Fuel Tank Rust - Please help

Newbie here. I got a '75 Nova custom that has had only one prior owner. It hasn't been driven in over two years. I want to clean the fuel tank before I try starting the engine. It has started (briefly) a week ago after being primed. I've read different things on how to do it and what to use. I need advice on the best way to go on this. This is supposed to be a project for me and my sons to bond over, so I want to do it ourselves. For the record its a V8 262. Thanks

well you got a couple options


the right way if it really does have rust inside it and is bad is to pull the tank and take it to the radiator shop and have them boil it for about 25 bucks

next best way is to pressure flush it out with gas or fuel oil such as kerosene mixed in with gas, stick air comrepssor hose in the filler with a rag and catch can at the fuel pump at the tank line there just before the pump where it is flexible



and change the carb inlet filter a few times this year or add an inline one before the fuel pump so rust doesnt get insie the pump and rupture the diapragm in it


personally ive never had any true trouble with old cars being stored and running them again hell we have cars such as a 57 bel air, 54 f100 72 chevelle and they have bene sitting since the early 80s not driven except a few feet once every few years or more and we dont have any tank rust issues with them and we live in high humidity salt belt central IL where humidity is almost always in the 90% range

the 54 f100 tank was kinda bad though did drain out orange and stuff but was fine, it has a drain plug in it i only flushed it out with a gallon of gas and then started it up with more gas in it and its been fine no problem


rust in a tank is not really a big deal the sock on the end inside the tank keeps it from getting into the line anyway


good luck

Thanks for the advice 68. I'll post what happens so people can see how it turned out. If anyone else has ideas I'm still all ears for the next week or so.

I have a 70 Nova ( bought new ) and had problems with rust in the tank. Cleaned out the tank and wasn't long before pin holes showed up. Had to replace the tank. Bad steel was used to make original tanks. Wasn't really that expensive from Paddock's. Saved me all the other headaches with filter changes and screwing up the fuel pump.

I dropped the fuel tank and it still had some gas in it. I poured some out and it looked a strange shade of yellow. I am now faced with a question. buy a new tank, or get the original cleaned. Despite what my good friend said. There is only one radiator place that does it where I live. Apparently its a messy job. It would cost similar to that of an new tank. Maybe a little less. But I don't think I can make the old tank look like new, and I want the car to look like it did back in 75. Puchased 31 Jan 1975 to be exact. What to do? Opinions out there?

Go on line to The Paddock. They can get you anything you need to restore this including the fuel tank, gage sensor etc.

There's a place called RBS Coatings that has a great kit todo this yourself. Takes a few days to do to account for drying time, etc. but the kit works great. Also, depending on how bad it is, you may consider throwing a chain in there, keep something tied to it so you don't lose it. But this will knock off excess rust in the cleaning process. I definitely recommend RBS coatings though. I've used them on both car tanks as well as my bikes. They're reasonably priced as well. Good luck to you.