Workshop Wednesday-Tanked

 Because my boss almost never says no to a customer request, we end up doing a lot of different things in the shop. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy the variety. Besides, thats the best way to learn new skills.
 This project isn't new to me. I've sealed fuel tanks in the past.
 It's best to start with a dry tank. If it has a lot of heavy rust, not just surface rust, you'll want to loosen that up and remove it before moving on. Put some nuts and bolts or maybe blasting media in the tank and shake it up. Try to get as much of the loose flaky rust out of the tank as you can.

 I used this air powered vacuum because it has a small diameter suction hose that worked good for getting through the filler neck while seeing what I was doing.

 Next step is to rinse the tank. I'm using Kreem brand tank liner. I've had good luck with it. Add the recommended amount of acid/water for the size tank you are working with. On lightly rusted tanks you may see immediate results. Most tanks that get to the point of needing to be sealed have more than just light rust. Overnight or longer has worked well for me.
 I'm getting bored writing this and I can only imagine how bored you must be. Follow the manufactures instructions and you'll be fine. Now, wouldn't that tank look awesome on my rat turd? Thats right, I thought about it. I could do an entire 1000 mile Iron Butt ride without stopping for fuel!  I'm looking for a small version of this or maybe a piece of tractor grill that I can add to that bike to continue the tractor theme.

 I saw one of these for sale earlier this year. The guy didn't answer my call and by the next day it was gone. Bummer. That hood would have been a perfect starting point.
 I want to modify the exhaust to continue the tractor theme. I've got a few ideas including something like this:

 I'm thinking four into one exhaust dumping into this muffler. I'd put a rain flapper on it to give it more of a tractor feel. If you think thats the stupidest thing you've ever seen then I don't recommend you modify your bike this way.
 I have been following the chopper scene lately. There are a lot of young guys out there with talent making custom parts. They are bringing old bikes back to life and thats cool. I'm not knockin these guys. There are some serious mad skills going into very original parts. The problem I have is that many of those bikes all look the same to me after they are done. I'd like to see some of these guys use their talent to build something we haven't seen yet. Anyway, my point is I guess I'm not afraid to try something different even if it seems odd.

End.