Expert: Brad Sears - 8/21/2008

Question
i am 16 and my uncle is giving me this car. its a 64 impala 4 door. its been
sitting in a barn for 20 years but the barn is nice and it seems to be in very
good condition. i just need to know how you get the gas tank out of the damn
thing to get it cleaned. and what else i should do to get it running

Answer
Kyle: I spent mst f my 50 years in teaching in a high school auto shop. Pardon an old man's long winded answer but I don'twant to see anyone hurt. The first thing that you need to do is to get the car jacked p high enough to work on safely. The bumper jack that came with the car is not the jack to do this with. A floor jack, a bottle jack, or a scissors jack will do the trick. Then once it is high enough to work on securly block the car up with good sized wood blocks or jack stands. Remember that the jack is only to get the car in the air, not to put any part of your soft body under. Once the car is u and supported give it a good shake. I would rather see it fall before you get under there. Now you will need a jack under the tank to support it and lower it whie you are working on the support straps and lines as wellas the electrical connection for the fuel gauge.I use a piece of plywood ob top of a floor jack. The plywood keeps the small pad on the jack from denting the tank. There should be two support straps holding the tank in plce that need to be removed. Then lower the tank slowly so that you can disconnect the lines and connections on the top of the tank. Then finish lowering the tank and slide it out from under the car. Remember safety in every step of the process. Goos luck.
Brad