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By 55charliebird - 7 Years Ago
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To my surprise I found "liquid" in the gas tank. Smells like weak gas, yellowish in color. I was told by previous owner that tank was fairly new and empty. NOT SO. My question is removing whatever the liquid is.......what is the best way to remove it w/o removing the tank. I have a 12V syphon pump. Once removed I can put vinegar and baking soda in it then insert air compressor hose into the tank.....release lots of air bubbles to agitate the liquid, then syphon it again. Thoughts and ideas.
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By paul2748 - 7 Years Ago
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No drain plug?
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By miker - 7 Years Ago
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Remember even old gas will burn or exploded, including the fumes. So I’d be a little careful about using a pump if it’s not explosion proof. Or hand driven and all brass or plastic.
On a bird, there’s a plate,under the mat in the trunk that gives access to the fuel level sender. Pulling that gives decent access to the tank. I don’t remember if that lets you get to the “sock” on the pick up, but someone will know. And it will let you have a look at the residue. If there’s no rust, and just a little varnish, I’d put a couple gallons in and see what dissolved. Might get lucky and just have to watch and change the filter.
Remember, the smoking lamp is out. Even an empty tank with just a slight smell of fuel can go off.
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By DANIEL TINDER - 7 Years Ago
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A cheapo bulb-siphon would be simpler (forget the ‘old school’ mouth-siphon routine...if you swallow/inhale old gas, you will learn the meaning of ‘severe distress’).
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By NoShortcuts - 7 Years Ago
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Daniel. I had to laugh. Your terminology is 100% correct, but my mom always called it a turkey baster!  Thanks for bringing up that memory. It's a GooD suggestion of a way to do it, too!
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By DANIEL TINDER - 7 Years Ago
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Actually, a ‘turkey baster’ would not have a one-way valve like a bulb siphon/tubing kit. Also, it occurred that (depending on how much liquid is still in the tank), it might be worth the cost to partially fill the tank with gas before siphoning it back out, in order to delute the old residue, since the siphon process might work/start better, and a siphon never removes as much as pulling the drain plug would. You could always use all the recovered/contaminated gas in something less sensitive/valuable (lawnmower, rental car, brush-burning/weed-killing, etc.)?
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By Cliff - 7 Years Ago
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Don't those Birds have a drain plug?
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By paul2748 - 7 Years Ago
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I mentioned a drain plug before. I don't understand why people are discussing other ways.
Most 50's Fords, if not all, had drain plugs.
Cliff (8/3/2018)
Don't those Birds have a drain plug?
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By slumlord444 - 7 Years Ago
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Never seen anything with a Y block in it that didn't have a drain plug but I'm not familiar with trucks.
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By Lou - 7 Years Ago
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None of my 55 or 56 Fords had drain plugs (Marwar & Summerville) from the factory, all were early production, before 2/56 , could the drain in the tank have been added later in production?
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By DANIEL TINDER - 7 Years Ago
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‘55 T-Birds had drain plugs, but aftermarket/replacement tanks did not. I have a NOS tank with drain waiting ‘in the wings’, but had to pay more. Don’t know about passenger models, but replacement of vented tanks was apparently quite common if your fuel filter clogged frequently.
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By 55charliebird - 7 Years Ago
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I found the drain plug. Will attack that next. Sprayed it with penetrating lube.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 7 Years Ago
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When you try to remove the plug, grasp the nipple it is screwed into with a small pipe wrench or a healthy pair of channel locks. You don't want to twist that nipple out of the tank, it's only soldered in. An acquaintance of mine inadvertently put diesel fuel in his '55 Bird (it was cheaper than regular, and he was "frugal") He tried to take the drain plug out, and twisted the nipple out. But it had a head on it and wouldn't come completely out. The fuel came slowly out, but he wasn't going to be able to put gas in anyway. Called a rollback, and the driver would not take the rig on the road with diesel fuel running out, so he had to sit until it all drained out. Then he had to replace or have the tank repaired. Frugal?? That's him!
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By 55charliebird - 7 Years Ago
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Thanks for all the tips. I will make sure not to twist the fitting and break the solder connection. Thanks again.
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By paul2748 - 7 Years Ago
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My 54 has a drain plug, my 56 Bird has a drain plug and my 64 Fairlane has a drain plug. I'm quite sure the 54 and 56 had original tanks. The 64 has an aftermarket tank.
slumlord444 (8/3/2018)
Never seen anything with a Y block in it that didn't have a drain plug but I'm not familiar with trucks.
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