Dirt in tank causing problems

Nearly a couple of weeks ago I bought a 1973 P6 V8
10 miles into the 80 mile journey home it cut out several times. The previous owner had always run with a full tank and I had set off with it only half full.

I drained the tank and filled it again but it was still running unevenly

This was inside the carbs

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I fitted this

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The bottle on the right is what was going into the filter. The bottle on the left what was coming out

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After 1 hour

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The next day with some new fuel

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I thought about adding another filter after the first one?

In the meantime I removed the tank. This is what comes out with out after sloshing a little fuel around.

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The trouble seems the baffles (?) Are stopping the loose debris from running out. After emptying the fuel I can hear the loose stuff slide down the tank

if I can't get the loose stuff out now would it be wise to put ballast in there to clean it up?

Perhaps a vac attachment through the sender hole?
 
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Getting everything out takes ages....Lots of flushing and shaking will get most of it out though. You can use the filler pipe as a drain too. When I've had to do it I've got it down to the last bit then put it outdoors in the sun for week to dry it out, you can then shake out the loose stuff then finish off with a commercal size vacuum, out doors...The tank needs to be totally free of petrol and No flames anywhere in sight as the vacuums output will be highly inflammable. Probably should clean the elements with soapy water afterward and run it for a while to clear the fumes...Safest approach is to blow air in rather than suck it out....The tank is designed to handle small amounts of dirt. The reserve pickup is filtered and the main pickup is higher up in the tank. Dont forget to flush the two pipes to the carbs and the return line...
M
 
I took the tank to Morrisons and used their jet wash lance on it. It seemed to remove quite a bit of what looked like red sand (probably rust)

I came back and rinsed it with petrol a few times. I can still hear particles moving around but the fuel coming out is pretty clear

I don't think i can do much more at the moment

A lot has come out. I drained the tub and this was left behind. It's like dried water colour paint powder

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There will be quite a bit in these too

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So the tank's back in and it's running. I would say the fuel coming to and from the in-line filter is not bad. It seemed a little rough on start up but better when restarted. I will try and take for a run tomorrow to see how it behaves ;)
 
Well, so far so good. I've just been on a 10 mile round trip and it was great. Initial startup seemed a bit uneven but once rolling it was fine. It's a bit whiffy in the fume department but that could be just the way it is
 
The sealing ring at the cap may need replacing. This caused very bad fumes on my P5B some years back.

Yeah it seems more like fumes from the exhaust. Like it's running rich?

The garage door right behind the car has a big black splodge where i have been starting ii up

But hopefully the rolling road with either help or tell me more about the state of tune
 
I would also inspect the vent tube made of plastic. It goes from the tank top out the left hand side by the D post sail panel and down to the the rear left wheel arch. I've seen those crack from age and stick up the cabin.
 
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