Bottoms

I got a new Spectra tank for my 67 Cutlass. And my question is how did the tank look when new? the tank I took off had some kind of black undercoating- was that stock? Just wondering if I should paint - rhinoline- undercoat - or leave it- to give it a stock look. I'm in Southern California and don't plan on driving it in very inclimate weather- no snow or salt etc.

Bluevista

The tank was probably natural steel, may have had a stamp or two on it.
I would just leave it alone, could clearcoat it to keep it from getting funky but in southern California why worry about it.
Both of my cars are from there, I love no rust flakes in my eyes and fasteners all coming loose without a torch or penetrating oil.

69 Ragtop

X2.

69oldsguy

Gas tanks are left natural for a reason. The lighter their color the less heat they will absorb. Warming up your gas tank is never desired. Of course these days, all of the tanks are polymer, and usually black.

Bottoms

thanks yall- i'll leave it as is-and BTW i am getting lots of flaking rust in my eyes and PB Blaster is my best friend these days- the car grew up in Ohio then spent most of it's life in a garage in Minnesota. I swear I could see it smile when it found out that everyday is about 70 and sunny here.

66ninetyeightls

Not sure how much sun exposure they will get under the car!!!

69oldsguy

Ever felt the pavement on a hot sunny day. It is not absorption directly from the sun but rather convective heat from the pavement. Ever seen them fry eggs on the pavement? Any amount of heat that can be reflected away from the tank is better and the finish on the tanks in our older cars were designed specifically for that reason.

70Post

The undercoating was probably applied by the dealer or sometime after the car was purchased. From the factory, the tank would have been the "bare" natural finish. If the car came from the Midwest, it makes even more sense as undercoating was very popular in those parts as a dealer add-on. Snow, salt, etc all over the roads.

Run to Rund

GM tanks were not "bare" steel. They had an aluminized/tin or something coating, I've heard it was not galvanizing. New, they were light silver/aluminum color, after weathering a little while, they were darker, like Rustoleum stainless steel paint #7519. By the way, whatever color you use, be sure to get a pad from 70post (see above post) so the top of the tank doesn't squirm and wear out the trunk floor and top of the tank.

70Post

That's why I put "bare" in quotes...... The stuff is called "Ni-Terne" steel....probably an alloy or coating developed and trademarked by US Steel or one of the other suppliers.


The name makes me think it had something to do with nickel, if my limited chemistry classes in school left any impression. Isn't nickel part, or all, of why stainless steel is "stainless"???

The tanks will "flatten" or dull out somewhat over time in higher humidity environments. You can wipe them periodically with some type of oil and that might protect them or as mentioned by an earlier poster...try clearcoating them with a SATIN clear. But make sure you get the tank VERY CLEAN first. These tanks come with a pretty oily residue coating on them from Spectra.

And don't use anything ABRASIVE to clean the oil off the new tank...not sandpaper, no Scothbrite, no Steel wool, etc. Just paper towels and some sort of wax and grease remover. I wouldn't even use one of the "new" type soap-based cleaners like Castrol Purple Power or Super Clean (whatever they call those types)....they seem to be a bit caustic which might react with the "BARE" (there you go Joe!!) metal.

Thanks for the plug Joe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We don't like squirming tanks!!

EDIT: So much for it being nickel!!! The wonders of the Internet:

http://www.uss.com/corp/sheet/coated...abrication.asp

Hairy Olds

I would coat the tank with Boeshield and use latex gloves after that to handle the tank. Just make sure you get your pad from Patton as Joe stated.

Yellowstatue

Speaking of gas tanks, why would they have the flanges bent upwards to hold dirt and other items instead of downwards so it won't rust??

66ninetyeightls

Yeah I always thought that was pretty stupid. They must have a reason though.

70Post

First---remember---they wanted to sell you parts later on (after you bought the car new)---so the more rust the better!!

Second---Do you like working with your hands and wrists around potentially sharp metal corners that are pointed downwards???

slowolds

I have had 2 new Spectra tanks. Both had surface rust after being on the car with very little use or exposure.
Neither were cleaned or spayed when received, just installed. They have since been painted (not cleared).

jaunty75

Nicely.

BlackGold

Regarding the slightly off-topic issue of heat absorbtion:

Several weeks ago I took my '70 442 for a nice drive down country roads on a sunny, 91-degree day. I brought along an infrared temperature gun to measure a bunch of spots.

After driving for about an hour, I pulled over and the bare bottom of my gas tank measured 114 degrees! That's a 23 degree temerature rise above ambient. Pretty remarkable considering that the fuel inside the tank (more than half full) probably started out at closer to 80 degrees (in the cool garage), and there was plenty of 91-degree air blowing across the tank at 60 miles per hour. Since the steel tank is such a good conductor, and the fuel is sloshing around inside the tank, I can only assume that the fuel was also close to 114 degrees.

All that heat was absorbed by the tank through radiation from the sun-soaked pavement. I don't know if a black undercoating would cause it to absorb more radiation or possibly insulate if from radiation.

66ninetyeightls

Pretty sure some of that might have ahd to do with the hot exhaust sitting beside the tank.

My442

I wipe mine down with WD40 on a soft rag.

Looks brand new.

Bottoms

this forum is amazing... i just told my father who passed the car on to me about the online community that shares information about these cars- he couldn't believe such a thing existed- what an invaluable resource-

70Post

That's a great option....this is a wax-based coating so it's easily removed or touched up, seals up the metal very, very well and stays on. Not as permanent as clear coating which may or may not work

Bottoms

I'm going Boeshield - and when i get home next week i'll be ordering that tank pad for sure!