SD-455 coming to shop next month
 

I have an SD-455 TA coming to my shop next month for some work. Car has been in climate controlled storage for 41 years but hasn't run in 30-35 years. First order of business is going to be repair or replacement of the gas tank as I was told it's leaking and has 40 year old gas in it. Does any vendor offer a VERY HIGH QUALITY, OE looking tank for a 74? Need a tank worthy of a numbers matching, low mileage SD car, Or am I going to have to try and find an NOS tank? May be able to have this one repaired? Thank you for leads and/or ideas.

I don’t think they are available.

I believe the tank is the same from '74-'81. You might want to remove and save the fill neck from the original tank. I put a new tank in my '74 and we installed the original fill neck.

Looks like Rock Auto carries three different brands.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...fuel+tank,6268

Original filler neck
 

That's what you gotta do.
Might try Advance Autoparts, & if dented or scuffed, send it back.

I have gotten two tanks for the 79 Camaro/IA and the 81 TA and they both looked pretty close with a neck installed already. Necks were a hair different in the nozzle area. 81 Tank I used a SS one(also in the 65 GTO when I did it a few years ago) and you can tell they are not a galvanized stock tank.

There is an old fashion radiator shop here that boils them out and solder repairs them if that one is not too bad.

^^^^ this and use the 15-20% discount they usually offer (or Autozone)...that's how I got my Spectra.

Get a 75 tank and make your own cap

Auto City Classic in Minnesota lists a gas tank for 1974-1977 Firebirds, although I don't know how accurate it is so you should call them to discuss: https://www.autocityclassic.com/firebird-gas-tanks/

Lots of decent options it seems. I have used Spectra radiators and several tanks on regular customer cars and they seem to be OK. I guess I will have to compare the stampings to the OE tank and how the corners are put together. Nice to know the same tank was used for several years. Going to go look at the car in storage in a few weeks and determine how to get it over to the shop. The 40+ year old tires all hold air. Obviously, it will need a battery, fluids changed, oil pump primed, and a carb kit. I will call Cliff and get one.

Any that say 74-77 are clearly a Chev-based parts supplier, but then, most are. 74-78 for Firebird, 74-77 for Camaro. Spectra Premium GM203 is the best, made in Canada. Or as the US says, North America.

One member here went through several Spectra tanks before one was found not to be scratched and dented. Apparently they are not well protected once they leave the Spectra facility.

I must have been lucky to get one shipped to Australia, barely had any extra packing inside box, if at all, but somehow still unmarked. Just took off the shelf and sent, that special touch of customer service, same for across the street as across the world.

https://ecat.spectrapremium.com/products/GM203

I bought a new tank for my 79 t/a from firebird central. Soldered in place neck. I picked it up at carlilse to avoid shipping. Price was reasonable (as shipping is what kills the deal on these things) and side by side with my old tank it was identical only new. Not sure how it compares to a 74 tank.

Ironically there is a gas tank company less than 10 minutes from house. They are fairly well known but dont stock a lot of stuff. I checked with them and they still wanted to charge me shipping which was almost as much as the tank.

Bought a Spectra tank from PY a number of years ago and picked it up at Norwalk. It was a better price than any of our suppliers in Canada. Go figuire. Just getting to it now but will be changing the neck. The original neck uses the early quarter turn cap where the repop tank has the later thread style cap. Being that it is a original car I would be trying to clean/solder its born with tank, install a new sock on the pick up and reinstall with new fuel hose that will hold up to todays fuel. Sounds like a great project.

Thanks for the part number. I can buy Spectra through my regular channels as a NAPA master dealer. No shipping. Of course some of the "shipping" is built into the slightly higher prices. But NAPA will take care of me if there is any damage. Now a question for the SD-455 experts. Is there any known markings or numbers or anything to identify the OE tank as an SD gas tank? Trying to do a nice job for this owner and do not want to do anything to hurt the value of the car.

No different markings that I am aware of.

On the filler neck, I would save the original, even if you don't use it for now. 1974 was the last year for leaded gas so all the fillers after that had the restricted inlet in the end of the pipe to keep people from putting leaded gas in cars with catalytic converters.

Thanks for that info I had forgotten. Spectra sells that tank without a filler neck also. I should get that one and transfer the OE neck to that tank. Great information. That means the filler cap is very different as well. The 75 and newer would have a screw cap and 74 and older the cap with 2 tabs?

yes correct

One I had I got from Summit took 2 to get the filler neck not tweaked.

The Spectra sending unit I got for the 81 is cheesy-sits a hair taller, the one I got from Ames looks better and closer to stock on the inside.

If you are needing a repair option, see Powell Radiator in Wilmington. He's a one man operation, and seems to be the RainMan for radiators and gas tanks. He did the 53 studebaker radiator and gas tank, 54 Olds radiator, 93 suburban 2500 radiator and a bunch of others... he has even done some for J** **** and built a few for brass era cars just based on old pictures. Last of a dying breed.

I was going to ask you once the car gets here. Depends on the overall condition of the tank of course. I am sure the owner would like to save the OE tank if practical. The car will likely go to Mecum or the like. Dripping gas down the red carpet probably isn't a good look or good way to get top dollar. Talked to owner a few days ago. He is busy moving 41 years of crap from all around the car so it can be moved. Car should have very minimal rust. Has been in climate controlled storage the entire time but was not prepared before storage.

Post up some pics when you get it. Always fun to get a good look at non-restored cars.

If the owner is OK with it, I will be happy to. He is still digging it out of storage and preparing to have it transported over here. Probably be here end of the month.

Little update. Owner has decided to replace the fuel tank rather than repair it. I will transfer the neck from the original tank. Vehicle still has not been delivered to me. Probably be a couple more weeks. I have an engine removal to do on a 1970 SS 454 Chevelle next week and the TA will be next. The Chevelle engine will be out a couple months for replacement, rods hanging out the side of the block.
I will ask TA owner about posting pics as soon as it gets here. I did find out before storage , engine was run with fuel line off until it quit and the fuel pump was drained. So that's good news. Fuel tank is 1/3 full of 35 year old gas though. Thanks again for the tips and information.

I'd find an original, like this Facebook one. As you may be able to see, this one has the sheet metal logo.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...0-5583273df0c7

Mine had the car number written on it in blue (would have been handwritten on build sheet). Leftover tape from where the build sheet was taped. Indented fuel filler. My underside was painted black , so I found no sheet metal stencil. Notice vent line length...

From doing my dads car up in 2007, I can honestly tell you that the 10 gallons of sunoco from 1966 was still flammable. I poured it on our gravel driveway, and my friend got into my son's go kart and drove thru the flames after I lit it on fire.
OK, yes, there might have been some alcohol involved.

My neighbors must love the free entertainment. Anywhere else, you have to pay for a show like this.

If there was something specific about the OE tank that was a show stopper among the resale crowd, he would have to do that. I am doing the work on the car and the owner understands that I can't tie up my shop and lift while he is searching the country for an OE gas tank. I would need to remove the tank and get one reinstalled and do whatever is necessary to get the car running in a week tops. I am getting too old to be pushing cars all over the property by myself. I just removed a blown-up engine from a 1970 SS 454 Chevelle today. Man, that thing was extremely hard to push around with power steering and that boat anchor of useless cast iron, AKA big block Chevy with 2 connecting rods punched through the oil pan and pieces of pistons and cylinder wall in the left exhaust manifold!! So much for that numbers matching car.

Sorry it took so long to get back to this. The owner of the car has decided to do some of the needed work to get the car running himself and then I will help him as needed. He is pretty motivated to get it running before the real Ohio weather hits, which will be in the next 3 weeks or so typically. So he did pull the gas tank today. It is shot but the filler neck is salvageable. He is removing the rust now and I will silver solder it into the new tank He sent me a couple pics I can share. More pics will be coming in the near future. Happy to share. I haven't worked on an SD since my days at the Pontiac dealer so it is a real privilege to work on this.

Find a buildsheet on the gas tank?

:)

That fuel level is toast I think.

:eek:

He is fortunate to have a GM replacement NOS sending unit and sock. Checked it yesterday with an OHM meter. It is right on spec. There was no build sheet on the fuel tank and it looks like it had never been removed. The exhaust system is original as well, I think. The muffler has a couple rust holes in it. Nothing serious. He is having a complete Gardner exhaust system made for it. They are 4-5 months out on delivery. So we will run it with the current exhaust. He has the original window sticker. I will have to ask him if I can post it. I am working for him so need to honor his requests. It's a nice, unmolested car. Even has EGR and TCS systems still on the engine.

Looks like a really nice survivor!

That last picture is testament to why all my cars are stored with a full tank of fuel and a can of Sea Foam added.

So seawater is no no?

The smell of that 40 year old gas was very strong! There was about a gallon of that thick rusty, super strong smelling varnish/slurry. I hauled the tank to scrap inside a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the two big openings sealed-up and the smell still took a couple days to air out of the Jeep. The fuel lines are all clean as is the carburetor bowl and the fuel pump. Need to solder in the fill neck and new sending unit needs to be installed and tank bolted in. Hope to have it running in 10 days or so.

"couple days to air out" why I have a carrier that mounts in the receiver for such. Under a Benjamin.

The owner of this SD has been working away on the car the last few days. He sent me some more pics he said I could post. Of course those of you that are familiar with the SD cars probably know all this stuff, but I am fascinated with some of the details he has shared. When these cars were new, I was working at a Pontiac dealer and although they were special, they were transportation. We were getting paid flat rate money to fix them and get them back on the road. Not much time to ponder all the specific, tiny changes that were SD specific. Here are some general pics of the car. Then some interesting specific parts.

Next little group of pics are the picky stuff. Pic 1 is the valve springs. I guess they were variable rate valve springs and the purple coils are supposed to face down toward the head. He found 1 intake was installed upside down yesterday. The one pictured is correct Pic 2 The specific SD-455 TCS solenoid. I remember at the dealer taking these off and throwing them in the trash and bypassing them so the car would run much better. Some we put BB's in the hoses to keep them on the car but disable them and the EGR valves. You have to remember, customer satisfaction was the number 1 goal, and the cars ran much better without these early, crude systems functioning. Of course, emissions suffered. Pic 3 is the idle solenoid, also SD specific. Pic 5 Original tailpipes. You can tell by the little scallop on the top of the pipe. None of the aftermarket tips have this, not even the mega-buck Gardner stuff. Pic 4 spare tire inflater All these details from the owner. I didn't know any of this stuff. Sorry pic 4 and 5 got switched somehow.

Tell him the EGR valve is specific also.

Car looks great.

:)

I would check the NOS sender. I bought an extra one from the dealer for my 78 about 1981. Put the ohm meter to it a couple of years ago and it is bad out of the box.

The first picture (interior shot) shows what I always thought was the most odd part of this SD. Anyone spot it?

Eric

Column shift,
James Q

Winner!

Eric

Thats the second column shift SD TA I have seen. The first in Rocky's 2018 article about a 73 ordered in primer that had column shift. (https://www.pontiacv8.com/articles/2...primed-example) Wonder why this one was order like this.

Doubt they ordered a column shifter.

If they did not order the console the shifter would be on the column.

:eek:

One question John, if you order power windows, don't you need a console to mount the switch in? I've never seen an early 70s second gen with power window switch anywhere but in the console, but I don't claim to know all the intricacies of second gens. It just occurred to me that there would be no place to mount the power window switch......:noidea:

The original owner ordered it without console.

Eric

Thanks, Eric.

I'd have to look it up, but the power windows would probably require a console?

:confused:

Had to look it up.

:D

551 Power Windows $78.00 - Requires Console (431)

:)

Owner and I worked on the fuel tank this week. As I mentioned earlier, he opted for a Spectra Premium replacement tank without filler neck as the correct neck is not available for a 74 car. The OE tank was a real mess with 40 years of evaporated fuel in it and numerous holes and so forth. The Spectra tank is Canadian made and pretty nice. It has nice sharp feature lines in the stampings and nice finish. The only item we weren't crazy about was the copper tube they used for the vapor return line. But it was already soldered in place and there wasn't a compelling reason to remove it. We decided to double flare it and use a flare union, then marry it to the original vapor line which was still in good condition. We also silver soldered in the old neck into the new tank after thorough cleaning of the neck. 8% silver solder is a little tricky to use but it came out nice and is leak free, verified by a smoke test with my evap. tester. Also, he stripped the paint off the OE cap to reveal a factory epoxy primer of some sort of rust resistant primer. Ready to install in the next few days.

Looks great!

On my '74, the original fuel cap seemed to be plated with yellow zinc. I had it plated again the same way.