bigger tank for 80 sg

[crunchbird]

Vast and bulbous, it's the mother ship, Frank, its the mothership...a tin teardrop...

[John]

Just bringing this post back to our attention

it's worthy of discussing some more.

[markdam]

shes for sale

my sweet 1980 Special is for sale 16 k orig mi 3000 or obo

[Dennyz]

I better get back to work on the "Big" Special tank. My wife is going to need it on her Special this summer. My whole motivation was so she could make the same gas stops as I do on my Standard. It works out that I only get gas every other gas stop.

I have two (actually three) big concerns with my hacked up tank.

1) I am not sure how nice the tank will look when done. It may have to have a lot of bondo to smooth out the Frankenstein seams.

2) Leak integrity is a concern. I am going to be relying on some kind of inside sealer treatment.

3) If I am successful I am sure other are going to want something similar. The amount of labor that is already involved would price this tank out of the XS realm. I will do everything I can to assist others that want to take something like this on.

Perhaps a fiberglass copy would be more practical. That would do away with the rust problem. Magnetic tank packs would be a problem. Maybe a thin metal mesh could be laminated in.

Guess I need to finish my sheet metal project.

[DiverRay]

I had to seal a leak on my standard from the PO. I used the old "tin and solder" to repair the small holes from a botched repair job. Just clean up the steel when you are done, and with a propane torch, heat it up, use plumbing flux and solder to coat the seams. go about 1/2 inch out, and it should never leak.
Ray

[mixelpix]

awesome tank mod!

just trolling the lists - really like the look of the special with the extra capacity. I don't mind the toaster style of the standards, but it has been difficult to find one affordable. There are a bunch available with cap/keys/fuel send/drain hoses, but I don't feel like spending over $200 on them. Time to get my @$$ down to the local community college for some welding classes... (been a long time since shop and all the stuff I learned about welding in college went, well, up in smoke...)

How much do MIG and TIG welders cost?

-pdk

[Dennyz]

How much do MIG and TIG welders cost?

MIGs are getting very affordable, of coarse it all depends on features and wattage.

I bought a 75watt MIG (Craftsman) at a swap meet for $100. I soon found out that 75watts and only wire speed control was not going to work for me. I ended up with a Miller 210. It is a dual headed unit with a regular stinger for steel and a wire spool gun for aluminum. It set me back $1300, but well worth it (IMHO).

I would not have been able to do the custom aluminum work on my XS with out it.

I am lusting for a TIG.

[TopCatGr58]

Well,

I just learned how to weld this past year, and picked up a Lincoln Mig 135 for about $400.00, a wire feeder, can handle flux core and solid core with gas bottle(Extra), but had all hoses and gauges required. I built my bike trailer with it, was able to handle the 1/4" thick angle iron, as well as the fairly thin gauge fenders! It's supposed to be able to do aluminum, but haven't tried it yet!? Decent rig for hobby level stuff. I'm not familiar with TIG!
T.C.

[John]

Welder

I made the mistake of spending $100 for a flux core wire welder from Harbor Freight. What a POS! It spatters all over the place, has only two heat settings, and the wire is always hot. All the trigger does is advance the wire. If you lay it down on your work, it will strike an arc. I'm spoiled by the big Miller that we have at work. I wouldn't dare try to weld on a gas tank with mine.