Pulling a dent in 36 to 39 Tanks at Shift Gate bolt

[knuckjunky]

I recently bought a pair of 36 to 39 tanks. However, when I attempted to bolt up the shift gate, I found that the front screw hole had been dented in a bit which causes the gate to sit uneven. Any ideas on how to pull out the dent at that site? I thought about bolting down the rear of the gate, heating up the front dent and use a bolt/screw and the front of the gate to pull it out flush. However, I'm not very experienced with these tanks and I'm not sure if that would work. Any ideas/advice are appreciated.

[yhprum]

Can you put a screw in the dented part and using a dent puller or sliding hammer on the screw, pull it out?

[knuckjunky]

I can get the shift gate screw (or similar thread bolt) into the front shift gate hole where the dent is. Just wondering if I should have any concerns about the metal. Should I heat the up the metal or is that not necessary? Thanks for the input.

[yhprum]

I would try without heat, and not get too heavy handed. Can you get at it from the inside to push it out? You might be able to bend up a tool for this I think some call it a spangle or spangler?

[bobdo]

Knuckjunky,
If you look in this forum under Legendary Bike Builds / Ryan's AMCA Giveaway bike build / page 4,
Matt Olsen shows exactly how he did it.

[46EL]

Eric- You had asked about a set of 36-9 tanks that I had sold. If you don't have luck fixing yours I now remember that I have a left tank that I don't have a matching right that I would sell. John P.