Funny, this whole thing started out as a simple battery
replacement…how did get out to here?!
Part 47, in which Bobby gets his due.
So, armed with the Secrets of the Universe, I jacked up the
car, pulled the left wheel and unbolted the rear tank
bracket. Then the coaxing started. Trust me, a rubber mallet
is an essential tool here. And a crowbar. With all that
could be possibly be removed out of the way, the tank was
juuuust a skosh too tall to slide up over the center rib.
And therein lies the rub. I finally wound up having to ease
the lip that holds the floor boards up to get the damn thing
to slide over the center rib. Press fit indeed! I wish that
I could have been a fly on the wall the day this car was
built! Of course, once over the rib, she popped right out.
Naturally, in the process almost everything rubber has been
sacrificed-if I didn’t cut it off, it tore in the process,
so all new goes back. Terry’s here I come!
Now, normally I wouldn’t sweat the details here, but
unfortunately I discovered…wait for it…rust. Yup, right
next to the hole for the sum in the trunk is a big 'ole rust
hole that the undercoating was hiding. Shipwright’s disease
strikes again. Now I get to patch the floor. Is it any
wonder that I never get time to work on the 2+2? This thing
was supposed to be a DRIVER. It’s not, it’s a MONEY PIT!
Bob–
'69 2+2, '69 OTS, '99 XK8 Mantua, New Jersey
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Robert Moore sent Sat 18 Aug 2007:
Wait until you try to get it back in with a new donut
Honestly, when I did mine, I don’t recall having that much trouble
getting it to pop out, no mods to the ‘lip’. Then again, the years
tend to erase the bad memories, I checked my records, it’s been 16
years since I pulled it, had it boiled and sealed…–
Ralph 1970 SII FHC
Pine Beach/NJ, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from RGK sent Sat 18 Aug 2007:
Ralph:
I think, based on my 2+2 experience that the coupe might
also be a bit easier when removing the tank.
Upon further examination, I think that at some point the
bottom of the trunk area might have been ‘‘bumped’’ up right
about the point of that center rib. It’s extremely minor,
though. Running my hands over it I think that I feel a tiny
rise at the very bottom-right where it would cause a problem
getting the tank out. I might try ‘‘coaxing’’ the metal back
down a bit to see if that might help with the re-installation.
At any rate, if you are doing a replacement of the trunk
floor, this cautionary tale of travails might alert you to
making very sure that your floor is correctly installed. Do
it wrong and you might just not get that tank in!
Bob–
'69 2+2, '69 OTS, '99 XK8 Mantua, New Jersey
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Robert Moore sent Sun 19 Aug 2007:
Dear Bob. I too found it to be a miserable job removing the tank.As
I recall I took out the small section that supports the floor
infront of the lock an then eased it through the gap.
To make it easier in future I took the following action: The tank
is welded in two halves with a horizontal seam.I ground a little
off that seam along it’s front and back edges. This action in no
way compromises the integrity of the tank as the seam is wide.It is
now much easier to remove and replace.I am so glad I did this
then ,as later ,I accidentally droped a socket behind the tank.
When the car moved ,it rattled like crazy and I had to remove the
tank to solve the problem.I was not pleased with my clumsy handling
of the socket!
Good Luck. Gareth Morgan 1969 OTS.–
The original message included these comments:
also be a bit easier when removing the tank.
–
gareth morgan
muncie .Indiana, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from gareth morgan sent Sun 19 Aug 2007:
Gareth:
I did a search on tank removal when I started this job and
found your earlier post. Since I know that deep in my heart
that the tank might have to come out again, I plan to do
everything to make the job easier. Your modification is one
that I am looking at. I can see where a shaving down of
those two seams would make it easier to slide the tan
sideways. My biggest problem was that the tank caught going
over that center rib. I am thinking of ‘‘nudging’’ the floor
down a bit at that rib. I plan to trial fit and modify until
the tank slips in and out easily. I am NOT going through
this again! Well, not on this car.
Bob–
'69 2+2, '69 OTS, '99 XK8 Mantua, New Jersey
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from gareth morgan sent Sun 19 Aug 2007:
Garth, you should get one of those magnetic ‘‘snakes’’ to recover
your socket. I dropped one of the screws from the fuel pump plate
under the tank and managed to snag it with the magnet.
Bob, 64 OTS–
The original message included these comments:
then ,as later ,I accidentally droped a socket behind the tank.
When the car moved ,it rattled like crazy and I had to remove the
tank to solve the problem.I was not pleased with my clumsy handling
of the socket!
Good Luck. Gareth Morgan 1969 OTS.
In reply to a message from Robert Moore sent Sat 18 Aug 2007:
BTW, Bob:
It’s only ‘shipwright’s disease’ if, when you pull the tank
out to fix what you did, the car was again roadworthy after
you had followed the ‘**string on a flour sack’ to the
front, oh say, inner tie rod ball joints, rebuilt the rack
AND 23 years had passed.
Oh yea another thing, Bob: ALL toy cars are money pits.
Some just excavate larger holes in your wallet faster.
**(Yet another Pop Wigton-ism: He said trying to take
certain things apart [cars, wiper motors, John Deere
tractors) was ‘like trying to remove the string on a flour
sack a little at a time’')–
The original message included these comments:
Funny, this whole thing started out as a simple battery
replacement…how did get out to here?!
hole that the undercoating was hiding. Shipwright’s disease
strikes again. Now I get to patch the floor. Is it any
wonder that I never get time to work on the 2+2? This thing
was supposed to be a DRIVER. It’s not, it’s a MONEY PIT!
–
Paul Wigton, '60 DKW 1000SP, '71 Rover 2000 TC, and Tweety!
Keenesburg, CO, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
