gas tanks...and thanks

I finished doing complete brakes on the resurrected '71 and, having started it up previously, figured I would try a test run around the neighborhood. I got a long walk from home when it "ran out of fuel". I'll skip the troubleshooting,cussing, and cut to the chase.

Drained the tank and the gas was RED. Hmmmm. I know I didn't put off-road diesel in it (that goes in the Kubota). Blew out the lines...clear. Discovered the outlet from the tank was partly plugged. There was zero rust, the gas was clean,except for being red.

The tank had been POR15ed by the PO, and I determined it had been sealed, as well. Could not clear the pickup line in the tank. SO I went to the dusty archives of this here awesome site and read several cautions about sealing tanks and sealing the pickup tube in the process.

Fearing I would need to pull the tank, I tried one final desperate measure. I removed the filler neck to access the interior of the tank. I then sprayed some brake cleaner on a rag and wiped some of the red coating...it came off. Having determined that the coating was soluable I removed the fuel line at the tank and sprayed brake cleaner into the pickup tube. I let it soak for a moment, then blew comrressed air into the tube. I did this a couple times, then re-connected everything and it's pumping gas like a fire hose now! I would not have gone in that direction had it not been for the past discussions by the wise ones. Thank you once again.

Good deal Ron!

You know we should start a drive to see how much money we have all saved while getting help on this site....

My membership is up in a couple of days, time to renew for me.

Cheers
Paul

Right you are, Paul. I would have been looking at a new gas tank, plus the time (time is money). Can I get an A-Men!

Sounds like the sealer didn't stick well to the POR15. That means it's going to keep coming off. I wonder what that'll do to the fuel filter, carb, etc.

Sorry, I should clarify.... The POR15 is on the OUTSIDE of the tank, the sealer on the INSIDE. I do wonder however, if the gas continues to turn red, is it causing problems elsewhere? Should I dump it and start over? This car has been sitting for about 6 years, so I was surprised to find no rust in the tank. I did add some stabil this winter as I had put a couple gallons of gas in the tank. Does Stabil have alcohol in it? Is brake cleaner alcohol-based or ether? Carbon tet? Point being, perhaps the sealer is gas-proof, but other products will dissolve it. Obviously, I need to do more research.