Tank repair
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 7:25 pm
I wish I had taken better photos of the "before" on this tank, or that I could at least find the pictures I did take.
This is a Mach 1 tank I bought many years ago. It had an awful blue aftermarket paint on it, it had about three dents in obvious places that were deep and rounded indentations. There was also a crease just above the rear tank hook.
It sat on my shelf for years, and when my 'Diana' tank suffered from a stress fracture last season I put this Mach 1 tank on the bike to nurse the 250 through the end of the season.
When I put this M1 tank on the bike and filled it with gas for the first time fuel wept out of the right forward bottom part of the tank near the seam. I could see rust at the location but not a perforation.
I sanded away the rust where the droplets of gas were forming and sure enough there was a hole. I put a patch of fuel-resistant 2-part radiator goo on the tank to stem the leak and finished out the riding season.
WIth all the dents, the crease and the leak, and considering the value of a M1 tank I decided to go to a metal artisan as opposed to a body shop that would simply bondo up the tank and prime over the bondo.
I have seen Ross Thompson's repair of a dented BSA 441 Victor aluminum tank that was dented where the tank wears no paint. I had held that tank before the repair, I knew right where the dent was, how big it was, right where to look and after Ross repaired it I knew exactly where to look. Try as I did I could not find any evidence of the dent whatsoever. Not even a hint. I almost thought Ross must've switched tanks. It was like trying to figure out a magic trick.
http://www.execulink.com/~rosst/
So I sent my tank to Ross so he could work his magic on it and this is the result.
The Mach 1 tank is now perfect. All metal, no dents, no rust. Incredible work.
This is a Mach 1 tank I bought many years ago. It had an awful blue aftermarket paint on it, it had about three dents in obvious places that were deep and rounded indentations. There was also a crease just above the rear tank hook.
It sat on my shelf for years, and when my 'Diana' tank suffered from a stress fracture last season I put this Mach 1 tank on the bike to nurse the 250 through the end of the season.
When I put this M1 tank on the bike and filled it with gas for the first time fuel wept out of the right forward bottom part of the tank near the seam. I could see rust at the location but not a perforation.
I sanded away the rust where the droplets of gas were forming and sure enough there was a hole. I put a patch of fuel-resistant 2-part radiator goo on the tank to stem the leak and finished out the riding season.
WIth all the dents, the crease and the leak, and considering the value of a M1 tank I decided to go to a metal artisan as opposed to a body shop that would simply bondo up the tank and prime over the bondo.
I have seen Ross Thompson's repair of a dented BSA 441 Victor aluminum tank that was dented where the tank wears no paint. I had held that tank before the repair, I knew right where the dent was, how big it was, right where to look and after Ross repaired it I knew exactly where to look. Try as I did I could not find any evidence of the dent whatsoever. Not even a hint. I almost thought Ross must've switched tanks. It was like trying to figure out a magic trick.
http://www.execulink.com/~rosst/
So I sent my tank to Ross so he could work his magic on it and this is the result.
The Mach 1 tank is now perfect. All metal, no dents, no rust. Incredible work.