Tank restoration

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

Good afternoon everybody,

I am restoring my bike and would like to have your opinion about the best way to treat the six small metal tabs fixing the plastic chrome trim along the lower end of the tank:

I'm afraid to snap some of them while opening again and bending, because of work hardening of the metal (I don't know how many times this has been done before, I bought the bike second hand 35 years ago). I understand that I could anyway glue the trim on the edge, but I would like to handle this in the best possible way and, in general, know how to treat similar problems.

What do you think is the best way: heating the tabs while reopening (I can use a small oxy-gas torch I own), annealing them in some way etc…?

Thanks,

Massimo

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

[norman valentineParticipant @normanvalentine78682]

I was surprised, when you titled your post "tank restoration" I was thinking Water tank? Army tank? I was not expecting petrol tank.

I can't offer any advice, I used to own a BSA A10 and the tank cracked around the outlet, I couldn't find anyone to repair it and had to replace it with a cosmetically inferior one. Happy days, I paid £12 for the bike and sold it for £70.

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

>> I was surprised, when you titled your post "tank restoration" I was thinking Water tank? Army tank? I was not expecting petrol tank.

yes…it didn't come to my mind that the title was a bit generic…perhaps I'm unintentionally drawing more attention….

This tank was responsible for my bike being stopped for the last 25 years: I didn't use it for a couple of years, leaving it in the garage, then when I put some gasoline in the tank to use it again, I saw it dripping on the floor. Some water was in the tank and rust corroded the seam on the left side of it.

Soon found a guy who repaired it with tin solder, but work, lack of time etc. prevented me from completing the repair (removing internal rust, resin lining, painting…)

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

If I were worried about them snapping at the welded joint, I would clean the joint up well, use active acid flux an put a good dollop of soft solder in the joint. I doubt the tab would break, more likely the weld joint.

BobH

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

First be sure you have every trace of petrol out of the tank.

Normalising them by heating to red and then withdrawing the torch very, very slowly should be enough to prevent them cracking.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Completely filling the tank with water will avoid any explosion risk while heating close to it.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

A guy I used to know told me he stuck a pipe from his car exhaust into the tank for a while to neutralise the petrol vapour before welding the tank.

I never did know for sure if that works, or if he was just lucky !!

Phil

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

I read that Russian Yak-3s during WW2 used the same method to lower the chances of tank explosion when the latter was hit by enemy bullets.

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

Hi Massimo,

never seen that type of fitting before, what bike is it from……

good luck ….clogs

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

Hi clogs,

just for fun, may I challenge you to take a couple of guesses, before I tell you?

It's from '77 (hint: I'm Italian)

Massimo

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

Unfortunately filling with water is not a sure fire way of being safe, as you heat it any gas vapour eluded inside the tank will rise to the highest part, if that happens to be the open filler all well and good but otherwise it will pocket and be more likely to go bang than if there were no water in at all. We used to repair ali tanks from racing cars, they had to be steam cleaned for something like 30 minutes non stop before we were allowed near them. I used to blow compressed air through them when I did my own to disperse any unwanted gas, no science behind it but nothing ever went bad (I am not advising this, just saying). Akin to putting the car exhaust pipe in possibly.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Posted by Massimo Dalmonte on 19/02/2017 20:16:48:

Hi clogs,

just for fun, may I challenge you to take a couple of guesses, before I tell you?

It's from '77 (hint: I'm Italian)

 

Massimo

 

 

 

Is it a Morini 3½ ?

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 19/02/2017 23:35:28

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Is it a MorLavGuzDucAguBenBim?

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 20/02/2017 07:54:02

[Massimo DalmonteParticipant @massimodalmonte45801]

Hi Phil,

spot-on, it's Morini 3 1/2 Sport, great handling machine

M

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