47 fuel tank question

[bobdo]

I have a question regarding '47 Knuckle fuel tanks. I picked up a set of tanks years ago & I thought the shift side tank had been dropped. The shift bracket appeared to be pushed to the right (or rear of bike) causing the sheet metal to crease a bit. It would take a pretty good hit for this to happen. There's no indication of damage or impact elsewhere. I checked the shifter stud hole location with other tanks, all earlier style, & the location looks very close to all & not angled in any way. I wondered if this was something intentional at the factory due to the new shift gate & shift pattern? I don't understand why the factory would do this, but the reason I have this question is I saw another '47 tank on ebay with the same crease. The coincidence of there being two tanks with the same problem seems unlikely. I've been hesitant to try & pull the bracket forward. Since finding this other tank & now getting ready to work on the tanks, I thought I better tap into the AMCA knowledge bank before deciding. Here's the link to the ebay auction with good pics of the crease. Mine looks the same. I'm glad I got mine when I did, look at the "buy it now price". Thanks in advance, Bob
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...217431869&rd=1

[T. Cotten]

I remember the crease specifically on a '47 I did many years ago, as miles down the road, a stresscrack appeared below the shift bracket, in the crease to the right of the petcock hole.

....Cotten

[theknucklehead]

Bob,
That's how my 1947 and 1948 tanks are.

[bobdo]

Thanks for the replies, I greatly appreciate good news.
I guess that crease is a good way to judge an OEM tank from reproduction, as its unlikely
that would be added. Its good news, I really didn't want to attempt pulling the crease out.
I had a few thoughts, all very scary.
Also, thanks Cotten, I'll keep an eye out for possible future problems in that area.
Bob