soldave Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Do we think this coolant tank is on its way to coolant tank heaven, or still plenty of miles left in the old girl yet? Had to take it off and was forced to cut through the nuts & bolts under the wheelarch to get it off so am wondering if it's worth the effort of drilling through the bracket bolts and cleaning it up or not If it helps with the decision, after it was emptied I was shaking it around and there was a fair bit of rattling and rust chunks coming through, along what looks like the bottom of a previous radiator cap and spring!!! Also, the air bleed hose outlet has resistance sometimes when blowing through it, sometimes not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXCEL V8 Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 I've found that no matter how well they clean up they still continue to go rusty inside and contaminate the coolant. Pete 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted September 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Yeah I get your point. There a local car radiator place near me - might go there on Monday and see if they can check it and give it a bit of a refurb. Will get them to drill those bolts our too for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcool Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Time to treat yourself to a new tank me thinks. Before it drops any more rust and debris into your cooling galleries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted September 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) 49 minutes ago, philcool said: Time to treat yourself to a new tank me thinks. Before it drops any more rust and debris into your cooling galleries Very nice. I will get an original one from SJ if this place tomorrow think it's too far gone or can't do a decent refurb on it. Would be a no-brainer but they're 110 pounds plus VAT from SJ. Edited September 6, 2020 by soldave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted September 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 Took it to a place this afternoon who specialises in classic car radiator refurbs and is reasonably well known in those circles. The guy was optimistic about giving it a refurb and clean until he saw inside it! Then He said he hated turning down work but after he found out how much a new one would be he said that would be my best bet. Yet another SJ order coming in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 There's always life in the old tank. Just depends how committed you are to keeping originality. I've just bought this colander back from the dead off a 74 Elite. I essentially fabricated a new inner tank, a snug fit inside the old dead drawn can. In hind sight though, I should have just remade it. Looks like your tank is the later type with a through feed of the heater return. If originality is your wish, the materials to fabricate a new replica that would look identical to the original are all readily available of fleabay or from Car Builder Solutions. The main tank is stock 4" O.D. tube.I'd say you could buy the materials for less than £25, but unless you can do the TIG welding yourself, it will cost as much as the SJ unit by the time it's fabricated, welded and painted. - But it will at least look standard. Follows, a couple more pictures of my tank refurb. Inner tank fabricated: And the old tank, with remade foot plate, tank inserted and a new flat end plate welded on: Good luck Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcool Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Nice work that man wish I could weld like that 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 So do I. I just did the cutting and shaping. Took it to a pro to lay down the weld. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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