Ok Gang, The Information I am looking for is How you Weather sealed and finished your Gas Tank and windshield Filler Trim. If i remember right, (took it apart 23 years ago) there was some welting between the tank and firewall, as well as a bead welt between the tank sides going around the windshield part of the tank and the filler. I dont want to use bead, would like to have it flow togeather. Do i need to weld the filler strip to the tank? pictures: Notice the gap where the 3 pieces (tank, cowl and filler) come togeather
It all bolts together on the inside so I guess you want to make the joints/gaps go away right? You could use undercoating for a seal in the areas that had the welting. Brush it on both pieces where they join and put them together, apply nuts and bolts. You should be able to do this and not see the undercoating after it's together then you could start the filler process and I'll let some of these body guys tackle that. Good luck and let us see it when it's finished. Oh, you may want to think about body movement on the A with the stiff suspension of a light car. Good luck.
I used gas tank welt make for 30/31 Ford gas tanks. It's avaliable from any of the Model A parts places. About $6 for 10 feet.
Welting was used to fill the seams. Try to find all rubber welting (it used to be around (try Metro Molded Parts) as this will not absorb water like the stock stuff. Go to a car show to see what it looks like.
removed that smelly weenie tank, sealed the cap hole and mounted a 49 Ford truck tank upright behind the seat in the trunk
No sealer necessary if the welting is installed right. You need to fit it to the curve of the tank and cowl/windshield. To do this make small pie cuts in the flat side of the welt. The tighter the turn, the closer the cuts. Usually not wider than one inch. Then take some strips of cloth and staple them to the cut tabs. Slide the cloth into the space between the tank and the cowl. As you install the bolts and start to snug it up, pull gently on the cloth. This will pull the welt tight into the seam. Take your time and it'll look like it did in 1931. I've had to do it twice and it worked like a champ both times. I got this Idea from the series of Model A restoration guide books that were out 9 or 10 years ago. I don't know where my copy is or I'd have scanned it and attached it here.
That is exactly how I have been doing it for the last 30 years. I wouldn't recommend any other way. It does require some patience and is easier with two guys but I have done it alone as well.
Wondered if anyone knew about How to Carry the welting around the entire perimeter of the tank? Possibly it was cut at the front of the cowl? I don't recall the method or route, when you come to the lower front "turn" or corner of the cowl/tank, where the upper firewall curve becomes part of the seam joint. Tips appreciated!
the beaded welt doesnt go between the firewall and tank. it runs from just in front of the cowl band on the side around the top and between the tank and filler under the windsheild to the other side. use cloth friction tape between the firewall and tank and between the tank and structure that goes between the door posts
I used a latex mixture caulking from Home Depot, doesn't get brittle, bolted and clamped the tank and filler in with an extra cowl to tank clamp on each side, removed the excess with a teflon tool rounded for a radius, wet sanded and primed with the rest of the car and painted. Makes a nice transition and is water proof. Vergil
Buy your welt from your local Volkeswagon dealer. It was used as fender welt on the old beatles. Looks like the old Ford welt but extruded from modern materials. Charlie Stephens
My tank isn't functional. So I put a very thin bead of RTV on the surfaces where they meet. Later I went over the outside seams with epoxy paste.
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