Page 1 of 1

What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 4:47 pm
by Tom Coughlin
The hand cut foam looks bogus that a P O put under the straps holding down the fuel tank. I need correct ones, so who carries them? Thanks, Tom

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 5:50 pm
by George Kehler
Great question, Tom !! I need some as well. George

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 9:43 pm
by Phil Planck
When I repainted and sealed my 55 tank cirrca 1985 I used a thick felt type material. Must have done that as there was that type of remnant.

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 9:52 am
by Victor Ingram
Sierre Madre produces a kit that consists of the straps and the felt, not sure if they sell the felt separately.

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:26 pm
by Tom Coughlin
Thanks Victor, and they do sell them separately. Tom

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:14 pm
by George Kehler
Bought a set !! George

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:44 am
by Vincent Gillespie
Hello, here are photos of what was under my straps, they are in a bundle at the moment, it's basically the same brown felt stuff with a 'crepe paper' backing, this was the side on the tank, that I found as the base layer of the upholstery.
V

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:50 am
by Cory Evens
Thin strips of horse hair similar to what's inside original seat upholstery. I can share some photos as I just took my tank strap bolts off to plate them. Also noticed that the bracket that houses the captive nut was painted body color! Aquamarine Blue Met. Has anyone else seen this done on theirs or other cars of the era?

BTW my car is a 56 Coupe but I'm assuming the factory during that period would use similar material spanning a number of years.

Re: What goes under ('55) gas tank straps?

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 6:31 pm
by Erik Thomas
The under stap padding is supposed to be jute. This is the same as they used to put under carpets, about 5 - 6 mm thick. Lacking a good supply of this material, which is hard to find these days, I cut a long strip off of the edge of a piece I found under one of my Mother's carpets. The strip was only about 2" wide, so she never noticed.

I have purchased the "felt" from S. M. and found the quality lacking. The last tank I did I used better quality industrial felt from Mc Master Carr. Real felt is made of wool, not recycled Chinese synthetics.