At 2:33 PM -0700 4/6/99, Douglas Clark wrote:
>The List,
>
>Once again my Tiger roars...I recently got my MK1a running. I purchased
>this car about 3 months ago (it has not run for over 18 years). Now that
>the engine is finally running several things need replacing before I can
>drive it. One of these items is the expansion water tank. The tank I have
>is covered with cracks and thus failed a pressure test. I've called
>Sunbeam Specialties and the person I talked to had no suggestions on a
>replacement. Does anyone make these things any more? Any ideas on a
>temporary replacement? Or a way to fix the one I have? The days are
>getting long and the weather warmer...I really want to drive this car with
>the top down!
>Doug
Doug: My expansion tank was riddled with dozens of hairline cracks. My
brother is in the jewelry findings biz, so I took it over to his shop. He
has several sets of jewelers torches, which produce a pencil point flame. I
cleaned the tank right down to the bare brass so that the silver solder
would bond well. He spent an entire evening working on the thing, but the
pay off was a leak free expansion tank.
I tested it it by putting on the radiator cap and blocking the larger hose
with a wooden plug held with a hose clamp. I rigged a garden hose to the
smaller pipe. When it held water without leaking, we knew we had it fixed.
You should explore doing something like this, as the expansion tank is made
from that rare material- "Unobtanium"! The only other tank I've every seen
that looks remotely like the Tiger's is the Harrison aluminum tank used in
mid-year Corvettes.
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