VH oil tank.

[john.whiting]

I just got a 1950 style VH oil tank off ebay...quite cheap @ $55....these are very hard to find in Oz........downside is dents in the front ,not as bad as they looked on the ebay pics,but will need to be fixed............Anyway,if I grind away the edge weld holding the two pressings together ,is there any reason the parts wont separate readily......ie spot welds as well? .....Alternatively ,is it better if I saw a big hole in the back panel and work thru there.?......Next question ....is the spring type oil cap available as a new part?.....I imagine they get lost on ocassion.

[nevhunter]

The neatest way would be to free the back panel or knock it out through a small hole at the rear with a slightly rounded (on the end)rod working onto a flat part of an anvil. Alternatively weld a threaded 1/4" rod in the centre of each dent and heat and pull the area out The bayonet cap has a lot of writing on it. Good ones are hard to come by. The plain one you could make yourself. Solid brass chromed. Nev

[wade.edwards]

Three options:
1-Grind down weld around outer edge until the back and front separates. They will.
2-There is a centre indent in the back side. Cut that out with a mini cutting disc. Leave a 1/4” lip around the hole. This is the support landing lip for the 1/16” piece of mild steel sheet metal that you will braze or TIG weld into place.
3-Depending on how deep the dents are, they can be filled with Alvin’s Lab Metal if the tank will be spray painted or filled with Alvin’s High Temp Lab Metal if the intention is to powder coat. It withstands 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
4-The Lab Metal can also be used to fill around the welded in sheet metal fill piece for a visually seamless patch.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi if it was me i would NOT cut the tank open to fix the dents a good body shop, have got tools to go inside the oil filler hole and get the dents, out or if not do it like Nev says and weld studs on the tank and use a slide hammer to pull the dents out

[garycullen]

Hi John, Since Ariel Oil Tanks are probably all made the same way....I split my 1946 VB600 oil tank to cure some bad internal rust and dig out accumulated and hardened grud in the bottom that would not shift shaking with nuts and bolts and kero/diesel or with a sharpened rod down through the filler hole.
Carefully grinding with a disk grinder around the top of the welded seam allowed the tank to easily come apart and still leave plenty of lip metal for eventually re-welding. Once I had the internals sorted I took the tank to a specialist welding shop ( as I don't have any tig or mig welding gear ).
Using a skilled person resulted in a nice "puddled" seam just like when the tank was new.
Also after welding, bung up the bottom holes and fill with some Kero and leave it standing for a few days to make sure there are no pin hole leaks.
Mine had to have one re-welded.
Gary

[john.whiting]

OK thanks......the tank will have to come apart ,as it looks very like its been dinged in on purpose to clear a high level exhaust.............I also found the cap is still available from the original maker ,with the oil instructions pressed in......but at 25 quid ,its not cheap.

[nevhunter]

The smaller tank is much easier to remove and clean and will never hit the rear guard (as the larger one may do at times). More around also. If you aren't worried about authenticity. Nev

[wade.edwards]

John, please post a link for the cap maker. You are likely one of the very few who knows the information. Thanks.

[john.whiting]

Ceandess Ltd ,Wolverhampton.......the name marked inside every one of the 50 million caps they have made.

[john.whiting]

You wouldnt believe this,but I just got another VH 1950 oil tank off ebay for the same price,and this one is very good........seller said it had been bogged ,but I think its been heavily sprayed with the old 3D filler used to be popular many year ago....maybe just to smooth out the contours..........Anyhoo.... .....I look for 5 years for the right tank (bike has the 1953 rounded tank),see a few for up to $500 at swaps ,never under $250....then get two in few months.