Timo04
20th February 2009, 11:40 PM
The Background:
I purchased this stainless steel expansion tank for a FIAT (X1/9?) off of e-bay about two years ago. According to the seller it had already been correctly modified to be installed on a Montecarlo/Scorpion and therefore was supposedly ready to put to use right away.
This was not the case and in fact it was NOT EVEN CLOSE! For example it had two Lincoln head pennies used as "patches" and the brazed on hose fittings were made of such thin gauge brass that a hose clamp would have deformed them!?! The seller took some very creative photos to say the least as the pennies did not at all look like pennies in the auction photos. To ad insult to injury my big mistake was giving the tank too quick a look over after the purchase and putting it on the shelf for nearly two years, waiting in the queue for that next "rainy day" project. Had I acted sooner after the auction I may have had some recourse against the seller. For the sake of fairness I will give the seller the benefit of the doubt as he may not have fully understood what he was selling. At any rate it's all water under the bridge now.
Some Well Deserved Plugs:
Mr. Johannes Huwyler the owner of Dino Motors in San Mateo, Ca made the tank usable by removing the pennies, brazing on some nice looking beveled patches and new, much more robust, brass hose fittings. He then media blasted the exterior to remove the polished chrome style of finish with the idea of minimizing the "Rat Rod Look". A special mention should also be made of Mr. Joe Currin of Dents and Dings in Santa Clara, Ca. Joe is well known in the local area for working miracles in paint less dent removal on exotic/vintage cars. Before I had Johannes work on the tank I took it to Joe and he did a fantastic job of removing the dings with his own hand made tools. The end result is what you see attached here:
I purchased this stainless steel expansion tank for a FIAT (X1/9?) off of e-bay about two years ago. According to the seller it had already been correctly modified to be installed on a Montecarlo/Scorpion and therefore was supposedly ready to put to use right away.
This was not the case and in fact it was NOT EVEN CLOSE! For example it had two Lincoln head pennies used as "patches" and the brazed on hose fittings were made of such thin gauge brass that a hose clamp would have deformed them!?! The seller took some very creative photos to say the least as the pennies did not at all look like pennies in the auction photos. To ad insult to injury my big mistake was giving the tank too quick a look over after the purchase and putting it on the shelf for nearly two years, waiting in the queue for that next "rainy day" project. Had I acted sooner after the auction I may have had some recourse against the seller. For the sake of fairness I will give the seller the benefit of the doubt as he may not have fully understood what he was selling. At any rate it's all water under the bridge now.
Some Well Deserved Plugs:
Mr. Johannes Huwyler the owner of Dino Motors in San Mateo, Ca made the tank usable by removing the pennies, brazing on some nice looking beveled patches and new, much more robust, brass hose fittings. He then media blasted the exterior to remove the polished chrome style of finish with the idea of minimizing the "Rat Rod Look". A special mention should also be made of Mr. Joe Currin of Dents and Dings in Santa Clara, Ca. Joe is well known in the local area for working miracles in paint less dent removal on exotic/vintage cars. Before I had Johannes work on the tank I took it to Joe and he did a fantastic job of removing the dings with his own hand made tools. The end result is what you see attached here: