[DeTomaso] Aluminum gas tank repair and question
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Mon Sep 15 14:47:16 EDT 2014
In a message dated 9/13/14 16 44 15, rlbpantera at earthlink.net writes:
> I'll start with the question. The US Panteras were retro fitted here
> with a wrap of fiberglass, supposedly for safety reasons. Something I
> read made me think that the European cars with aluminum tanks were
> never wrapped. Anyone know if this is true? I removed all of it when I
> started looking for the leak. It is only one layer thick (0.03") and
> rips very easily. It seems impossible for me to believe this would have
> any benefit in a crash severe enough to rupture the tank. So I'm
> considering not re-coating it and just painting it, probably silver.
> Any thoughts are welcome.
>
>>>It wasn't done for safety reasons. It was done because the tanks
weren't especially well-built, and they were leaking. So they were hastily
wrapped in fiberglass to seal them.
My '72 was retrofitted with a wrapped aluminum tank from a '71 during its
restoration. It has always leaked fuel when I filled it to the top, and I
have finally concluded (without doing a formal investigation) that the tank
is compromised somewhere near the top. I have a steel tank from a later car
ready to go in, but it requires engine removal, and I didn't reach this
conclusion about the apparent failure of my '71 tank until after I'd already
re-installed my new engine. DOH!
I don't know the answer regarding what the Euro cars had. The early cars
that I've seen (1256 in particular) used a steel tank that is different from
the later ones; the filler neck is angled to the rear and is welded to the
tank, as opposed to being bolted on. I'm interested to hear what other
Euro '71 owners have though?
Mike
-------------- next part --------------
In a message dated 9/13/14 16 44 15, rlbpantera at earthlink.net writes:
I'll start with the question. The US Panteras were retro fitted
here
with a wrap of fiberglass, supposedly for safety reasons.
Something I
read made me think that the European cars with aluminum tanks
were
never wrapped. Anyone know if this is true? I removed all of it
when I
started looking for the leak. It is only one layer thick (0.03")
and
rips very easily. It seems impossible for me to believe this
would have
any benefit in a crash severe enough to rupture the tank. So I'm
considering not re-coating it and just painting it, probably
silver.
Any thoughts are welcome.
>>>It wasn't done for safety reasons. It was done because the tanks
weren't especially well-built, and they were leaking. So they were
hastily wrapped in fiberglass to seal them.
My '72 was retrofitted with a wrapped aluminum tank from a '71 during
its restoration. It has always leaked fuel when I filled it to the
top, and I have finally concluded (without doing a formal
investigation) that the tank is compromised somewhere near the top. I
have a steel tank from a later car ready to go in, but it requires
engine removal, and I didn't reach this conclusion about the apparent
failure of my '71 tank until after I'd already re-installed my new
engine. DOH!
I don't know the answer regarding what the Euro cars had. The early
cars that I've seen (1256 in particular) used a steel tank that is
different from the later ones; the filler neck is angled to the rear
and is welded to the tank, as opposed to being bolted on. I'm
interested to hear what other Euro '71 owners have though?
Mike
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