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On the way home, I thought I heard a rattle from the rear of my 93 Daytona. At first I thought it was just the snow brush against the interior panels. But as I listened more carefully, it sounded metallic. All gauges and handling were normal, so I finished the 35 mile ride home (it was raining hard and no safe place to stop). When I got home I looked under the car and saw something hanging in the rear. A gas tank strap! I was riding home on the left strap, and the friction fit of the filler pipe.
At first I thought the stud had somehow broken, or the strap. No problem, I happen to have 2 new straps in the basement. No such luck.
The support plate on the bottom of the floorpan for the strap stud broke off from the floorpan! This is probably the worst scenario, because it will take more examination and planning. I don't know yet if the weld broke or if it rotted off. If the former, no big deal. If the latter, I'll have to examine the floorpan and evaluate whether there will be further risk of loss of integrity.
I'm thinking as long as the floorpan is intact, I'll find a thick metal plate as a replacement, mount it either inside or underneath the floorpan with a new SS bolt as a stud, and bolt the plate to the floorpan. If the floorpan is rotted around it, I'll either have to have the tank pulled, new metal welded in and reinstall everything, or consider getting rid of the car. Hate to do the latter, there's still a lot of potential life to the car.
At first I thought the stud had somehow broken, or the strap. No problem, I happen to have 2 new straps in the basement. No such luck.
The support plate on the bottom of the floorpan for the strap stud broke off from the floorpan! This is probably the worst scenario, because it will take more examination and planning. I don't know yet if the weld broke or if it rotted off. If the former, no big deal. If the latter, I'll have to examine the floorpan and evaluate whether there will be further risk of loss of integrity.
I'm thinking as long as the floorpan is intact, I'll find a thick metal plate as a replacement, mount it either inside or underneath the floorpan with a new SS bolt as a stud, and bolt the plate to the floorpan. If the floorpan is rotted around it, I'll either have to have the tank pulled, new metal welded in and reinstall everything, or consider getting rid of the car. Hate to do the latter, there's still a lot of potential life to the car.