[hog1340]

So i had my car out for a ride yesterday, very short ride, and i had gotten about 2 miles from my house and the gas tank straps decided to let go. I hit a very small bump and heard what sounded like the exhaust dragging. I pulled over and found the tank had fallen out, held up by only the filler neck and the two fuel lines. the dragging of the tank put a nice gouge in it. Found the two missing straps and apparently one of the hooks had straightened it self out and that caused the other to start ot straighten and finally work its way out. The tank and straps were both new, purchased 11 years ago when i started my rebuild.

When i got her home i looked thru the forum and found a couple of folks throw some self tappers thru the hook side, trust me i will be doing this, or might try and through to the trunk and nut and bolt.

Has anyone else had this happen to them> just curious.

Thanks ED

[Mike Davis]

Haven't had one fall out but on my dad's 67 we had a new strap straighten out when we put fuel in it after restoring it. Pulled it out of the garage and the tank was hanging down on one side.I put a self tapping stainless TEK screw in each strap. Has been holding for 18 years.

[gtobob67]

Wow! Guess I'll be under mine this afternoon....

[Hammertime Mike]

Originally Posted by Mike Davis

Haven't had one fall out but on my dad's 67 we had a new strap straighten out when we put fuel in it after restoring it. Pulled it out of the garage and the tank was hanging down on one side.I put a self tapping stainless TEK screw in each strap. Has been holding for 18 years.

That's the fix ! I've had them pull out when tightening the strap. I have since ALWAYS put a screw in each strap.

[hog1340]

Well trust me, i will ALWAYS for now on.LOL

Later guys

[richardk]

Originally Posted by hog1340

So i had my car out for a ride yesterday, very short ride, and i had gotten about 2 miles from my house and the gas tank straps decided to let go. I hit a very small bump and heard what sounded like the exhaust dragging. I pulled over and found the tank had fallen out, held up by only the filler neck and the two fuel lines. the dragging of the tank put a nice gouge in it. Found the two missing straps and apparently one of the hooks had straightened it self out and that caused the other to start ot straighten and finally work its way out. The tank and straps were both new, purchased 11 years ago when i started my rebuild.

When i got her home i looked thru the forum and found a couple of folks throw some self tappers thru the hook side, trust me i will be doing this, or might try and through to the trunk and nut and bolt.

Has anyone else had this happen to them> just curious.

Thanks ED

Yes, sadly this happened to me too some 30 years ago after replacing the rusty original straps on my tank, and the fix was just that; drive a self tapping screw through the hook. I believe the service manual calls for doing this when replacing the tank.

[HWYSTR455]

I thought they all came with a screw thru the hook end? I have always had them break when trying to remove them, and cussed up a storm every time.

The hook side is a pretty long 'flap', and it can't straighten out due to the mount. Or at least that's the way I believe the 68-up cars are.

I would think there would have to be too much slack on the other side or something, trying to imagine how they can come out, not coming to mind for me. (head scratching, puzzled look)

Maybe I will get back under mine and look, I usually don't put the screws back in, and have clocked tons of miles on my cars.

.

[HWYSTR455]

Hey wait, don't the hooks go into the mount the other way? Maybe not, but I thought you had to get the tank out of the way before you could loop the hook end in there, like starting from the rear of the car?

Maybe I'm mistaken, def have to look at that again...


.

[HWYSTR455]

Nevermind, age must be creeping in on me! Heheh!


.

[dataway]

Don't 68 and later have two holes in the bent end that a bolt goes through?

[Old Goat 67]

Never heard of this.

Where did they come loose? the front hook?
Is this aftermarket straps that do this?

[richardk]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I thought they all came with a screw thru the hook end? I have always had them break when trying to remove them, and cussed up a storm every time.

The hook side is a pretty long 'flap', and it can't straighten out due to the mount. Or at least that's the way I believe the 68-up cars are.

I would think there would have to be too much slack on the other side or something, trying to imagine how they can come out, not coming to mind for me. (head scratching, puzzled look)

Maybe I will get back under mine and look, I usually don't put the screws back in, and have clocked tons of miles on my cars.

.

My '67 didn't have any screws in the hooks originally nor any holes to indicate there had ever been any.

Originally Posted by Old Goat 67

Never heard of this.

Where did they come loose? the front hook?
Is this aftermarket straps that do this?

It was the front hooks that unfolded and came loose and, in my case, they were repops replacing my rusty originals.

[Old Goat 67]

Originally Posted by richardk

My '67 didn't have any screws in the hooks originally nor any holes to indicate there had ever been any.

Mine neither. They are still up there.

[Skip Fix]

I replaced my 65 tank and straps recently with new repop straps-definitely softer than the old steel!

[hog1340]

What richard said. They are aftermarket, i pulled the originals out 11 years ago and installed these about 6 months ago, so not sure of the difference in material. I will be installing screws this time.
For the guys that have installed the screw, do they just go thru the strap, thru the long then the short, or does it then go into the body?
And old goat, i never heard of this either until it happened to me.

Thanks Ed

[Schurkey]

If your aftermarket gas-tank straps are failing, you need to publicly list the supplier you bought from, the part number and the time of purchase. You need to jack-up the dirtballs that sell them, AND you need to contact the US DOT / NHTSA to get them recalled and the suppliers/manufacturers fined. If you fail to report unsafe products, you're as guilty as the crooks selling it.

As long as sh!tty parts go un-reported, the problem will only get worse. It's not like the Chinese are trying to build quality. They're trying to build volume. The cheating, thieving collaborators in this country are just as guilty, and need (their business practices are BEGGING FOR) severe penalties to prevent re-occurrence.

[Chris65LeMans]

Weird that both of them failed at once. I had one fail a few years ago after it had been taken apart/put back together. It was tough to miss the tank hanging down on one side - I got under there and strapped it back without much trouble.

[Jeff Hamlin]

[hog1340]

Hey Chris
The one failed and fell out about 1/2 mile from my house, tank was full of fuel. the next one was about 60 ft away from the first and i stop about another 100 ft from there. All happened real quick.

Thanks Jeff for the image

[gassman_67]

Happend to me in my 67 back in 98, rusty trunk and strap, full tank of Sunoco premium spewing out all the way home.