A Can Of Worms

When you're working on a car your own age every job you take on seems to lead to another. I think thats due in part to the age of the car, the miles it has traveled, and also because of the way it was designed. Lets face it, they did design fine cars back then, but we do know a little more 40 years later on how to design a proper widget.

My own current can of worms started with a stink. After bringing my '73 back to life, the garage quickly filled with a strong odor of gasoline. Not a faint whiff like you left the cap loose on the lawnmower, but a strong odor, enough to fill the garage and make me scared to flip the light switch for fear of igniting an inferno!

First, I went after the usual subjects. I tightened the screws on the fuel pump, replaced all the fuel lines in the engine bays and did a full rebuild on the old Zenith Strombergs. All that effort actually did help, and some of the odor began to go away.

It was not all gone however..... and my wife was quick to let me know about it.

I then remembered that I had disconnected the carbon cannister and removed it from the car years ago. All the vent lines were venting to the atmosphere. A call to my father had him looking through the stash of old parts I had stashed in my parent's garage over in Arkansas. Those boxes had not been touched in about 15 yrs, but Dad found the canister anyway.

US Postal delivered the box a few days later and it took me no time to hook it back up in the car. Problem Solved!

Wrong.....

The only thing left that I could replace was the main line from the tank to the pump. So, up on the stands the car went and out came the line. Not before giving me a nice gasoline shower however. Gave what little hair I have left on my head a nice sheen.

While I was under there, I noticed a drip from the spare tire well. Not an active drip, but the evidence of one that had gone on too long. I touched my finger too it and instantly I knew I had bigger problems than I expected...

Removing the tank only took the removal of a couple more bolts, so out she came. I scrutinized the tank and quickly found the culprit.... I think the photo says it all.

Ferrous cancer had finally eaten away at the tank and put a good size hole in the bottom. The only thing holding back a deluge of motion lotion was the tank sealant we had put in that tank 21 years ago.

So, now I'm about to install a spanking new fuel tank in the car. Hopefully this one will last as long as the original did!