VB gas tank kit

I pulled the tank when the weather was crud, today was a beautiful sunny 75, gotta love a Florida winter. I bought the kit that VB has on sale, when I looked at Moss, they advertised a Canadian made tank and said not to paint, unless you did a good prep. Would it hurt to shoot a coat of paint on it before installation?

Thanks as usual,
Paul in Panama City

if it was steel, I would paint it. Clean very well and seal it up good.

I would just bolt it in,the factory didn't do any fancy prep work and the last one lasted 30 years.
The secret is to use the car lots and don't leave it sitting for months on end and don't sweat the petty things.
Or as they say in the canadian Air Farce,for goodness sakes don't pet the sweaty things.

Lol, have fun with it and drive it lots.

Mark:)-D

There are several posts about the Spectra tanks. If it is a Spectra tank it has a rust preventative coating on it.

You would have to remove the coating to get paint to stick.

Try a search on gas tanks and you will see several recommendations for cleaning and or painting, and some for not painting at all.

If it's the Canadian tank that is galvanized then no prep is necessary... however,
Recently I had 2, yes 2 tanks that were poorly made and returned. Not only did the outlet fittings leak air (poor fuel flow with bubbles) but the internals were dirty with some sort of coating and transferred to the fuel. These tanks also have a filter at the pick-up.
I'm not condemning all of their tanks but I had 2 consecutive tanks fail in a week! My third try was the Heritage tank. Has a baffle and is painted black.
If installing one of the Canadian galvanized tanks, double check fuel delivery with only a couple gallons in it. Dont bother putting your sender or fill tube on until you check.
RS

Have one sitting in the garage - saved this prior post:

http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?1,1582939

I sprayed mine with black undercoating spray paint from Advance Auto.

I've bought two tank kits from VB so far... Spectra tanks, coated.

I bought a replacement for the '80 LE when we first got it because the PO had backed over a rock and reduced the tank's capacity.

When I got the '76, the tank was an eysore, but not rusted through. I bought the same kit as for the LE, because it holds 13 gals. instead of 11.5, and the later tank had the vent tapping that my early tank didn't have. This way, I was able to re-connect the expansion tank that was floppin' around loose in the trunk. Also took the opportunity at that time to R&R the fuel line with compressed air and re-charge the carbon granules in the evaporative cannister.
The later tank fit right in! it's more tedious to calibrate the level sensor with a megohmmeter, but beer helps.

I knew right away that the silver looking tank would stick out like a sore thumb next to the RB bumper. It also takes away from the TT exhaust. The CB folks might not have that concern.

I used Bounty towels and Sterling lacquer thinner to gently remove any surface oils w/o stripping off the coating. Just fold the towel a couple of times, saturate well, and wipe lightly in one direction so the new tank coating won't get gummy and bubbly. (Do this outside in a well-ventillated area).

Masked the Lock-ring area as well as the filler and vent line necks. Sprayed on two coats of gray primer, two coats of Rust-O-Leum Satin Black, followed by two coats of rubberized undercoating on just the bottom half exposed to chips, etc. I used Permatex Stik N' Seal in dots to hold the new rubber packing strips in place.

I did the first one 3+ years ago. Both installations aren't showing any signs of paint chipping or flaking.

Your results may vary.

The VB tanks are the Spectra tanks. I just installed it.

You should note that the tank connections are soldered on. Solder is not strong. When tightening the fuel fitting, grip the tank fitting tightly to avoid ripping the solder off the tank. Don't ask me how I know.