I know this is an old post, but I am looking though all the posts to learn get help. My '71 88 has a leaky fuel filler neck and I was curious if anyone knew if the generic one that I can get from JCwhitney would be ok to fit it and how exactly it is attached.

I don't need the full tank, just the neck or maybe even a gasket bc when I fill it up, it leaks and when I step on the gas it spills out. I just want to fix that and then figure out why when I rev the engine, it cuts out and almost dies. For some reason I can only slowly speed up from a stop.

 

I moved your question to a new thread. Hopefully you get more responses this way.

Have you restored the fuel tank in your Delta? If not I suggest getting a restoration kit from Summit, Jegs or Eastwood. Drop the fuel tank and use the kit to restore it. When the fuel tank is out of the car you may find numerous pin holes that can be filled with JB weld before covering the tank with the epoxy sealant in the restoration kit. I'm not sure what generic part you found on JC Whitney's website.

Here is a link to Eastwood's fuel tank restoration kit:

http://www.eastwood.com/por-15-fuel-...epair-kit.html

 

Thank you very much. No I have not done anything to this tank at all. It sat dry for about 5 years and I'm just now getting this car back on the road. The seal kit looks like a great idea to do to it seeing as I can't find a 71 tank anywhere to replace it, just the wagon. As for the part from jcwhitney, I called in and asked if they had the filler neck bc mine is loose and they told me they had a generic one for $60 that would fit it

 

The filler neck on these tanks is an integral part of the tank and is not removable or replaceable.

They usually crack at the point of attachment to the tank, on the top side, from someone pushing down on the filler while filling the tank. They can be fixed with gas tank epoxy paste (I have been told JBWeld may soften over time), and it seems to last, but if you haven't had the tank off, you really don't know what's wrong, and it could also be a lot of pinholes, as Olds64 says.

As for the acceleration, you may have a dried out accelerator pump skirt.
Time to rebuild the carb.

- Eric

 

When you drop the fuel tank you should also replace the rubber hoses going to the tank. These often rot and seep air into the line.

 

If the filler neck joint is leaking, it's likely rotted ... and if it's rotted, it's not alone. And if it's not alone ... I'm gonna reach for my old friend ... check your fuel filter. That will tell you a story you likely don't want to hear.

RockAuto appears to have tanks in stock

 

Yeah RockAuto, like other locations, has the tank for the '71 wagon but not my vert. Thank you for looking for me though

 

Have you checked Fusicks and Kanter for a new fuel tank?

 

Fusick carries fuel tanks only for the Cutlasses, not the full-size cars, and Kanter carries no fuel tanks at all.

 

This has always puzzled the hell out of me. Relatively speaking, there are like, two full-size '71 Olds wagons left in the world while there are probably several thousand full-size '71 non-wagons, yet they carry fuel tanks for the former and not the latter.

 

How hard would it be to just "make the wagon tank fit" ?

 

Funny.

- Eric

 

While certainly anything can be made to fit anything, I think it would be difficult. For one thing, the wagon tanks do not sit under the car. They sit vertically behind the left rear fender. The shapes are entirely different as well.

Here's a tank for a '71 Custom Cruiser. It's laying on its side in this photo, and it's the side that would face inward. The filler neck is very short, as you can see, and would actually be at the top and facing outward. The opening at the lower right in the photo is where the sending unit and pickup lines are attached.





Here's a tank for a '73 Delta 88. The shape is different, the filler neck is much longer, and the sending unit/fuel pickup point is in the center of the tank, not at the edge.





If one were of a mind to modify a tank to fit a '71 full-size Oldsmobile, I would try modifying either one from a '73, which IS available, and deal with the extra lines or whatever for emission control one way or another, or one from another full-size GM car of that year. If another Olds tank can't work, I'd start by looking at Chevy gas tanks. There's much more available in the aftermarket for Chevys, including full-size Chevys, than Oldsmobiles or most any other make other than Ford, and maybe one for a '71 Impala or Caprice might be made to work.

 

Thanks for the clarification, jaunty75. I didn't know they were so different. I'm about to take my fuel tank out for repairs and this is good info.

--
Dante

 

What's the difference between a '71 and a '73 tank, anyway?

As far as I know, the space mountings, and connection are all identical.

In theory, the caps are supposed to be different ('73 is non-vented), and this may be the only difference.

- Eric