Re: Plating on Original E Body Gas Tanks ??
[Re: 44D6PAKCUDA]
#1072455
09/10/11 12:31 AM
09/10/11 12:31 AM
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,670
Cut and Shoot, TX
kentj340
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Most if not every steel gas tank from the muscle car era was made of ASTM A308 terne sheet, which is steel sheet coated with an alloy of lead-tin by the hot dip process. See http://www.astm.org/Standards/A308.htmThis spec discusses the coated steel sheet is suitable for solderability, corrosion resistance, and gasoline resistantance. As far as I know, all reproduction gas tanks are made by Quanta. See www.gastanks.comQuanta states that all their tanks are made of “Corrosion Resistent Ni-Terne steel”, which sounds close to A308 or the same as A308, except A308 does not mention Ni (nickel) in its title. (You can’t read the details of A308 chemistry online unless you pay money.) New Quanta tanks are shiny, and old NOS ones would have some oxide of lead-tin on the surface. I’m not sure what color tin turns after long atmospheric exposure, but I think lead turns dark gray. I suspect the only difference between new and old terne sheet is just discoloration from atmospheric oxidation, as long as there weren’t other sources of corrosion. I suppose it is possible there is someone out there making tanks from galvanized sheet. It's really hard to tell the difference between terne and galvanized sheet just by looking. It should be better to solder the two halves together and make a leak proof joint with terne than galvanized (zinc).
Last edited by kentj340; 09/10/11 03:28 PM.
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Re: Plating on Original E Body Gas Tanks ??
[Re: 44D6PAKCUDA]
#1072459
09/13/11 02:45 AM
09/13/11 02:45 AM
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Joined: Mar 2011
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Cut and Shoot, TX
kentj340
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Quote:
Kent-Thanks for the great info.Is there any way of plating a new tank with the lead-tin type plating they used before to get an original look,or is it even used today with all the EPA guidelines?
New repro gas tanks are already made with lead-tin coated steel. They are exactly the same as original tanks as far as the lead-tin coating appearance. The shiny terne coating looks exactly the same today on repros as it did on new Mopar originals back in the day. The steel mill process is mostly unchanged from before the 1960's, except for improved production control and quality control through better computerization.
If you want an original factory look for a gas tank, the shiny repros deliver this, and the NOS tanks don't, because they are old. The NOS ones are dull colored due to aging, just like today's repros will be too after some years of atmospheric exposure. (Besides, it might be possible there could be some corrosion inside an NOS tank from condensation caused by temperature and hunidity changes during long storage.)
You might be able to keep a repro tank shiny like tanks were when a new car left the factory by using wax or other preservative on the outside. But undercoating overspray from the rear wheel wells might not stick on a waxed tank like it did on original tanks.
Terne sheet for making gas tanks, sometimes called long terne sheet, is cold rolled steel sheet that has been hot dipped in a molten bath of lead-tin in a high speed continuous process at a coating mill. Lead is still used for this just like it is still used for solder, since lead safety is not an issue with these.
I looked into the use of nickel in the terne process, since Quanta says they use nickel-terne steel. Ni-terne sheet gets a flash coat of electro-deposited nickel on the steel before hot dipping. The nickel is there to improve corrosion resistance.
A range of coating thicknesses, alloys of lead-tin, steel grades, steel thicknesses, etc., are available under ASTM A308 for making terne. Hard to say if repro tanks are the same as originals in all of these quality details, even though the appearance is the same. Since Quanta has chosen to use Ni-terne instead of terne without Ni, that tends to say that Quanta strives for quality. I bought a Quanta tank since my original was toast. But so far it is still in the box. Although there are complaints about Quanta's belts, I have not heard any complaints about their tanks. I figure Quanta is a tank making operation that doesn't make anything else, and they buy the belts and other stuff for resale.
If you don't see two dolphins, you need a vacation.
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Re: Plating on Original E Body Gas Tanks ??
[Re: mccannix]
#1072468
05/05/14 12:44 AM
05/05/14 12:44 AM
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,670
Cut and Shoot, TX
kentj340
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Quanta is apparently not a gas tank maker and is re-selling Spectra tanks.
If you don't see two dolphins, you need a vacation.
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Re: Plating on Original E Body Gas Tanks ??
[Re: kentj340]
#1072469
05/05/14 08:16 PM
05/05/14 08:16 PM
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,652
Harm City Md.
Dan Halen
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Quote:
Quanta is apparently not a gas tank maker and is re-selling Spectra tanks.
Yes, the box even has the same Spectra numbers on it. I got mine from Rock Auto for $80 less.  $$$$$$$$$$
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Thanks for posting some great pics.Are you in agreement with Kent on the oxidation that occurs to the tank plating over the years?
