1960 Lark VIII Wagon questions...

[cultural infidel]

To swap out the grill, do I need to remove the whole front fascia of the car? I got the top 4 bolts off and am trying to dig out the bolts in the wheel wells, but they are currently buried by decades of dirt caked on.

I have started to finally work on my car. New Radiator hoses are in, oil changed, changing all the fluids, checking the brakes etc. Still need to get a new fan belt for the car s the original one cracked and fell apart as soon as I touched it.

I still need to empty the gas tank.... Does anyone know, if by longshot, that there is a drain plug of the tank haha? Or do I need to drop the whole tank?

Progress is Progress

[Mike Van Veghten]

To swap (no "out" needed) or remove the "grill", no the front sheet metal doesn't need to be removed. Just a long reach from the bottom up to all of the nuts.
As I recall, I didn't need to go into the fender wells, just up from behind the bumper. OR...remove the radiator.

If you are speaking of the side grill openings, then yes, from the fender wells.

Mike

[1oldtimer]

Either through the underside or from the top just behind the grille in front of the radiator. Speed nuts screwed onto the cast in grille housing, be careful not to break the studs off as they're part of the grille. Also if you have the regal trim it's just sandwiched between the grille and body.

[6hk71400]

If you ever need to remove the front clip the entire front will come out with just 6 bolts. 3 on the left of the firewall, 3 on the right of the firewall and the entire clip comes off. That is the way they were assembled with the hood placed first then the clip.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[altair]

I have a 63 gas tank and there is only a dimple where the bung should be but no drain plug. I am sure a drain plug could be fabricated in the dimple.

[StudeRich]

I have a 63 gas tank and there is only a dimple where the bung should be but no drain plug. I am sure a drain plug could be fabricated in the dimple.

That is because all the Introductory Cars entered in a Major Auto Show HAD to have the Fuel drained, so they did have a drain plug on the "Show Jobs" as the Factory workers called them.

You could remove the Sending Unit and siphon/vacuum pump all the fuel out through there.

[r1lark]

That is because all the Introductory Cars entered in a Major Auto Show HAD to have the Fuel drained, so they did have a drain plug on the "Show Jobs" as the Factory workers called them,

And I believe that a lot of the export cars had the drain plug also.

[62champ]

The grill is held on by those little sheet metal nuts - this photo will show you approximately where they are - some are under the hood in front of the top radiator tank while others have to be reached from underneath - and as mentioned earlier those at the top are an arms reach. Good luck.

[altair]

This is what the dimple looks like

[cultural infidel]

Well I have a few of the nuts off to remove the grill. Still trying to figure out a better way to reach and get the rest. Havent had the time to get back after it. Working on it this week. Once the grill is done, I am dropping the gas tank to empty it. Slow progress. Fingers crossed for an end of August appearance at the Elks Car Show!

[studeclunker]

If you ever need to remove the front clip the entire front will come out with just 6 bolts. 3 on the left of the firewall, 3 on the right of the firewall and the entire clip comes off. That is the way they were assembled with the hood placed first then the clip.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

Um Bob, you have to disconnect the front as well. After pulling the radiator, the shell is connected at the bottom and I believe either side as well, so that's nine bolts in all, if I recall correctly.

[BILT4ME]

Well I have a few of the nuts off to remove the grill. Still trying to figure out a better way to reach and get the rest. Havent had the time to get back after it. Working on it this week. Once the grill is done, I am dropping the gas tank to empty it. Slow progress. Fingers crossed for an end of August appearance at the Elks Car Show!

Just the two straps on the gas tank.
Make sure you use PB blaster on the bolts for a few days ahead of time. These are fine thread hardened bolts, so they may not snap off, but they will be hard to get loose.
We pulled the tank on our 59 Lark (found one mouse nest above it that had been there 30+ years). There is also a couple of rubber strips on top that should be replaced before reinstalling. The inside of our tank was clean, but we needed to replace the float on the sending unit and the gasket on the pickup. Look up the float replacement here on the forum. (95 Jeep Grand Cherokee)

We had the OUTSIDE of the tank bead blasted, then coated it with (2) coats of POR-15.

When you pull the hose off the bottom of the tank, it may drain.

[cultural infidel]

Just the two straps on the gas tank.
Make sure you use PB blaster on the bolts for a few days ahead of time. These are fine thread hardened bolts, so they may not snap off, but they will be hard to get loose.
We pulled the tank on our 59 Lark (found one mouse nest above it that had been there 30+ years). There is also a couple of rubber strips on top that should be replaced before reinstalling. The inside of our tank was clean, but we needed to replace the float on the sending unit and the gasket on the pickup. Look up the float replacement here on the forum. (95 Jeep Grand Cherokee)

We had the OUTSIDE of the tank bead blasted, then coated it with (2) coats of POR-15.

When you pull the hose off the bottom of the tank, it may drain.

Thank you for the info. I was planning to do some kind of coating to the outside, depending on how it looks once pulled. One of my customers said that they could fully clean and reseal the tank for about $175. Not sure if that will be needed though. I'll have to see how everything looks when it pours out.

[BILT4ME]

Thank you for the info. I was planning to do some kind of coating to the outside, depending on how it looks once pulled. One of my customers said that they could fully clean and reseal the tank for about $175. Not sure if that will be needed though. I'll have to see how everything looks when it pours out.

Don't do any kind of sealer inside the tank. EVERYONE I have ever talked to about this has had failure issues within 5 years. Just clean out the rust, dirt, crud, and as long as there are no holes, it's fine. We blasted the OUTSIDE because there was surface rust with some pitting starting. I wanted to make sure it was CLEAN and well coated on the outside to prevent future rust.

[cultural infidel]

Life's been wild the last year. Ups n downs. Finally got this mocked into place...