Hmmmm.. the fuel tank straps that are secured at the rear of the car by the bolts im having a problem with.. First of all its very difficult to get at them, 2nd they are rusted and just turn roundy-roundy. Any ideas on the best way to get them off.??
http://webpages.charter.net/dragon0123/IMG_0318a.jpg

First with that much rust you are not going anywhere. They need to soak for a while and be brushed. If they are already stripped, use a nut cracker or just break them off and replace.

Well the problem is that the bolt on top, which extends down though to the bottom is not supposed to turn, and it does, when the nut is turned. it appears that there is no access to the bolt other than cutting though my trunk and accessing it there. my other option i see would be to cut the straps.. id rather not as they are ok.. and ive heard some bad stories about the repos..

getting a nut cracker in there i dont think is a possibility.. im not even sure I can get anything in there to cut, crack, smash, the nut or bolt. might be able to get an air chisil in there if necessary.. but i dont want to mess up them mounting locations..

does anybody have any pics of their trunk pan off and of this area.. im guessing the bolts are supposed to be wedged in there somehow so they are not supposed to turn when you crank on the nut..

The reproduction straps are fine. Its the tanks you have to worry about. I'd cut the straps from the back side and just bend them out of the way and remove the tank. Then you will be able to cut the front bolt in the middle. Thats alot easier than cutting your trunk.

How about cutting the front end of the straps with tin snips?
Once the tank is out of the way you can work on those bolts.
I imagine you were planning on replacing those straps anyway?

Dragon , that is a carriage bolt and has a round head and the square part under the head fits in a pocket which has fallen victim to good old Wisconsin salt ;) try grabbing the lower end of the bolt with a vice grip and if you have room to get a box end wrench on the nut and after an overnight soaking with some penetrating fluid maybe you can turn the nut while holding the bolt from turning with the vice grip.

Yes, I see that now that im looking in the classic industries catalog.. ill give it a try.. i was kinda attempting to do just that until a nice piece of rust fell into my eye and I gave up for the night. otherwise i think the straps will need to be cut..

Thanks for the help guys..

Mark

Good luck neighbor :thumbsup:

can you get the two short screws out on the other end of the straps and drop the tank that way?

Take a dremel with a flexible extension and cut the nuts off. Slit one side and then hit them with a chisel.

can you get the two short screws out on the other end of the straps and drop the tank that way?

at least on my 67 there are no screws.. they just hook on there.. they would need to be loosened by the rear bolts to give the straps some slack..

hmmm.. im not sure if I could bend them or not though.. ill have to take a close look.. im thinking no.. if theyre stron enough to hold a 13 gallon tank they probably wont bend easily..

Take a dremel with a flexible extension and cut the nuts off. Slit one side and then hit them with a chisel.


the dremel might be a possiblilty.. the flexable extension ill have to get though.. dont have that accessory.. :(

Good idea.. thanks

I wouldn't use anything that makes sparks up there. I'd cut the rear of the straps with tin snips or a hack saw.

dragon , those straps do bend easily. I just put mine back in a few weeks ago and was suprised how easy it was to bend them a little to get the front of the strap back in the hanger.

ill have to take a look at it tonight.. hopefully the bending works.. sparks around the gas tank would be bad..

when I took my tank out on my 68 I found that short rubber hose from the tank to the filler neck was as hard as a rock and the two clamps holding it on were shot and I couldn't loosen them up enogh to reuse so you probably want new stuff if you haven't already taken care of that. The hose was $8.95 and I just used stainless hose clamps instead of the original type.

I agree with cutting the straps. With that much rust, you are better off replacing the straps... why risk it? With two snips you'll have the tank off and full access to the bolts... you can then cut them as well with no risk of sparks.

I tried to save a lot of stuff like your straps when I did my resto and you'll find more often than not parts are so rusted or shot when you did get them removed, you'll need to replace. It will save you a lot of time, cursing, etc and you'll have a better finished product in the end.

Good luck.

Well I ended up just cutting the straps at the front with a hack saw. The straps could have been reused but this was the quickest easiest option.. Once the tank was out the pressure was released on the bolts and they slid out of their holds rather quickly.