Funny thing happened on the way to the car show

[Jim Stabe]

Not that funny actually. I was on my way to the car show for the MGB 2017 event when the car just stopped running on the freeway. Tried to restart but to no avail. I had to get across 2 lanes of traffic to pull off the freeway and made it across one then got clipped in the front fender by a guy in the right lane. Damage could have been worse and I could have already have painted the car so I guess I came out as well as I could hope for. It did take a big chunk of rubber out of the tire sidewall so a new set of front tires is in my future as well. After we exchanged information I tried to start it again and it fired up. I continued for about a mile and it shut off again and wouldn't restart but this time I was in the right lane and could pull off safely. By the time AAA got there the car would start again and I could drive it onto the flatbed so he didn't have to use the winch and cause more damage.





 So why did it shut off and then restart after a few minutes? I'm pretty sure that either the sock filter on the in-tank fuel pump is plugged with debris or the fuel filter is plugged. When I first put gas in the tank (it is a fabricated tank) I had a couple pinhole leaks so I did some research and eventually bought a sealer kit from Bill Hirsch because of the user reviews on his site. I followed the instructions to the letter and it did seal up the pinhole leaks. A few months later my gas gauge was sticking and giving some weird readings so I pulled it out and looked inside the tank. To my horror the coating was peeling off the inner walls of the tank in sheets (see picture below). I got as much out of the tank as I could but I'm sure there were areas that I couldn't reach. I called Bill Hirsch and was rudely told that I was obviously doing something wrong and that they wouldn't do anything for me. I'm sure when I drain the fuel (I just filled it up before heading to the show) I'm going to find a lot of debris in the sock filter or inline fuel filter from the sealer detaching itself from the inside of the tank.



 WORD TO THE WISE - DON'T USE BILL HIRSCH TANK SEALER OR ANY OTHER TANK SEALER FOR THAT MATTER. Get the tank repaired properly or replace it, don't use sealers.

 What I'm going to do is cut the bottom out of the tank so I can get to all areas inside and media blast all traces of the sealer out and then weld in a new bottom to solve the problem for good.

 Anybody have a right front fender that has the bottom rusted out?

[BlownMGB-V8]

Well THAT sucks...

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

That captures my feelings perfectly. Could have been a lot worse though. It could have happened Monday when I was showing off for PJ and the engine goes lean under boost. Repairs shouldn't be that difficult.

[BWA]

Crap  seems to create other crap.
I think it is the law of the universe.
The gas tank in my TR6 had no baffles in it so I cut it open and put in a baffle near the pick up.
I then took it to a reputable fabricating shop and had them tig weld it back together for me.
No leaks.
I have heard that these gas tank sealants regardless of the product are more trouble than good.
I am looking forward to seeing your car finished.
It will look awesome in that red.

Cheers
Byron

[Jim Stabe]

Agree that tank sealants are a bad idea. Heard nothing but horror stories (of course AFTER I did mine). This should fix the problem for good.

[MGBV8]

That's it. Stay on the bright side. Cause, you are correct. Could have been much worse.  You will have that repaired in short order!

[JWD]

Glad you're okay and the damage definitely could have been a lot worse, although it still SUX. I remember you mentioning quite a while ago about using that sealer. I don't know if you were thinking about using it or had used it but I posted that it causes nothing but problems (regardless of the glowing reports on the sellers web-site). Good luck with the repairs.

[Jim Stabe]

I agree, look at what I was able to take out of the tank, and that was without access to about 1/2 the tank due to baffling.

[BlownMGB-V8]

If you have any of that stuff left you might see if you can come up with a solvent that will attack it. Much as I hate to even suggest it, Methyl Ethyl Ketone might be the one (very nasty, do not breathe it ever). That and a double handfull of BB's could be helpful, especially if you elevate the temperature. I recently cleaned out a tractor tank by pouring in about a gallon of bolts, nuts and washers and rattling them about with a gallon of gasoline. Something along that line might do the trick without having to cut it open.

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

I don't really mind cutting it open because it will let me increase the capacity by a couple gallons when I put it back together. That way I can also be sure everything is out

[Preform Resources]

Yeah that stuff is great WHILE  first put in, but any pinholes or areas that did not get covered well will encourage delamination, Jim I'm glad you didn't hurt your engine.
Dave

[lawnvett]

For any of you who have not met Jim Stabe or seen the wide MGB here are a couple of my observations.

First Jim is such a great guy to hang out with, easy going, funny, knowledgable, and a very skilled fabricator as well as driver.

Second, wow what a car, so much has been written about this car; but nothing prepared me for the seat of the pants feel of 535 HP in this baby.

Jim and I rode around on the urban tour of San Diego during MG 2017 and it was as much fun as it could be.  My neck did protest a few time when Jim had the opportunity to apply a generous amount of throttle.  I'm glad the headrests were positioned in just the right place to stop my head from coming off.  I really had fun that day.  Thank you Jim Stabe for the privilege of being a passenger in your creation.

I agree with Carl, keeping the sunny side attitude is the best way to deal with a problem like this.  As I told Jim by telephone just after the accident, I was sorry but very grateful that he was ok and he was optimistic that repairs could be executed.

Jim I hope all goes well.

[Jim Stabe]

I drained the gas out of the tank this morning (I had to wait until my truck was empty enough to take 15 gallons) and pulled out the fuel pump. I had surmised that more of the peeling gas tank sealer may have come loose when I filled the car that morning and it made its way to the sock filter on the in-tank pump. There was a large amount of peeling sealer debris all over the sock and some of it was sucked tightly around the inlet neck. There was also a large flat sheet of the stuff laying in the sump of the tank. I figure what happened is the stuff got sucked up and killed the engine and then after the pump was shut off for a few minutes, some of it floated away and allowed it to restart.





 So now I have to cut the back off the tank so I can get a media blaster in there and clean every corner of the tank. When I originally discovered the peeling sealer I was only able to reach about 1/2 the tank surface because of internal baffling. This will fix it once and for all. When I weld the tank back together I'm going to change the configuration and get a couple more gallons capacity.

[ex-tyke]

..I'm going to change the configuration and get a couple more gallons capacity.

Out of adversity comes improvement.....and knowledge - beware of aftermarket tank sealers.
...and, I'm envious, PJ!.

[BlownMGB-V8]

And well rid of the stuff. As for the fender, well that'll rub out, right?

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

"As for the fender, well that'll rub out, right?"

A little compound and a few swipes with the buffer and it'll be good as new.

[DiDueColpi]

"Jude's Miracle Cloth"
It'll put that right in a jiffy!


Glad that you are unscathed from the incident Jim.
Any accident that you are still around to talk about is a good one.
The car is just an inconvenience.
It was made by man so it can be fixed by man.
Pretty impressed by the new way to make white Saran wrap though, if you gotta know.
I can't believe that it's adhesion is that poor!
Oh well, you get a bigger tank and nobody got hurt. Seems like a winner from here.

Live like you mean it
Fred

[Jim Stabe]

Kinda the way I'm looking at it Fred.