making a tank?

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so I've just about given up looking for a tank for my 50's murray bike. I was hoping to find one mainly to hide an actual small gas tank in for a motorized bike kit i'm putting on my bike. I'm not a big fan of the big tear drop tank that the kit comes with.

anyway, I've decided that making a tank is gonna be my best option. I was wondering if anyone has done this? how they did it? any advice on doing so? I was thinking fiberglass maybe, but I've never done anything before.

thanks.
 
I guess it depends on what access you have to what tools, and what experience you have with said tools. You could build a wire frame and fiberglass it. You could hit the salvage yard for an old car fender or something, cut pieces out and beat them into the shape of a tank. You could get some luan and wood glue, and possibly some stain or paint, and build a wooden tank. It seems like a 50's murray tank shouldn't be too hard to find though. Maybe post in the wanted section here and check ebay.
 
I did try the wanted section, and got no hits. and I've been scouring ebay. trying all different variations, murray, j c higgins etc. I got nothing on any of them. I've read in the past about people making actual gas tanks, like for motorcycles, by shaping it out of styrofoam, fiberglassing around it, and then using gas inside to dissolve the foam out.
 
I've done fiberglass/foam construction. It produces a good starting product. I know 'glass is used to make working tanks. I believe the interior is coated with epoxy before use. Good luck !
 
well u should use steel that is what it would have been made of , u can use about 18 or 16 gauge cold rolled steel , then make a buck out of high density flake board stacked to the thickness of the tank , prob will be 2 pieces thick depending on the tank thickness, then route edge of buck with round edge router bit , once this is done u can sand in more shape to the buck if needed ,once this is done u then want to anneal your metal with a preferably a rose bud tip torch , but what ever u have will do , heat the metal till it is more plyable then clamp on to your buck and hammer metal to the shape of the buck , of course this will have to be twice 1 for each side , but as shallow as a bicycle tank is should be able to use a single buck routed on both sides then weld your two sides together . if u want the tanks to actually hold fuel , u need to test for leaks after welding and of course have to add gas cap and bung for fuel outlet . u can take air compressor and pressurize the tank and sparay bottle a liite water with few drops of soap in it . leaks will bubble . then u can creme the tank it is two part , a metal etching step and creme sealant step or second step. or radiator shops can do it for u also . then skin coaT WITH BOND O . BODY WORK . hope this helps. u can see books on it at places like barnes and noble or whatever bookstore , do it yourself section , look for metal fabriacting books , names bob munroe , or ron covell , some of the best metal fabbers ever . and u can see a lot of different ideas and ways tanks can be built . MAKE IT REAL MAKE IT FROM STEEL.
 
ANOTHER option find used metal motorcycle tank and all the shaping is done and cut down modify for bike . modify mounting tabs , although a lot of the time they mount to top tube mounts.
 
Had a metal fab guy build me one for a custom frame I built. He charged about $50. Could have been a gas tank.

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