C27 fuel tank replacement?

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Richard

Has anyone replaced a fuel tank recently in a 1979-vintage C27? Catalina no longer sells replacement tanks, and I have not found a suitable size in either the West Marine or BoatUS catalogs. Is there any alternative to custom fabrication? I can have a new aluminum tank built locally, but shudder to think of the cost. I possibly could use one of the pre-fab tanks from West Marine, but would sacrifice some volume and would have to modify the mounting arrangement, as the original tank is non-rectangular. (The tank sits beneath the starboard quarter berth. I don't know if there were other configuations.) Sounds like a no-win situation all around. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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Rodger

May not have to

You may not have to replace the tank. I have owned two Jaguars and they have a bad way of rusting and leaking gas tanks. I have removed the tanks and sent them to fuel tank repair shops. They weld the holes and seal the inside of the tank with some type of sealent. The tank end up better than new at a cost of around $150.US. Most large citys have gas tank shops. Hope it works for you. Rodger
 
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Mike Elmore

Right

I have never had to do this to a marine tank, but I have a habit of buying 70's-era motorbikes that often sport rusted out tanks. If there is a hole, a tank shop can fix it right up. You DO NOT want to do this welding part yourself. Any motorcycle shop or mail order service (denniskirk.com for example) will have a 3 part tank cleanup kit. It consists of a bottle of acid solution to eat the rust, a bottle of base solution to counter the acid back to normal, and a sealer coating bottle to finish the job off. This sealer is almost ceramic like and keeps the tank rust free. I've never seen it need to be done twice! I don't have a kit handy to read the labels here, but one shouldn't be too hard to find. I don't see why it wouldn't work with a diesel tank, but I'd want to read the label first. Anyway...it is possible to fix a tank. If you're going to have it welded at a shop though, may as well have them clean and coat the tank too. The process above is most likely what they will do. -mwe Windward Hull
 
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Wayne Simpson

Fuel Tank is standard Tempo Unit

The fuel tank on my 77 C-27 is a standard 18 gallon aluminum unit made by Tempo. Why don't you contact them to see if they can supply a replacement? Or do as the others have suggested and take it to a tank repair shop for welding and coating. The bad news? You may have to remove your engine to remove the tank. That's how these things were installed at the facory. First the water tank, then the fuel tank, then the engine. Later C-27s used custom tanks because the 83 and later interior liners didn't leave enough room for the Tempo tanks. The quarter berth decks were lower to get more room for the bunks.
 
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