Gas Tank Repair | GTAMotorcycle.com

Gas Tank Repair

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Ulsterman

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I'm looking for a thread about a guy who did and absolutely amazing repair on an RZ350 gas tank. He ended up spraying it white with just some black stickers. I've been searching for it but can't find it.

I have a 1930 Rudge Sport Special that originally belonged to my father in law. I've stripped it down for restoration but the tank is in an awful mess at the bottom. Nothing but pinholes. The metal needs to be cut out and repaired

I was hoping to find the thread, or if someone knows the guy maybe they would be kind enough to pass me his information. Maybe he would do me a kindness and take a look.

Thanks
 
I think this is the thread you are looking for.

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?193759-RZ350-Stroker-Motor

Its not my tank in the thread although after seeing this I did have the guy do all the metal repair on my RZ tank.

He posts on this board under the name Delboy.

He cut out all the old metal, media blasted the inside of the tank and replaced all the metal he removed. He even rebuilt the seams with the tabs that hold the plastic side panels, an put in a spigot for a Pingle petcock as I needed a high flow tap. He pressure tested everything as well.

He did recommend a liner so he ended up putting the KBS liner in there. He said that he doesn't like using a liner in a rusty tank as it has a high chance of failure, but if the internal is completely media blasted it works well.

I had it painted at Connery's. Unfortunately Carboncat and Cheekeebandito stopped painting

I don't know what else to tell you. Its been on the bike for about a year and so far so good. It looks great.

I know he moved to California but he does still post here now and again so I would reach out to him. I also see him posting on ADVRider a lot as he has a GS1200. I also have his email info if you can't get hold of him on here

He's a super nice guy and will at least give you an honest opinion. He was fast, and he actually wasn't that hard to pay. Maybe you could just fedex the tank to him in CA.
 
I repaired my tank with the putty type sealer. It had several pin holes in it.
On the advice of friends, I sealed it when I put the bike away at the start of the winter and let the putty harden for two months.
That was five years ago. Not so much as a drop leaked since then.
If the tank is aluminum beware. Welding aluminum is a very specialized skill.
Make sure you take it to someone who knows what they're doing.
 
Thanks for the comments.

That was indeed the thread I was looking for and its great to hear that everything worked out well. Thats an amazing job based on what he started with.

I'll reach out to Delboy first. If not I'll try Ross.

Connery's will be doing the paint.

I really don't want to use epoxy. Generally for every pinhole there are 10 more that you can't see, and I don't want to do a $300 paint job on something that is just patched up and not properly repaired.

The tank is steel, its from 1930 :)
 
Good plan. You will be very pleased with Connery's as well.

I agree there is no point spending money on a nice paint job if its only patched underneath. The first time you see that new blister in the paint you will be kicking yourself
 
Yeah, for an old irreplaceable tank like that you need a truly professional repair. That means all steel, either welded in or electrolysis. These epoxy repairs are just for amateurs buying time before the scrap yard.
 
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