[BuddaMan]

Got duel saddle tanks on my 71 sleekcraft. Over the 4th of July Parker trip I noticed water in the oil so me and the father-in-law replaced the head gaskets and valley pan, upon inspection of the gas tanks realized they were full of crud etc, they are fiberglassed in, was that normal back in 71? is this common issue with steel tanks? what have you guys done to fix this? cut out,clean,coat it and install back in? Dont really want to buy new tanks because of the cost. Whats the new way of installing tanks back in? glass them back in or bolt down? any help of pics or info would be great. If i can keep them i planned on putting a chain inside them and tilting back and forth for awhile to clean, then buy a gas tank sealer kit and hopefully be done with it?

 

[mrjoshua]

Got duel saddle tanks on my 71 sleekcraft. Over the 4th of July Parker trip I noticed water in the oil so me and the father-in-law replaced the head gaskets and valley pan, upon inspection of the gas tanks realized they were full of crud etc, they are fiberglassed in, was that normal back in 71? is this common issue with steel tanks? what have you guys done to fix this? cut out,clean,coat it and install back in? Dont really want to buy new tanks because of the cost. Whats the new way of installing tanks back in? glass them back in or bolt down? any help of pics or info would be great. If i can keep them i planned on putting a chain inside them and tilting back and forth for awhile to clean, then buy a gas tank sealer kit and hopefully be done with it?

I took the saddle tanks out of my gullwing and cleaned them out with detergent and then rinsed them several times. I used a shopvac to suck any remaining water out and let them sit for a few days to dry out. As for taking them out and reinstalling them it wasn't as big a deal as i thought. use a dremmel and cut the bottom and top loose. leave a lip of the old fiberglass at the bottom. this will make it easier to reposition when you reinstall them. When I reinstalled them i took a piece of 15" width fiberglass cloth and wrapped a piecs of 5" wide fiberglass mat inside and folded it over to make a 5" wide "strap" i the poured ALOT of resin over it and draped it over the floor, up the tanks and down behind the back a little and then to the gunnel. I then tabbed a little mat and cloth where it made contact at the gunnel and floor. first time i tried anything like it and it worked out fine.

 

[ICECREAMAN]

Are your tanks steel or aluminum? If they are steel and they are rusting from the inside, cleaning won't help. You need to apply some kind of a coating to seal the rust or they will just continue to rust. If they're steel I'd be looking to replace them with aluminum. If they are aluminum, then you can clean them and your good to go. As far as glassing them in, it's common practice. There are other ways to install them, but it's more work building bolt in mounts.

 

[BuddaMan]

Are your tanks steel or aluminum? If they are steel and they are rusting from the inside, cleaning won't help. You need to apply some kind of a coating to seal the rust or they will just continue to rust. If they're steel I'd be looking to replace them with aluminum. If they are aluminum, then you can clean them and your good to go. As far as glassing them in, it's common practice. There are other ways to install them, but it's more work building bolt in mounts.

They are steel. Do you know of a coating I can use to clean and coat them? For now Ill try the sealing job but If i must replace them where do I start for the same kind of tanks but aluminum? any websites to look at for prices?

 

[blownrat505]

tanks

HEY; take some measurements of your tanks ill see if the tanks i have will work and post some pics asap, i will sell cheap but iam in phoenix area.
they came out of a 78 bahner.

 

[BuddaMan]

HEY; take some measurements of your tanks ill see if the tanks i have will work and post some pics asap, i will sell cheap but iam in phoenix area.
they came out of a 78 bahner.

Sweet man Ill look tonight and post up the specs. What you looken to get for them? there alum. I'd assume right?

 

[ICECREAMAN]

You can find used aluminum tanks in the spam section in most of the boating sights just do a search. Lots of the older boats were very similar hulls so finding a set of tanks that fit really isn't that hard. Get a measurement of your existing tanks so you know what size you're looking for. If your going to remove the tanks, do yourself a favor and just replace them would be my advice.

 

[blownrat505]

tanks

they are 5ft long, 10'' at wide end and 5'' at the other, i figure about 12 gal each.

 

[BuddaMan]

they are 5ft long, 10'' at wide end and 5'' at the other, i figure about 12 gal each.

Those looks pretty close, Is there only one fill for both tanks? Both my fills are centered in the tanks? How much you asken?