[BrandonF]

I have a 1973 Opel GT and can not figure out how to get the fuel tank off.
Can any one tell me or know of a site that would explain how to?
Thanks
Brandon

 

[bear]

Brandon, you'll have to take out the spare tire package shelf, the braces for the spare tire hold down, and once you have access to the tank, remove the filler neck hose, take out the 4 bolts on either side of the tank flange, remove the steel line from the bottom of the tank, it will drain the tank so have a catch or drain pan there, or siphon the gas out first. Disconnect the vent lines, now would be a good time to replace them too, and disconnect the fuel sending unit wire. You may have to remove one of the braces the tank sits on, the bolts are accessed through either of the rear wheel wells. Lotsa fun, if everything goes well about a 3-4 hour job. HTH, and don't forget to do a search for more info on this project.

 

[Thom71GT]

Now that its disconnected.... How?

Ok, I have the gas tank totally disconnected. All lines screws etc...

How the heck do you get it out? Do I have to take out that back shelf that holds that wonderful single speaker???

 

[GoldGT]

You should not have to take out the speaker shelf, only everything below it. I took mine out last week, it just barely clears the wheel wells. One thing, if you have just emptied the tank you should find a way to plug the outlet on the bottom, otherwise you will wind up with alot of gas inside the car.

 

[GTJIM (R.I.P.)]

One out! ALL OUT!

You have to remove just about everything behind the seats to get the tank out - after you have removed the seats.
Then get a small person dressed in a bathing suit and lightly smear them with axle grease, then squeeze them in behind the tank so they can push it out!

 

[bear]

Thom, on each side of the tank is a flange, through that flange are two bolts with rectangular washers that hold the tank secure to the body. I removed both the flange support pieces during my restoration. I believe at least one has to be removed to have enuff room for tank removal. The bolts for the supports are accessible through the rear wheel wells. They may be hiding under all the undercoating in the wheel wells. There are 3 bolts in the right rear wheel well and two in the left. I can take pics if needed. HTH.

 

[benncojr]

You have to remove just about everything behind the seats to get the tank out - after you have removed the seats.
Then get a small person dressed in a bathing suit and lightly smear them with axle grease, then squeeze them in behind the tank so they can push it out!

LOL LOUDLY!!!
Jim I feel that way all the time in the GT when I am trying to install or take something out!!

 

[Thom71GT]

Thom, on each side of the tank is a flange, through that flange are two bolts with rectangular washers that hold the tank secure to the body. I removed both the flange support pieces during my restoration. I believe at least one has to be removed to have enuff room for tank removal. The bolts for the supports are accessible through the rear wheel wells. They may be hiding under all the undercoating in the wheel wells. There are 3 bolts in the right rear wheel well and two in the left. I can take pics if needed. HTH.

Yes, I have removed EVERYTHING, including both support pieces, and yet when I try to pull the tank out and then turn it sideways, it still just doesnt want to come. I think what I will need to do is actually remove my seats so I can get in there and really get some good leverage.

 

[benncojr]

Thom,
I am at the same place you are on taking the tank out. Maybe between the two of us we can take a look at it on Saturday. I will be comming to the show in the afternoon (cut grass and swim lessions for Ben in the morning so I will not be going over with everyone else).

I could swing by your place on the way back from the show and we maybe able to work it out. Sometimes you just have to hold your mouth right to get things out .

 

[Thom71GT]

That would be awesome. Im going to try again tonight though after I take the seats out. We might just miss each other on Sat though. Ill be there first thing in the morning and then I have to leave to run some errands and get the wife a Mothers day gift. Ill let you know tonight if I get the thing out or not.

 

[benncojr]

We might just miss each other on Sat though. Ill be there first thing in the morning and then I have to leave to run some errands and get the wife a Mothers day gift. Ill let you know tonight if I get the thing out or not.

I have to do the same think (Mothers day gift), I was thinking that at the show there are some Art and Craft things that could work . I will send you a PM with my cell# and give me a call tonight on how thing work out.

 

[GoldGT]

You don't turn the tank sideways, it comes straight out and almost rips the vinyl cover over the wheel wells.

 

[Thom71GT]

You don't turn the tank sideways, it comes straight out and almost rips the vinyl cover over the wheel wells.

Really? Shisse!! Thats what I am trying to prevent.

 

[GoldGT]

Yep, that's the deal. If it's not glued down you can peal back the wheel well covers and avoid the possibility of ripping. I only had one seat out when I did mine. I don't think that is even necessary as long as you can fit in the car, maybe with grease as previously stated. . Just lean the seat forward and the tank goes right out the door.

 

[bear]

This may help a litle bit on tank removal. The tank has to come straight up, there is a deep sump area on it. Lemme go take a pic of mine, it's already out. As you can see there is a really deep sump on the tank, so it has to come up quite a bit before you can clear the structure in front of the tank to bring it forward. HTH.

 

[Thom71GT]

That helps. Thanks Ron

 

[crliwa]

3 man job

My brother Doug, GTROY and I pulled the tank out of the Targa yesterday. It was not easy... with one nut inside the wheel well, that took forever to get off, so we could remove the shelf bracket.There is a little extra bracing that was added when it was made into a Targa. Also since it has a back seat I had to remove that (easy) and be careful not to damage the upholstery as I pulled the tank through and out thru the roof. My girlfriend Gerri always complains about a gas smell and I can now see that all of the plastic vent hoses are shot. I also tore the rubber connecting the filler to the tank.
We looked inside the tank and saw some surface rust, but better than I expected. I have been getting rust in my gas filter which has been a big headache...stranding me on the side of the road more than once. We blew out the tank and after removing the free Harbor freight flashlight, that I dropped inside, we are now ready to try cleaning it with who knows what.
I'm looking for suggestions as to what to use. I'm not going to try to have it coated as it seems to cause as many problems as it solves. Simply sloshing gas around is ok but there are probably better solutions.

I await your suggestions.

 

[dcm013]

There are shops in your area that will do it. Google fuel tank cleaning. Here's one:

https://www.crsphx.com/

 

[Knorm65]

Cleaning it is easy. Plug the drain on the bottom, fill it with some gas or a bit of your favorite solvent. Put a bunch of old bolts, screws, etc in the tank and shake it like a Polaroid picture. You can also put it in a concrete mixer if you have one handy just be sure to support it where it doesn’t hit the sides id use a bunch of old towels. (Note I didn’t use this method I had access to 100s of gallons of bad gasoline at the farm and just rinsed and shook it without screws over and over.)

After that power wash the inside with the drain open and keep going until water comes out clear. Finally fill it with a sacrificial couple gallons of fuel and let it sit for a few hours. Shake it occasionally too. Drain it and it will be good as new! This worked wonderfully on my tank. I haven’t even had a dirty filter in 5 years.

If you are really serious get the POR-15 tank coating kit they sell. It will permanently seal the inside.

 

[The Scifi Guy]

If you can find a way to look around inside your tank before you start, you might save yourself from this disaster:

That was the condition of my tank AFTER I paid a tank shop to reline it for me. Relining it should never have been attempted, it was too far gone. It came out of a Pennsylvania car that had been in a garage for 25 years. Hard to believe it was that far gone. But at least the pics will give you some idea of what the insides of a GT tank look like. There's basically 2 things inside: The chamber we call "The Spaguetti Pot" and the anti-slosh wall. The pot has a couple of small pin holes in it to let air and fuel in and out of it. When you reline the tank, the goop will likely plug up the pin holes. Supposedly the pot somehow aids in filling the tank. I don't have the slightest clue how that pot accomplishes this. I had an aluminum copy of a GT fuel tank made for me buy a company that makes tanks for boats. It cost $500, but it'll never rust and it has modern fittings on it.:

Conversely, my present car came with a good tank(This time I looked inside first). I presumed it was unlined(There was old fuel dried up in it), so I did the whole cleaning and relining process using a product called Kreem. Almost every bit of it poured out after copious amounts of twisting and turning and tumbling the tank. Duhhhh......it turned out that the tank had already been relined and was smooth as glass inside and there was nothing rough for the Kreem to stick to. So I double-lined the tank. My aluminum tank was still better, so I traded away that tank.