What should I do with this tank? 85 250sx stock tank

[parker88]

My 85 250sx came with the plastic clarke tank on it when I got it but the guy also gave me the original tank too. The pics tell the whole story but Im just wondering what I need to do to get it ready to mount. My seat just dosent sit right with the plastic tank because the suction cups on the seat wont stick to my plastic tank. Im hopin the seat will fit right with the stock tank and the stock one has decals and my clarke dosent. Should I get it welded? try a sealer? btw the inside is pretty rusty aswell so im lookin for ideas on the easiest and safest way to get the inside sparkling too...

thanx

[tri again]

this sure looks like the orig tank on my 87 big red., but anyway,
first, I'd make sure it's the right tank for you.

If you search here about taank repair, you'll get tons of info , and prob faster and more complete
than a post.

muriatic acid will react with the rust but lots of
details about that.
It will burn and smoke if used full strength and vapors can kill you.
Must be neutralized etc etc.

Radiator shops can work miracles, some guys say solderpennies to smaller holes.

Lots of welders like to show off.

I put 2 tanks on craigslist for welder fix and got prob 20 replys. I had 2 cracked because they had been mounted incorrectly without those silly rubber bumpers that I can never find.

Lots of talented welders out of work in oregon.

slime type stuff has been known to work on perfectly clean tanks but will peel off inside like a cheap party balloon.

I have also seen fuel bladder type stuff for marine application so almost like stuffing one of those cheap win=in=a=box liners but I gave up on that.

por15 is some sort of phosphoric acid sealer that reacts and NEEDS rust to function but not sure of the hole size it will plug. and not sure if they (the por company) specifically mention fuelproof specifically. altho many bikers swear by it.
Seen it used in heavy equipment applications in all sorts of places.

If you watch discovery channel on those biker build offs, they MAKE tanks from thin air so why couldn't someone just weld in a new piece.

You may lose your decals and some paint from heat.

Last time i ran across this prob, a couple weeks later I got a whole dead trike for like 150$ with a perfect tank, when I was looking at just tank prices over 100 alone.

Surely someone will chime in , but try the search function and you'll see everything ever discussed about tanks

[harryredtrike]

braze it shut.your seat doesnt have suction cups that stick to the tank.im pretty sure that model has a plastic seat pan, right.over time they pull up and away from the tank and leave a gap.there are fixes for that.i would stick with the plastic tank,many benefits over steel

[parker88]

braze it shut.your seat doesnt have suction cups that stick to the tank.im pretty sure that model has a plastic seat pan, right.over time they pull up and away from the tank and leave a gap.there are fixes for that.i would stick with the plastic tank,many benefits over steel

No the seat has suction cups on it and a plastic seat frame

[harryredtrike]

i dont see them.where are they,,,,,20 SKU: 77207-HA0-000
RUBBER, SEAT SETTING 2 $4.66
21 SKU: 77211-MB0-000
RUBBER, SEAT STOPPER 2 $4.13

[AJZ_200X]

I think they are rubber seat bushings, not suction cups. I would prefer the plastic tank as well. I work for napa and there are several different epoxies on the market that you can apply to the metal tank but I would not suggest it as most epoxies do not hold up well to gasoline no matter what kind you go with. As far as rust inside, I would try cleaning it with seafoam or tank coating which may or may not help at all. A plastic tank is all around the best deal. good luck

[atc500x]

In my area all the specialized shop in gas tank and radiator repair will weld a tank like this for 30-40$,check in your area

[tri again]

There is also a chance that your metal tank will show some teenie tiny paint bubbles on the other side too so even after a hard fix, you may be chasing leaks forever.

My favorite side effect is the on again / off again wrestling match to get those carbs off, apart and cleaned because of the crud in the tank.

..or seal it somehow/however, and make sure you have a nice big paper fuel filter and loop some see thru fuelline to make an imitation sediment bowl.

I'm just sick of cleaning dirty carbs, personally.

[parker88]

What would be the best way to bend my seat down to where it dosent raise up so much...