Repop tanks for 41 Chief?

[41Chief]

Greetings,

The tanks on my 41 chief have some minor to major dents that have been bondoed over several times. Now, they are leaking at the seams which bubbled the 'new' paint and softened the bondo (again). So, I am looking at a more permanent solution. The tanks were dented and bondoed way before I bought the bike.

While surfing Ebay I see several listings for 'new' repop gas tanks, all or most from India. Anywhere from about $400 to around $800 +-. Has anyone actually bought a set of these tanks, and if so, how did they fit, look and function? Any leaks?

I also saw where Kiwi was going to be selling repop tanks, but I guess they have either given up or do not have them as their most current ad on the AMCA mag says they are 'coming' in 'early 2022' and their website says they are 'coming soon'.

thanks for any suggestions.

[PaulCDF]

PLEASE DO NOT SHOOT THE MESSENGER

AMCA Facebook site 7/2/2023 (I know fb evil)

Alex Trepanier posted:

"YES GAS TANKS CAN BE RESTORED!!
Your original gas tank is better than any aftermarket gas tank! We all know nobody makes it like the factory did! Plus repro parts hurt the value of your bike. “I make factory tanks great again” I disassemble every part every fitting, I chemically dip and then sand blast every part! I take out the dents! And the craziest part yet!!! I dip the tanks in molten solder!!! They are tinned inside and out!!! No crappy coating needed! No rusting out again! And they solder together way stronger than factory. No welding fatigue and cracking like many of the repro tanks. And if you don’t want to pay me to do it for you, reach out to me and I will walk you through the steps! most mechanical people call at least repair there own tank. I support preserving history. Alex Harry’s Radiator 626-592-2212" Per thread on site this is somewhere near Pasadena CA

PLEASE REALIZE I Do not know this Gent
I do not know if he is AMCA member
I am not suggesting anyone do business with him . . .

I am passing this potential lead along.
Been a long time since I had the pleasure of being in a Radiator Repair shop.

[T. Cotten]

I'll give the fellow the benefit of the doubt, Folks...

And even encourage him if I could.

But beware 'sand-blasting', or just about any solid media, expands, distorts, and work-hardens metals. Has he found a way around that?

Somebody invite him here!


....Cotten

[C.Flint]

I don’t do Facebook but I have watched Alex repair tanks while we rode the Motorcycle Cannonball. His old-fashioned soldering skills are amazing and kept several Cannoball bikes in the hunt. Full support for his talents.

[Graybeard]

I was looking for someone to rebuild the tanks for my '48 Chief project and saw an ad for Dinihanian mfg (Vahan Dinihanian) in the AMCA magazine. I emailed Vahan and was told that they no longer were doing gas tank work and had turned all of their tank restoration business over to Alex Trepanier. Vahan said that Alex does good work and said to give Alex a call @ 1-626-592- 2212 and to tell him that Vahan sent me. When I contacted Alex he explained his entire process to me. Alex did my tanks, they look great but as my Chief is still a project they have not been put into service.

I contacted Alex today and sent him a link to this post. He asked that I post his contact info and that anyone with questions to please contact him.

Alex Trepanier 1-626-592- 2212

[PaulCDF]

Thanks for weighing in folks. Great to hear Alex is for real and still doing this work. Much needed in our community.

[41Chief]

Just an update.

My original 41 chief tanks needed some very serious work to get usable. Lots of dents, nicks, leaks and about 3/4 of a pound of bondo over the years. So, I bit the bullet and decided to take a chance and I ordered an el cheapo set of tanks on Ebay from India.

After about 2 months I finally go them.

They did not fit perfectly. I had to oblong the mounting holes and re-notch the upper part of the tank to clear the seat hinge. I pressure tested and they had a slight leak on the top of the left tank. The right tank was fine.

I sealed both tanks and than they both passed pressure tests.

You would have to have an eagle eye to tell that they were not stock / oem. They were a little bit more than $400 including shipping.

They did not come with the internal oil lines, but did have the proper NPT fittings for them. So, I just removed those lines from my OEM tank and reused them. The oil cap was oriented about 10 degrees off, so, when I screwed on the OEM tank that says "OIL" on it, it was not in the proper position. So, I put on a cap that did not say "OIL" on it.

My bike is not a show bike (electric start, after market synchro 4 speed overdrive tranny, 12V conversion, Harley seat, ....), so, no worries about losing any more points at judgement time.

I am not making any endorsements. There are a half dozen or more folks that sell aftermarket Chief tanks from India on ebay. They may even be from the same person using different ids. I lucked out getting a decent set of them. Your experience may be different.

[PaulCDF]

Thanks for the update. Good you made out alright. Just curious will you now fix your original tanks while you are running the repos?

[41Chief]

I was thinking of rebuilding them. But, at the moment, I have too many other projects in the works to mess with them,. If I get tired of looking at them I will probably just Ebay them.

[tgarcia]

Thanks for the update,I've been looking at those also cause I'm tired of paint being ruined also

[rustynutz]

Please keep us updated on the tanks after the bike has been ridden for a while. Thanks