[Gunner75]

After completing the resto on my 70 GTO, I found that when I filled the tank the fuel would very lightly, very lightly leak out. After driving it wasn't really leaking at all.

Long story short, I pulled the tank and found the sender loose. Tabs on repop tank needed adjusted, better oring gasket, or something. I psi tested it with soap and water and sure enough, bubbles out around o ring below sender.

I adjusted tabs, re installed, and re tested. All is good, didn't take much to make it much tighter and seal properly. I bent the tabs carefully about .030".

Now here is my question. When I built this car, I didn't use an insulator between the tank and the trunk pan. Since I have it pulled I thought I would toss something in there.

My thought was "tar paper" cut to size, taped to tank, install and be done.

What do you use, thoughts on my method? Plan on installing tomorrow evening to get it back up and going. Have a Pontiac guy coming to document it for his build. Very similar car.

Thanks fellas.

Wade Dunn

[P Glade]

Shameless plug here I know.....

I sell a very nice Gas Tank Pad and it's a lot thicker than ordinary tar paper if that matters to you. The original material was also much thicker than ordinary tar paper.

Can't get one to you in time for this weekend but Fedex ground shipping is likely 2 "business" days to your location, 3 at the most. Don't use paypal.

Will something else work (like ordinary tar paper)?? Probably so as the tank and straps really don't move once you snug up all the mounting hardware. With a 1970 car yours would have come with a pad/insulator from the factory from my experience.

The original pads COVER the whole sending unit...they aren't cut or clearanced to allow it to stick through the pad. The sending unit wire runs UNDER the pad to the back of the car.

See the link below my sig line if you want to see pics and more info.

[Amigo-2k]

what is the purpose of it?

[P Glade]

Typical GM Assembly Manual calls them an "insulator". Possibly to isolate or prevent any slight movement b/n the tank topside and the trunk pan underside although things are pretty well snugged up in that area once the hardware is tightened. Considering that without some sort of "insulator" there would be metal to metal contact in that area that must have been the purpose. GM stopped installing them in various cars sometime after the '70 model year but I've seen them on some later models in the GM line such as '72 GP's and Monte Carlos.

Someone needs to find all these old GM engineers and design folks and download their brains....probably some extremely interesting stories and rationale in there.

Madison??? Do you know where Pickford Street is?

[rcorrigan5]

After looking at how the tank pad is constructed, I made two tank pads from an uncut 44" X 64" sheet of carpet underlay (part number UN4464 from Year One), finishing the tarry side with a large sheet of clear "saran" type wrap. It looked right and it works right. But......you'll do a lot better price-wise, plus you'll get at least the same, if not better, quality, from Patton Glade. This might sound like a shameless plug for Patton, but I've never met or talked with him but I have seen his pads and they are top quality.

Randy C.

[slowgto]

Gunner, Is your vent tube in place, on the passenger side top front of the tank?