I had some leaky fuel hoses on my 1966 250se/coupe and decided to use the opportunity to drop the tank and have it boiled-out and re-sealed.
On removal, I noticed the following:
- There were things rattling about inside the tank, which I assumed were rust particles.
- However, they turned out to be long-lost pieces of an old fuel-sender. Once I'd fished out these 'spare parts', the tank was completely silent when shaken.
- In fact, when I peer inside the tank (flashlights, mirrors, etc), it looks absolutely pristine.
- The only sign of rust is some very slight surface rust at the filler neck.
- The outside looks fine, with only minute amounts of paint loss.
- The foam padding pieces that typically lie atop the tank (between tank and trunk floor) are mostly missing.
- There is no flower pot inside!
I'm now seriously considering not having it boiled out or anything (at least on the inside). It would just strip off whatever original coating there is on the inside of the tank. I would also have to deal with all the issues with clogging lines, etc. Am I making a mistake by not doing it?
The outside looks alright, although a new coat of paint will probably make it look better. However, there are just a couple spots where the paint has exposed the metal underneath (and they are hidden above, so touch-up won't be minded there).
My questions:
- What do you think? Re-do the whole thing (with a risk of actually making it worse), re-paint just the outside, or simply clean and touch-up the outside?
- Where do I get the little square pieces of foam padding for the top of the tank?
- Why does it not have the flower pot? I thought all the fuel-injected cars from the 60's had these. (both my 230sl's do) Was this just an SL thing?
