427390HP

I need some assistance on installing the gas tank in my '60. I would think any '58-'62 owners should be able to help on this one.

Before I address my problems, here's what I have and done so far:
1. I have the AIM and Service Manual. No help.
2. I have scoured the forums for similar problems. I haven't found any answers there.
3. I have a new repro tank from ZIP I am installing. I am using my original straps.

I have two main problems:

1. After much wiggling and jiggling, I got the tank in. It seems to be sitting in the well as it should for the most part, but the top of the tank is not level. It is higher in the back than in the front by about 3/4" or so. I would think it should sit practically level. Also, the rear flange on the tank is nearly flush with the fiberglass lip where the tank cover bolts on. It just seems to me that the tank is not in all the way, but there is no movement to get it in any farther.

My questions on #1 are: A) Does anyone have their tank cover off to see if their tank sits almost perfectly level or is it actually a bit higher in back? B) Also, about how far down is the rear tank flange from the fiberglass where the tank cover sits. Should it be just below it, or 1" down, or how far?

2. I cannot get the rear part of the strap to line up with the nut plates. I have to put the bolt through the strap at an angle then it will not thread into the nut plate. I think this may be due to problem #1. My strap barely fits down past the tank flange. It is tight against the rear of the tank by the flange and is rubbing on the rear part of the well above the nut plate. Again, this just doesn't seem quite right to me. If the tank is not fully seated, then the straps probably won't fit right and line up for the rear bolt. If my tank is in right, then I'm really frustrated because I've worked on this quite a bit now and I am just getting nowhere.

My question on #2 is: C) If my tank is in all the way, is the rear of the straps a real tight fit and how do you get the bolt line up?

If anyone has any ideas or magical answers, I would really appreciate to hear them!

Thanks,

Terry

rengawdor

Terry,
IRRC (I did this over a year ago), the tank does sit level. Also, the flange is below the fiberglass.
I think the front end of the straps need to be bent somewhat to allow the tank to move far enough forward to sit properly.

I also had to bend the back end of the straps to get the bolts to line up to the nut plates.
Keep trying and good luck!
Rod

chris ritchie

1. Not sure whether the front or the rear is higher than the other. But it shouldn't make any difference if the cover will still go back on. The cover has a raised section - perhaps to accommodate one end higher than the other or higher than the lip. Will your cover go back on without interference from the tank?

2. There have been anecdotal reports of repro tanks slightly different in dimension than originals. But most of the reports have been about getting it in the well. You solved that problem. If you can get it in the well and get the cover back on, who cares if the size is off some?

3. It is usual for the straps to be difficult to refit. Bend the strap and use a longer bolt to get the bolt started. Then torque the longer bolt down to get the strap tightly fitted to the tank. Then swap out the longer bolt for the right sized one.

Redbird

Level! Have mine out now to clean/flush.

plaidside

I installed a repro tank in my 61 a few years ago. It did not go in easy. It took two of us and a lot time to finally get it in enough to put the cover on.
I believe the repros are just a little bigger than the originals.
Joe

427390HP

Update: I just spent a couple of hours working on it. Took the tank back out. Measured the diameter. The repro tank is 5/8" bigger around than my original!

I gently bent the flanges on the tank inward to gain a little more clearance. My original straps were already bent and I had fitted them to the tank before, but I spent more time getting them to fit almost perfectly. They conform to the tank very well.

I put the tank back in and it does sit down about 1/2" lower now. I can get my passenger's side strap on now but I still can't get my driver's side strap on.

I got underneath and checked the tabs on the straps and they are hooking on the strap plate fine. I can see the bottom front of the tank and it is sitting flush.

I laid my tank cover on and it appears it will bolt down, but it is very snug. The cover is resting on the fuel line to the sender. That doesn't appear to be right to me.

I like doing things the right way. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it should be good. This seems only about fair to me. If I could just get it to go down another 1/2" or so........

So, I think I will drill out the nut on the driver's side plate and I should be able to get a bolt through the larger hole and then put a washer and nut on the underside of the car. The tank cover is still too tight but doable.

I'll attack those steps tomorrow. If anyone else has any more ideas or info, please post it.

Thanks to the guys that have replied. I really appreciate it!

Terry

Pilot Dan

Terry,

There should not be any issues with the cover being tight against the sender or vent hose. I don't blame you for not liking the fit. I personally would not accept that since the original tanks don't have that problem. Do you know who manufactured the tank?? Quanta seems to make the best quality reproductions from what I have seem. If it is one of theirs, it carries a 3 year manufacturers warranty and you may be able to call them and get some answers. I would be surprised if one of theirs did not fit well. Let us know. Pilot Dan

62Jeff

When I replaced the tank in my 62 a while back, I had to use long bolts on the straps in order to work the straps down to their mounted position. Once seated, I was able to replace the longer bolts with the original bolts.

I think tightening the longer bolts down allowed the straps to help the tank settle into the correct position.

Getting the new tank in to begin with, was a challenge that involved a pry bar and colorful language.

427390HP

Pilot Dan - I'm pretty sure it is a Spectra Premium tank. There was no manufacturer name on it, but I cross referenced a phone number on the label and it came up Spectra.

The reason I went with this tank from Zip was that it was (still is?) the only one available with baffles and I really wanted to keep my tank baffled. Little did I know that I was the one who was going to be baffled!!! LOL

62 Jeff - Running a longer bolt through first was mentioned previously. The problem is the tab on the strap barely fits between the tank and the rear wall. So the hole opening in the strap is in a nearly fixed position. When I insert the bolt, it has to go forward at an angle in order to hit the hole. And, of course, the bolt won't go into the nut at an angle. It's acting like the tank is about 1/4"-3/8"" too wide, which it probably is according to my overall diameter measurements.

If I could just get the bolt in and have just a little room between the cover and sender, I would be okay with that. But I can't even get the bolt in at all right now.

I actually started to install this tank late last fall and gave up in frustration. So when the weather finally warmed up a little here, I thought I'd attack it again. After 2 days I'm really discouraged again.

I might call ZIP tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll just tell me it was made to OEM specs and that I'm doing something wrong or there is something wrong with the car - not the tank.

I've got a whole laundry list of other things that need fixing but I never dreamed that this tank would present the problems it has.

To be continued.........

Terry

62Jeff

Oops, sorry!

Pilot Dan

Zip has a good reputation for customer service. I am sure they would be glad to help you or put a call in to the manufacturer if it does not fit to your liking. BTW, your 60 originally came with a NON baffled tank. I myself was thinking of replacing mine with a baffled tank (those were not stock till late 61-62) to reduce the fuel sloshing. This is the link to the Quanta baffled tank I was talking about. Is this what you got??

http://70.47.98.81/Corvette-1961-ser...ctinfo/GM-45C/

427390HP

No problem! I appreciate all the responses and I'll use all the help I can get!!!

427390HP

Pilot Dan - Here's the tank I got from ZIP:

http://www.zip-corvette.com/ProductDetails/ProductDetails.aspx?pid={420F6283-8717-4B0B-90BD-5C27ECEAF6D0}&gid={5751473B-26A8-41CD-93F4-4D20C66B2177}&pname=61L-62+Gas+Tank+%28No+Logo%29&Referer=&Alias =&ptct=SGR-SR&CTitle=&

Thank you for reminding me that that the '60 didn't originally have baffles. But the tank I removed DOES have baffles, so it was replaced at some point many years ago (the car has been in the family some 35 years now). The old tank has the AOL logo on it.

But I still wanted a baffled tank regardless, so I did call ZIP before ordering it to make absolutely sure it would fit. I was assured it would fit.

I really think it is just slightly bigger than the old one and that it what is causing my problems. 1/4" more doesn't sound like much, but if this new one was 1/4" narrower, I wouldn't even be writing this.

Plaidside said earlier in this thread he felt his repro was slightly larger and had some difficulty getting it in, so it seems to add up to me.

I'll call ZIP tomorrow and see what they say.

Thanks guys!

Tom@Zip

427390HP,
Please give me a call,
1-800-962-9632 ext 240, Tom.
We will see what we can do.
Thank you,
Tom @ Zip Products

Steve59

I did my 59's tank last summer and had the EXACT same problems you are having. Tank wouldn't sit flat, straps wouldn't fit, pads were a tad too thick, cover was very tight over the tank and I had to re-bend the line from the sender to the main line (on a 59 it's a hard line, not a rubber one found in later years). I ended up putting the tank in/out about 8 times using as many of the old parts that I could. I came to the conclusion that the new tanks (and this one was from Quanta) were just THAT much bigger, making installation really difficult. There's not a hell of a lot of room back there. It would have been much easier if the tanks were a tad smaller rather than larger.

62corvette

I've dealt with this several times. The tanks are slightly bigger. With carefully bending the ears and the flange, both for fitting into the car and for getting the straps all the way down, I have had success. Stay at it--it should NOT contact the cover in any way, shape, or form.

jimh_1962

With the straps... Buy some bigger bolts (4 inch, 2 inch and so forth). Start from larger one to smaller one to finally work down to the correct size. This seemed to work for me quite well. It made it easier to get the straps formed correctly and push down the tank.

Pilot Dan

Steve, did you use a Baffled (later tank) or an Unbaffled tank as original??? I was wondering if there might be some slight manufacturing variation in the overall size of the reproduction baffled tank. There shoulden't be, but just a thought. Pilot Dan

JohnZ

Here's what it should look like fully installed.

427390HP

Update:

I talked to Tom at ZIP Corvette this afternoon and we had a very nice conversation. We're going to try another tank, hoping the second one will be a bit closer in size to the original and thus solve the problem.

I do want to note that I was very pleased with the conversation Tom and I had and I applaud Tom and ZIP Corvette for wanting to solve the problem and, in fact, doing something to solve the problem. It is seemingly rare these days when customer satisfaction is truly important and ZIP gets 5 stars from me for their efforts. Thank you Tom and ZIP!

Just to clarify, I can't suck down the strap with a longer bolt because the tank edge aligns just above the nut opening. When any size bolt is fed through the strap hole, it has to angle forward in order to meet the nut. And that won't work because an angled bolt will never go in a nut, at least properly.

While I was waiting for Tom to call, I took the new tank out and put the old tank in. Although the circumference (I incorrectly used diameter in my first post) of the new is only about 1/2" more, there is a VERY NOTICEABLE difference when between the two tanks when sitting in the car. On the old tank, there is actually room between the front lip of the bulkhead and the top of the strap and the tank sits down farther in the rear. And my straps line up and I can stick my bolt straight down to the nut opening. My old tank in the car looks like the one in JohnZ's picture. On the new tank, it pushes the strap right up against the bulkhead lip and sits higher in the rear. And the bolts holes will not align up enough to get the bolt in.

So that small difference in measurements between the two tanks makes a big difference in the actual installation.

I'll go work on another couple of items on the car until the new tank gets here. I'll give it a try and let everyone know how that turns out.

Thanks to everyone for their replies to this post!

Terry