[DeTomaso] Aluminum gas tank

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/21/06 15:02:18, johnmaffeo1 at yahoo.com writes:

<< What are the benefits \ disadvantages of an aluminum gas tank? 

>>>Well, the principal one, of course, is that it won't rust.  In fact the 
early Panteras came from the factory with aluminum tanks.  They had a bad habit 
of leaking, so Ford's temporary fix was to totally wrap them in fiberglass.  
1972 and later cars came with steel tanks.  My car had a rusty steel tank, and 
somebody gave me a perfectly good stock 1971 aluminum/fiberglass tank because 
he decided to 'upgrade' to a NOS factory tank (this was about 15 years ago), 
so this is what I have now.

>How much do they weigh vs a stock steel tank? 

>>>I'm sure there is some weight savings, but it's probably not all that 
great--certainly the weight savings alone wouldn't justify the cost.

>How much do they cost? >>

>>>I don't know where you would buy one.  I know some Pantera vendors sell 
replacement tanks made from stainless steel, for something over $1000, which is 
about what the factory tanks cost, I think.

Unless your existing tank is a complete disaster, I would think it would be 
much more cost-effective to have it repaired rather than replacing it.

Mike