St185 Project

celicagrl90

New member
Resized_20200131_153453.jpegHi everybody! Here is the project car. A little background, I have owned this car for about 11 years now. Bought it wanting to make it a beast then family and regular life put it on hold for a long time. Now finally getting back into it and what a project it is turning out to be. Car is in pretty good shape for sitting as long as it did, needs some body work. It runs and runs well but a lot of things need to be fixed from the previous owner . Started off with the basics like replaced calipers with rebuilt stock ones, rotors and brake lines. Needed a fuel pump and sending unit. Had pretty old gross gas/varnish in it so had the tank cleaned and tested. Just about got everything back up and of course had to already run into an issue. Gas tank is leaking!! Now I'm stuck and i don't know what to do. I have quickly found out that it's near impossible to find a tank, not available from dealer, no aftermarket that I have found. Seems like my only options are to have my tank repaired or go to a fuel cell. I need opinions/help. Does anyone know about these tanks? Will any other tank work from any other cars?maybe a st165,( not that ill find that either!! lol) I know the tanks are different from the GT/ST/GTS body due to the diff. Any help or knowledge would be appreciated.
 

abeans

Member
Tanks are different iirc. Easiest tank to install that is not oem would be a "well cell" by ATL. Good luck on the project.
 

transneptunian

New member
You might check a couple of the Facebook groups for part outs. I know there’s a few dudes who post cars for breaking regularly. Might get into some high shipping costs as most are overseas. Cheapest bet would be a fuel cell or some kind of custom job I suppose.
 

likethejeans

New member
Currently going through the same issue on my ST165, crack at the top of the tank causing a huge leak.

Here’s what I ended up doing:
- Scrapped the OEM tank completely.
- Install HCI 6Gal fuel cell in the trunk
- Holley sniper 340 in-pump tank
- Retrofit sending unit
- Upgrade to 30amp wiring
- Run new lines
- Upgrade FPR to aeromotive 1000 to handle higher pressure.

Total cost:
-$800 in parts

Here’s what I wish I would have done:
- Send OEM tank to a process like Gas Tank Renu
- They’ll restore your tank completely and provide a lifetime warranty

Total cost:
- $525+tax for restoration process
- State Automotive was the closest shop to me offering the process. I would have had to ship my tank to them, UPS quoted me $65 each way.
- 2-3 weeks to complete process, +1 if shipping.
 

celicagrl90

New member
Update !! Thank you all ! I decided to take the tank to a local shop near me to have the tank repaired. Still waiting to find out how much it's going to cost me but the holes in the tank were not too bad just pin holes so I'm hopeful all will be good once its repaired.
 

dusty

New member
when I had my camery alltrac the tank was a impossible to find too. I had the tank lined with a plastic coating. I think the cost was about $200. It worked great for me, had no issues for the time I had it.
 

celicagrl90

New member
dusty":3v6v1qbt said:
when I had my camery alltrac the tank was a impossible to find too. I had the tank lined with a plastic coating. I think the cost was about $200. It worked great for me, had no issues for the time I had it.


Thanks ! Yes , When I called this local shop they are like we will find you a new one give us a few minutes .I laughed and said OK, he called back and said ok it's a unicorn hahaha. I think that is what they are doing to fix depending on how bad the weak spot is. Still haven't heard from them but they are a busy shop. I expect it to take some time to get the tank back.
 

dusty

New member
celicagrl90":4e2gxh9n said:
dusty":4e2gxh9n said:
when I had my camery alltrac the tank was a impossible to find too. I had the tank lined with a plastic coating. I think the cost was about $200. It worked great for me, had no issues for the time I had it.


Thanks ! Yes , When I called this local shop they are like we will find you a new one give us a few minutes .I laughed and said OK, he called back and said ok it's a unicorn hahaha. I think that is what they are doing to fix depending on how bad the weak spot is. Still haven't heard from them but they are a busy shop. I expect it to take some time to get the tank back.

I think it takes 3 days to dry if I remember correct.
 

celicagrl90

New member
Sooooo.Since I'm still waiting for my tank to be finished (very impatiently I might add!! Lol) I have been looking for more things to fix. Just before the tank started leaking I was starting to have the intermittent starting issue. I have read alot on this forum about the issue being the clutch pedal safety switch. Just want to verify the symptoms of this. Sometimes it fires right up and other times as soon as you turn the key to start it acts as if there is nothing no power no starter no lights on dash just dies. I thought at first it was a battery issue then thought ground issue and we upgraded all the grounds. Which needed to be done anyway. Is that clutch switch what I'm most likely dealing with or think it could be something else?
 

underscore

Well-known member
Due to the way the starter trigger system is wired as things age that happens a lot, look up the starter relay mod.
 

dusty

New member
dusty":1vfq9dr2 said:
celicagrl90":1vfq9dr2 said:
dusty":1vfq9dr2 said:
when I had my camery alltrac the tank was a impossible to find too. I had the tank lined with a plastic coating. I think the cost was about $200. It worked great for me, had no issues for the time I had it.


Thanks ! Yes , When I called this local shop they are like we will find you a new one give us a few minutes .I laughed and said OK, he called back and said ok it's a unicorn hahaha. I think that is what they are doing to fix depending on how bad the weak spot is. Still haven't heard from them but they are a busy shop. I expect it to take some time to get the tank back.

I think it takes 3 days to dry if I remember correct.

yes, I was a couple of days for sure
 
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