F-14 Gas tank replacement

[Bill McCleneghen]

On my F-14, I need to pull the deck and replace the gas tank. I have been putting this project off because I know its going to be laborous. Anyone have any tips for me before I start? Thanks for your help

[Morgan's Cloud]

Bill ,

I would'nt think that too many of us have done tanks for F14 s for some reason :wink: .. But doing tanks happens more around here than anywhere else I'd bet . I hope to put my deck back on in fact in the next week or so from a resto prompted by the forward tank replacement. Do you have to remove your floor liner also to get get to the tank ? If you don't and the tank is your only mission it's not as bad a job as you might think.
Labour intensive may seem unpleasant untill you realise what the alternative is :eek:

Steve

[Bill McCleneghen]

Bill ,

I would'nt think that too many of us have done tanks for F14 s for some reason :wink: .. But doing tanks happens more around here than anywhere else I'd bet . I hope to put my deck back on in fact in the next week or so from a resto prompted by the forward tank replacement. Do you have to remove your floor liner also to get get to the tank ? If you don't and the tank is your only mission it's not as bad a job as you might think.
Labour intensive may seem unpleasant untill you realise what the alternative is :eek:

Steve
Floor Liner???? I am under the impression that deck and floor are all one piece. It looks like I can detach the deck from the hull, and then cut the fiberglass straps that attach to the stringers and then the cap will pull right off..... does this not sound correct? Also, where the deck and the hull are screwed together.... did Donzi use anything besides the screws to hold it together ....such as fiberglass...5200... or silicone? To answer you in short,,,yes that top half of the boat needs to come off in order to change the tank...
Thanks

[Morgan's Cloud]

Bill ,

I've only ever seen a few pictures of F14 s. If they are built like the majority of the other classics , I would have thought that the 'floor tub' 'floor bucket' whatever.... is a seperate unit from the deck (as it is on my St T ). I believe that Scott (aka Madpoodle) has one of these in his personal armada and will no doubt be able to point you in a better direction than me. If you do have to remove the floor unit one way or the other is the coring in it good ? Now if you want to talk about labourious ask me about this topic :biggrin:

Otherwise maybe Scott will see this (you can bet he will) and will chime in !


As for the deck joint, I would guess our boats are similar vintages.Besides the screws there was only a low tech sealer (mostly dried out) when I got mine a long time ago. Seperated very easy !

Steve

[Bill McCleneghen]

Thanks Steve,

I understand that there arent many who have done the tank replacement on the F14s, as there arent that many of them around. But, it is pretty obvious to me that the cap is all one piece, no seams at all. So my plan is to pull the motor, steering column, unscrew rub rail, cut the fiberglass tabs in the hatches, and pull it off. Sounds easy huh???? We'll see, but I really do appreciate the input form those of you who have done similiar jobs on your boats. This is a great resource of info. I'll take pictures as it goes.... but I am still procrastinating on this job...... think I'll take my time on it.

Bill

[Morgan's Cloud]

We're having a great time here huh Bill ? :biggrin:

I'm sure MP will chime in as soon as he sees this topic.

As for procrastinating , just call it 'psyching yourself out to get the job done' !

I went through the psyching out bit for about 4 years (had every detail worked out in my head) and then started in Jan 2002.. am still at it, but I'm working outside and singlehanded.

Most definitely post pics when you get going, I love this stuff !

S

[gcarter]

Bill, I'm just finishing up my Minx. Maybe you would like to look at this;http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36703
Well, it's bigger, but it all works the same I guess.

[Bill McCleneghen]

Well, now I am a little confused after looking at Mad Poodle's pictures. It appears that in his pictures that the cap and his floor are two diffrent pieces, on my F14 it is all one piece. Floor is attached to the cap. Am I wrong?

[CDMA]

Bill,

The pictures of that 14 is mine. You are correct the floor is missing. Amazing what you can do with a sawsall....

Even more amazing is I think I actually know what I am doing...

Chris

[Bill McCleneghen]

Chris,
Now I am curious as to why you cut the floor out. What power do you have in your F14?