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I am new to the Oldsmobile world with a recently acquired 1965 Starfire ragtop.
While there are many items to be looked for in the future, right now I am looking for a new fuel tank. Getting a fuel tank cleaned out and coated is not really an option in my area.
Is there a company which has OEM tanks or produces tanks for this vehicle?
Online I have found tanks for the 64-65 Cutlass. What is the compatibility of fuel tanks for the 65 Starfire in other Olds cars?
Thanks for checking this out.
What is your area? How far are you willing to drive to get the existing tank fixed?
No one makes new fuel tanks for this era of full-size Oldsmobiles. Your options are to have the existing tank refurbished if it can be or to find a used one from another '65 full-size Olds. I don't know if other year full-size Olds tanks will work.
65-66 full size Olds should work here. 88/98/Starfire.
I do not know for certain but other 65-66 GM B-body cars may interchange. Rear frame sections were more similar by then and all tanks had filler necks behind the license plate.
What is your area? How far are you willing to drive to get the existing tank fixed?
No one makes new fuel tanks for this era of full-size Oldsmobiles. Your options are to have the existing tank refurbished if it can be or to find a used one from another '65 full-size Olds. I don't know if other year full-size Olds tanks will work.
Thanks Jaunty,
Here in this area of NY a lot of the guys who used to refurbish got out of the business due to EPA restrictions. Just starting my search so I will have widen my area.
65-66 full size Olds should work here. 88/98/Starfire.
I do not know for certain but other 65-66 GM B-body cars may interchange. Rear frame sections were more similar by then and all tanks had filler necks behind the license plate.
Thanks for the reply rocketraider,
It had crossed my mind that tanks should be interchangable between the full size cars, couldn't see them making too many differing one for ease of the assembly line.
Thanks for the reply rocketraider,
It had crossed my mind that tanks should be interchangable between the full size cars, couldn't see them making too many differing one for ease of the assembly line.
The 1970-earlier B-body cars have completely different frames and suspensions from Olds to Chevy. No chassis, suspension, or brake parts interchange. The suspension designs are even completely different - Chevy uses a three link rear suspension with a Panhard rod. I don't know what that means for the gas tank, or if you can make the Chevy tank work.
Joe, that's a pretty Starfire. Have you considered restoring the tank? If you install an OE tank from a salvage yard or an aftermarket tank from Summit/Jegs you will have to dispose of the old tank. That will be just as difficult to do in NY as finding a shop that can do it.
The 1970-earlier B-body cars have completely different frames and suspensions from Olds to Chevy. No chassis, suspension, or brake parts interchange.
The suspension designs are even completely different - Chevy uses a three link rear suspension with a Panhard rod. I don't know what that means for the gas tank, or if you can make the Chevy tank work.
Thank you for the reply Joe,
As a 'new to Olds' guy I am learning the ins and outs of a the Starfire.
Back in the day when I was in Impala guy you could cobble together an entire car from a decades of cars.
Joe, that's a pretty Starfire. Have you considered restoring the tank? If you install an OE tank from a salvage yard or an aftermarket tank from Summit/Jegs you will have to dispose of the old tank.
That will be just as difficult to do in NY as finding a shop that can do it.
Thank you Olds64,
Yeah, this is a great looking car, one that I had never heard of until 60 days ago. Being an Impala person for so long had me in blinders I guess.
Get lots of stares and thumbs up at the stop light.
I think I have found a shop that is rather close which does tank restos and I will be contacting them tomorrow
Going to check out those links.
Hoo boy you picked a car to jump into Oldsworld! Starfires are a different animal and 65 especially is with all the Starfire-only trim pieces. But you have what I consider the most distinctive of the 6-year run.
Hoo boy you picked a car to jump into Oldsworld!
Starfires are a different animal and 65 especially is with all the Starfire-only trim pieces.
But you have what I consider the most distinctive of the 6-year run.
When I first saw this, then drove it I knew I had to have it, even though I knew nothing about these cars.
After hearing more about the Starfire I'm glad I picked this one up.
One thing I read, not sure if this is correct, is that for 1965 only about convertibles 2,200 were produced. If this number is correct, I wonder how many are still on the road.
I don’t know what’s wrong with yours, but if its a leak at the filler neck connection to the tank body, that can be rewelded or resoldered to fix the leak. And the filler neck can be reinforced with a small steel rod on the inside as support if you’d like and you can find the guys who still do this. My ‘98 had that done long ago and the repair has held for decades.
I’d recommend you start your search for used replacements by looking at 1965 and 1966 88’s / 98’s and Starfire models for tanks. Mechanically the big cars are almost identical across those years except for trim parts. So a tank from one of those models should fit.
As Joe notes above the ‘60’s Olds big cars share very little with their GM cousins, but sometimes you’ll be surprised. If that first search turns up nothing, I’d widen by search to GM B bodies like Bonnevilles, Wildcats, etc., but then you’re rolling the dice and will have to get lucky on the fit.
At least that’s how I’d do it.
Oh — on eBay now there’s somebody selling ‘65 S/f emblems and taillights. These are rare. If they appeal to you, I’d grab ‘em in case you need spares or in case they’re better than what you’ve got.
Nice ‘65 S/F.
No one makes a repro that I’ve ever heard of.
I’d recommend you start your search for used replacements by looking at 1965 and 1966 88’s / 98’s and Starfire models for tanks. Mechanically the big cars are almost identical across those years except for trim parts. So a tank from one of those models should fit.
As Joe notes above the ‘60’s Olds big cars share very little with their GM cousins, but sometimes you’ll be surprised. If that first search turns up nothing, I’d widen by search to GM B bodies like Bonnevilles, Wildcats, etc., but then you’re rolling the dice and will have to get lucky on the fit.
At least that’s how I’d do it.
Oh — on eBay now there’s somebody selling ‘65 S/f emblems and taillights. These are rare. If they appeal to you, I’d grab ‘em in case you need spares or in case they’re better than what you’ve got.
Cheers
Chris
Hey Chris, thanks.
This tank has no leaks or dents, it just has 55 years of crud that gets stirred up during refueling which in turn just fouls things up.
The repair shop I did find said they still did tank service, and told me that it's costly. He recommended exhausting all options before getting the tank cleaned and resealed.
I see places like Gas Tank Depot have tanks for the '65 F85.
It would be great to know if there was a cross fit another Olds, as it's seems costly for GM to have made a tank just for this car.
Anyway, now you know that replacements will be hard to find and it’s about a 50/50 chance what you buy will be worse or not better than yours. If you’re pretty certain you need cleaning & resealing, that’s the route I’d go. A F85 tank will not swap it, they’re smaller. The only swaps I can be confident of would be 65-66 big cars. The tank you have would be common to 88’s / 98’s and Starfire.
If you get into it, while the tank is out, consider replacing the tank sending unit, but know before you buy whether you have a 1 outlet or 2 outlet (#2 being a return line) fuel signal sending unit. These are not cheap. The last one I bought was $350
Anyway, now you know that replacements will be hard to find and it’s about a 50/50 chance what you buy will be worse or not better than yours. If you’re pretty certain you need cleaning & resealing, that’s the route I’d go. A F85 tank will not swap it, they’re smaller. The only swaps I can be confident of would be 65-66 big cars. The tank you have would be common to 88’s / 98’s and Starfire.
If you get into it, while the tank is out, consider replacing the tank sending unit, but know before you buy whether you have a 1 outlet or 2 outlet (#2 being a return line) fuel signal sending unit. These are not cheap. The last one I bought was $350
Hey Cfair, thanks for the reply.
Yeah, the tank has a lot of gunk in it that gets stirred up after each fueling, so it should be cleaned out. Luckily I have found a place that does tank work so it will be removed and cleaned soon.
I will also be looking at getting a new sending unit as you say. Makes sense to get it all done at once. Where did you get the one you purchased?
If you’re referring to where I got my tank sender. I think I got one from EBay and another from Oldsmobile Obsolete. Pretty much you have to get lucky finding an NOS one on EBay or pay bigger bucks at Oldmobile Obsolete if they have one in stock. If you can score one for under $350, you’re doing about right. Anything below that is a win. These parts are rare now and important to the function of the vehicle, so I’m in the “do it right” camp for these things.
Or you can get yours rebuilt. I went NOS for $250 - $350, but I have never tried rebuilds, so I can’t guide you there.
Rebuilding really means checking the float for, uh, floati-ness, then putting in a new resistance coil unit so that the ohms the float puts out at various heights in the tank match what your fuel gauge is looking for to show Full, 1/2, and Empty.
I’ve heard there’s a need to sort of “match” the sender to the fuel gauge resistance coil, but I only have a few of these parts so I can’t tell how much better I can make mine even if I could swap in differing resistance coils in the gauge unit. Olds in these years used a resistance wire in the “tell tale” to move the needle. Later GM went to a ceramic
You might also find a good used on from a boneyard, but it might be worse than the one you have. If your car is an A/C car, you’re looking for the unit with a return line, if not, just get the unit with no provision for a return line. If you can only find the return line type, you could cap the return line inlet and it should work like the other style just fine.
Oh - figure you’ll need to replace the rubber sealing ring when / as / if you put in the new one. It’s smart to have a good seal on your gas tank, no?
Thanks once more cfair.
I am going to search for a sending unit. Like you said, it's good to be in the 'do it right' camp. If I am going to have the tank re-done, it makes sense to get everything done at once, and done right.
Now it's off to eBay and Oldsmobile Obsolete to continue the search.
Thanks once more cfair.
I am going to search for a sending unit. Like you said, it's good to be in the 'do it right' camp. If I am going to have the tank re-done, it makes sense to get everything done at once, and done right.
Now it's off to eBay and Oldsmobile Obsolete to continue the search.
Many use this fuel sender rebuild service with good results:
Cfair, you would you happen to have a part # for the sending unit?
This one is complicated . There were four different sending units used in a '65 Starfire.
Depending on whether you have a first or second design gas tank , and whether the car was equipped with factory A/C .
The first design tank either had a solid baffle or no baffle at all . the second design had a " notched " baffle .
First design without A/C is part # 6426721
First design with A/C is part # 6426722
Second design without A/C is part # 6427152
Second design with A/C is part # 6427153
BTW 98 gas tanks were different than 88 / Starfire tanks .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; Aug 2, 2020 at 08:03 PM.
Notes in my Nov 73 parts book indicate the switch from 1st to 2nd type tank occurred in Spring 1965 and is addressed in May 65 Service Guild. Look at your car's build date code on the body data plate underhood.
Tri-Carb, thanks for this link. Checked out their website and this is probably the way to go.
Originally Posted by Charlie Jones
This one is complicated . There were four different sending units used in a '65 Starfire.
Depending on whether you have a first or second design gas tank , and whether the car was equipped with factory A/C .
The first design tank either had a solid baffle or no baffle at all . the second design had a " notched " baffle .
First design without A/C is part # 6426721
First design with A/C is part # 6426722
Second design without A/C is part # 6427152
Second design with A/C is part # 6427153
This is a lot of info, thanks Charlie.
Mine has no A/C so that narrows is down.
Originally Posted by rocketraider
Notes in my Nov 73 parts book indicate the switch from 1st to 2nd type tank occurred in Spring 1965 and is addressed in May 65 Service Guild. Look at your car's build date code on the body data plate underhood.
This is good to know rocketraider, thank you for the information.
The owner is a pro. Call him about your tank, too.
Checked out their website, the before and after photos are great, if I need the unit redone I will be sending it up their way..
Just dropped the tank today, it will be in the local shop tomorrow.
K over at Riverhead Radiator in Riverhead, NY said he does not do sending you rebuilds, but will let me know if this one needs it.
What think I am going to need are new tank straps. Now to look for a pair of those.
New fuel tanks for your and my 65 Starfire do not exist. I used a sealer kit from Eastwood, which worked great. Its a five or so step process, and I recommend if your tank is solid, go this route. In addition, Dynamic/Delta tanks vary from the Starfire. Sending units are different because the Starfire has an extra divider inside the tank. what's what I know.....
Sending units are different because the Starfire has an extra divider inside the tank. what's what I know.....
It's not Starfires that are unique for 1965. The tanks for the full size cars had a mid-year design change. The sender has to match the tank, but the first and second design tanks interchange in any 1965 full size.
Not quite , 98 tanks are different than 88/Starfire tanks
Just out of curiosity, how? There is no mention of this in the service manual, and the figure showing the fuel tank covers all full-size series through the 98.
If you look in the parts book , under group 3.001 you will see 98 tanks listed separately under a different part number .
I'm only guessing , but it may be the length of the filler neck. Capacity was the same , 25.1 gallons .
Not quite , 98 tanks are different than 88/Starfire tanks
You're right, sorry I missed that. I stopped reading the parts book when I saw "Exc F85.." and missed the fact that "98" was also written there.
For completeness, the 1965 98 tank (second design) is P/N 391179. All other 1965 full size used P/N 391178, per the Jan 1972 printing of the parts book.
Dropped the tank the other day and it's at Riverhead Radiator in Riverhead, NY.
All looks good and the sending unit does not have to be replaced.
It's cleaned out and is being coated today.
Of course, now I searching for tank straps, one has a crack I may not be able to overcome.
Have you considered restoring the tank? If you install an OE tank from a salvage yard or an aftermarket tank from Summit/Jegs you will have to dispose of the old tank. That will be just as difficult to do in NY as finding a shop that can do it.
