Small crease down center of tank

[Lance Weersma]

good evening gents.

I have A pic below of my 72 tank. There is a dent on the right side but I am most concerned about the small crease down the center. I can push I that area and if fells sort of soft. Should I be concerned?

 

[cra-z1]

Whats the inside look like, If its rusty you may have a thin area. Not sure why it would be on top though. My 72 has no spots on top that can be pushed in.

 

[Lance Weersma]

How hard is it to find replacement tanks?

 

[fredintoon]

How hard is it to find replacement tanks?

Hi Lance,
later model Standard & Special tanks swap around between years and models like LEGO but I think that starts after '72.
Early tanks that'd fit a '72 are hard to find and early tanks in better shape than yours are harder yet.
You may luck out and find a good replacement tank but I'd recommend that you try real hard to fix the tank you already have.

 

[wrenchjohns]

check ebay or "paintless dent repair tools". I had a guy push a dent out of the side of the Road King's tank and it came out pretty good.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Consider your paint gone, or soon to be gone. You could seal off the filler hole and do a pressure test through the petcock/s, maybe 20-40 PSI. A radiator shop should be able to do that test for you and maybe repair it if the test shows a leak. There may be just a layer of rust between the steel and paint, I've seen that happen before. After testing or repairs, clean and seal the inside, fill, smooth and paint the outside.

Scott

 

[figure8]

I've heard of people filling a tank with water and freezing it to pop a dent out, just a thought.

 

[fredintoon]

I've heard of people filling a tank with water and freezing it to pop a dent out, just a thought.

Hi figure8,
of all the internal pressure methods (compressed air, pressurized hydraulic fluid and your own thought of freezing water) I've only tried compressed air.
I tried fixing two minor dents with shop air. At quite low pressure the tank tunnel started to creak and groan as it got wider and wider so I hastily quit.
The two small dents didn't move at all.
Observation:- A dent is far stronger than the tank's structure.
Conclusion:- Internal pressure will distort the tank long before it pops out a dent.
Alternative:- Sand clean, stick on flathead fasteners with epoxy, apply slide hammer.

 

[mrtwowheel]

good evening gents.

I have A pic below of my 72 tank. There is a dent on the right side but I am most concerned about the small crease down the center. I can push I that area and if fells sort of soft. Should I be concerned?

You guys are hung up about that dent, his question is about the soft spot down the center, caused by separation of the paint from the tank.

Scott

 

[fredintoon]

You guys are hung up about that dent, his question is about the soft spot down the center, caused by separation of the paint from the tank.
Scott

Hi Scott,
yeah, he did say that.
He won't know for sure if the paint is lifting off the tank or if the paint is stuck real good to a tank that's rust-damaged until he checks the inside with a dentist's mirror and the outside by scraping the paint off.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Hi Scott,
yeah, he did say that.
He won't know for sure if the paint is lifting off the tank or if the paint is stuck real good to a tank that's rust-damaged until he checks the inside with a dentist's mirror and the outside by scraping the paint off.

Yep, we need some feedback on what's happening!!!!!!!

Scott

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Never tried this myself, but I've heard from body-shop guys that, in addition to finding bondo, you can tell the soundness of rusted sheet steel by using a small magnet...