop can take your tank apart. Clean everything. Reassemble and solder up all the pinholes.

[exeric]

J and V model tanks are very difficult to do. I just finished a set of early J tanks and like Kyle mentioned, soldered tanks are tricky and you have to carefully control your heat. A high amp soldering iron is the only way to go. As preparation goes, the metal must be extreamly clean and rust free. I use a solder impregnated flux to "tin" the metal and 50/50 solder to join the metal parts. Chris Haynes is in a great part of the country for finding skilled people that can do this kind of work. Unfortuantely, where I live there is not that kind of talent. The last radiator shop I used was a disaster. The guy took forever and during the wait, he fell off the wagon and did my Big Chief tank between Budweisers.

[portagepan]

I haven't had a drink in over 23 years, but I do remember Budwieser. So I wouldn't attribute the poor workmanship to his "falling off the wagon". If he is brain dead enough to stomach that rat piss Budwieser, you should have checked with the Better Business Bureau. I am sure he has plenty of complaints against him. Yuk Yuk.
Mike
PS And don't EVEN ask me about a swill called PBR! I think the formula was arrived at in Communist Russia.

[Rooster]

Ahhh, funny you should mention Communist Russia. If ya really want to grow hair on your teeth, find yerself some "Baltika-9".....!

[Rollo]

As Chris said a "good" radiator should be able to do it. The problem I found is there are few radiator shops left that work on metal rads. They are all plastic now. I have had soem VL and Indian Cheif tanks repaired with mixed results. The Cheif tanks are fine but the VL tanks were so rotted at the petcock that I ended up buying repo tanks since I didn't want to go up and big ball of flames. They are also soldered and come from Europe and I had no fitment issues with them but they weren't cheap either.
Good Luck!

Tom
AMCA#12766

[Fiskis]

The 1932-34 Singles used a special gas tank not the same as DL:s and VL:s used, although similar. These are tough to repair, but there must be a good tank restorer somewhere in your country. Be prepared to pay good money for good work.
Fiskis

[cubman]

Tanks

Thanks for the info so far.
I do have Johnny's book. Not only is it extremly helpful he is a real good guy.
The tank I have has a billion holes in it. I need to make a patch that starts at about the 3/4 mark and rolls all the way under replacing the flat part on the bottom also. That curves three ways. I have used a mallet and plenishing hammer and can get the side well but the bottom radius that goes into the flat underside is the problem.
You made an interesting point on tanks for singles. The tank I have is 22 1/2 " long,8" tall and about 4 1/2" wide. These are the original tanks but those measurements lead me to believe that what ever was left was what went on this motorcycle.
I would appreciate any more help. Thanks Mike

[exeric]

Mike, the J tanks I just finished had the same problems. I had to make patch panels that replaced the bottom and sides of the tanks. Like you said, these panels are compound curves which are very difficult to replicate. I made the patch panels by making a paper pattern of the area I needed to copy. I used poster paper which is just the right thickness to work with. Paper works well because you can easily form it and make nips and cuts in curved areas to replicate the bends and radii. When you like the way the paper pattern fits, you trace it on a piece of sheet steel. After the steel pattern is cut, I form it to the shape I need and then braze all of the nips and cuts I made to form the curves. I then belt sand the brazed joints smooth. I have used tern plate for these panels but it is a bit hard to find in the right thickness. I think McMaster Carr sells it. Tern plate is nice because it's tin coated steel which solders easily. When I have used tern plate, I don't braze the cuts and nips. The best tool I have for gas tank repair is a spot welder. When I finish the repair panels, I spot weld them in place and then I can lead solder the ever lovin' hell out of the tank without having to worry about the panel melting out of place. As I said before, I use a high amp soldering iron for all of the lead work.

Lastly, I have a problem with killing the rust that is created by the solder flux. Every chemical I have used to kill the rust makes the steel instantly ready to rust again. This has been the most aggravating part of the repair process. Whenever I have to do a major tank repair I always use a tank sealer. I have used Por 15 and Red Coat with great success. Fortuantely, both of these products can tollerated some rust and will stick to the metal. Hope this has been of some help. I should have taken pictures of the J tank repair.