76 Fuel tank....
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
76 Fuel tank....
...I've pulled my fuel tank and it has the rubber bladder in it.
I would like to pull the bladder and get rid of it and seal the tank with the POR-15 gas tank kit.
Has anyone thrown out the tank bladder and run without it?
Looking for advice from those that have been there before...
Thanks!
-Don
I would like to pull the bladder and get rid of it and seal the tank with the POR-15 gas tank kit.
Has anyone thrown out the tank bladder and run without it?
Looking for advice from those that have been there before...
Thanks!
-Don
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 10,362
Likes: 5
From: San Diego - Deep Within The State of CONFUSION!
Originally Posted by DonBecker
...
Has anyone thrown out the tank bladder and run without it?
-Don
Has anyone thrown out the tank bladder and run without it?
-Don
My 76 is getting Front End Repair right now, but the Tank is one of the things to go this summer.
You will find that the bladder removal is the most common thing done on these cars, once the tank has been removed. I even saw somebody say they pulled it out with the tank installed still. I may try that myself. At least with these cars, one can still see inside the tank easy enough.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
Loren,
Mine looks okay right now, but I've heard of the bladder folding over in the tank and lowering the amount of fuel you can have it in.
I'm in abit of a different situation than most - I'm moving about 1800 miles from where I live now, and will be in an apartment for about a year, with nowhere to work on my car, so I'm doing a ton of preventative maintenance.
Glad I pulled the tank though, cause there was a bunch of rust on the frame and crossmembers back there!
Mine looks okay right now, but I've heard of the bladder folding over in the tank and lowering the amount of fuel you can have it in.
I'm in abit of a different situation than most - I'm moving about 1800 miles from where I live now, and will be in an apartment for about a year, with nowhere to work on my car, so I'm doing a ton of preventative maintenance.
Glad I pulled the tank though, cause there was a bunch of rust on the frame and crossmembers back there!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,175
Likes: 3,989
From: Connecticut, USA
Don, If the tank interior is clean after you remove the bladder you won't have to seal it. You need to reuse the gsket portion of the bladder,just cut it out and bolt it in place. Save the bladder too as it is useful for gaskets-like replacing the tar roofing paper used on the tank.
Gary
Gary
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
OK - I am one of the BIG proponents of POR15.
I even re-did a gas tank with their kit. I am very pleased.
However, if I had a 76 tank with a good bladder, I would leave it.
Clean and POR the outside of the tank and the frame, but
I'd leave the bladder in place.
BTW - took the advice from a recent post and I cut out
replacement anti-squeak strips from a bicycle inner tube.
I used 3M trim adhesive to glue the strips to the straps/frame.
WOW - seems to work GREAT.
I even re-did a gas tank with their kit. I am very pleased.
However, if I had a 76 tank with a good bladder, I would leave it.
Clean and POR the outside of the tank and the frame, but
I'd leave the bladder in place.
BTW - took the advice from a recent post and I cut out
replacement anti-squeak strips from a bicycle inner tube.
I used 3M trim adhesive to glue the strips to the straps/frame.
WOW - seems to work GREAT.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
My bladder looks pretty good on the inside except for the edge where it folds at the top to act like a gasket for the sending unit. Has some cracks there, and I don't want to get anything trapped past the bladder.
Good tip on using it for the anti-squeak, I think I'll do that. BTW, was anti-squeak pads on the straps factory? I only had them on the support bars, the Dr. Rebuild catalog shows both...
Good tip on using it for the anti-squeak, I think I'll do that. BTW, was anti-squeak pads on the straps factory? I only had them on the support bars, the Dr. Rebuild catalog shows both...
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 21,457
Likes: 463
From: Massillon,Ohio USA
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Cruise-In VI Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12
These bladders are "collapsing" due to age, additives in gasoline or a combination of the two. Many of these cars are only taking 12-14gals of fuel to fill them up due to this. My bladder's been out of my 1975's tank since 1994 and has been GREAT ever since. With 118K miles on my car, my tank was mint inside and used nothing to "seal" it. Quanta now reproduces the tank WITHOUT the bladder. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
I gave up trying to refurb my sender unit.
I bought the ACDelco one on sale at ZIP - and I am (again)
disappointed at the flimsy quality of aftermarket replacement parts.
You can always replace it easily enough at a later time - if it's working fine now.
I bought the ACDelco one on sale at ZIP - and I am (again)
disappointed at the flimsy quality of aftermarket replacement parts.
You can always replace it easily enough at a later time - if it's working fine now.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 4
From: Fairview Heights Illinois, near Saint Louis MO, STL C3 Shark
I've never really peered into my tank, I assume it is quite obvious if I go home and have a look whether or not mine still has the infamous bladder?
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,725
Likes: 5
From: Minnesota
Originally Posted by Paul Borowski
These bladders are "collapsing" due to age, additives in gasoline or a combination of the two. Many of these cars are only taking 12-14gals of fuel to fill them up due to this. My bladder's been out of my 1975's tank since 1994 and has been GREAT ever since. With 118K miles on my car, my tank was mint inside and used nothing to "seal" it. Quanta now reproduces the tank WITHOUT the bladder.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 21,457
Likes: 463
From: Massillon,Ohio USA
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Cruise-In VI Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12
jd, not hard at all, but it does involve dropping the tank. Drop the tank, pull the access panel off of the top of the tank VERY GENTLY as this piece contains the sending unit/fuel pick up. Pull gently because if the bladder has "collapsed" over onto the sending unit/float/pick up it CAN BREAK as you TRY to pull it out. After this is out, you'll see how the "the top of the bladder" forms a "gasket" for this "panel". Simply NEATLY cut the bladder away from this area that forms a gasket for the panel. Re-install panel/sending unit/float assembly/fuel pick-up into the now "bladderless" tank using the gasket you made from the top of the neck of the bladder, put tank back up into position, hook all lines up, fill with fuel, go cruisin'
