Installation of the fuel tank #2

Next was the installation of the fuel tank on the body.

Between the fuel tank and the trunk floor flange the cushion material like urethane was inserted. Of course this was deteriorated by aging. Therefore, I looked for the replacement material at DIY hardware store and bought the thick sponge sheet.

The sponge sheet was cut into 15mm width pieces. It could be bent nicely fitting to the flange shape. Double sided tape was attached on the back side, so it could be attached on the flange very easily.

Next tough job was the installation of the fuel tank in the trunk.

When I removed it, it was very complicated job like Rubik’s cube. Theoretically it should be possible to be installed in the reverse order of the removal.

But it was not easy. When I did it alone in unnatural position, my arms became dull and it made me very tired.

The point to do it better was to be patient and to find the pinpoint position where the fuel tank could go through the floor hole.

To attach the rubber boot on the neck of the fuel tank was done more smoothly than I expected. I put the rubber boot in a hot water in advance because the rubber became hard by aging. It was very effective and made the rubber flexible. This method could be useful for installing the aged rubber parts.

I found that the screws and washers to fix the tank were rusted, so I replaced them with new ones.

That's all the work for this day. I also wanted to install the fuel sender unit and the electric fuel pump, but those would be next work.

(My original blog was written on 27th Oct. 2008)

Comments

Tip to repair rubber parts

I disassembled the rear axle before. There had been no progress on it because I started the repair of the fuel tank during my summer holiday. While painting the fuel tank , I repaired the torn rubber boot of the parking brake wire. I guessed it didn ’ t cost high because it was small rubber part. But I wanted to try the repair method I read on the magazine article before. This was the condition before the repair. The rubber was torn apart and separated almost. I used this self-adhesive type butyl tape. I pasted lots of small pieces of the butyl tape on the back side of the rubber boot. As time goes by , these tapes would melt and stick together. After this I applied plenty of adhesive “ Super X Black ” on the rubber boot. On the magazine of MOTO MAINTENANCE , I read the article that the motorcycle seat was repaired with this method. So , I wanted to try it. After drying 1 day , it became like this....

Pad spring repair

One of the springs to hold the brake pads was broken. At first I thought to buy it, however, I tried to fix it using rivets. It seemed to be strong enough just to hold pads. Later I removed the rust and cleaned them. Note: I have been using this repaired pad soring for 10 years and there is no issue. Pad spring is not an expensive part ptobably (I don't know the exact price), but it is easy to repair if you have ar1750gtv hand rivetter. (My original blog was written on 10th May 2008 )

Body repair around the fuel tank

I found some rust at the flange in body around the fuel tank as I expected. I believed this level of rust in this area was quite usual for old Alfa Romeo. It seemed that this area didn ’ t influence on the body strength , however , I was considering the method what I could do by myself. Anyway in order to prepare the sheet metal for the repair at first , I started to look for the store where I could buy some sheet metal near my house. I tried to research the store on internet , but I couldn ’ t find appropriate stores. Finally I asked the person at repair shop , who did maintenance of my Renault 5 , about the store I could buy some sheet metal. They kindly taught me the store , but at the same time they gave me some sheet metal for free. That was enough volume for what I wanted to do. I didn ’ t expect it. Thanks a lot!!! (My original blog was written on 12th Sep. 2008 )

The day my "onboro ALFA" would revive

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