Removing the Fuel Tank Closing Plate

Today I started the process of dropping the fuel tank by removing the fuel tank closing plate. This is not a difficult task, but does require some rolling around underneath the car; this is definitely a project that would be easier if I had a lift. I started by removing the smaller bolts at the front of the plate. If your bolts are like mine, they are rusty and prone to breaking off, so use gentle increasing pressure while trying to remove them. I was lucky and only one of mine broke off.

I then proceeded to remove the larger bolts along the edge of the closing panel, working my way from front to back. Once I removed the last two bolts on the back of the plate, I just gave the plate a gentle pull toward the back of the car and it fell, along with the mess you see in the picture. After cleaing up this mess with my shop-vac, I jiggled around the tank around a bit more and ended up cleaning up another mess just as large; and there is alot more crud that will come out once I get the tank pulled. I am sure something was living in the front of the car for some time because there is just too much "stuff" in here, including a ton of nuts that have been eaten. If I had to guess, I would say a squirrel was living in here for several years

The good news is that the fuel tank closing plate is in good condition. On one of my previous Delorean projects there was actually a large rust hole in the plate due to a leaking master cylinder. The master cylinder in this car did have a minor leak at one point, so some of the epoxy is wrinkled up on the top of the plate. My plan is to remove the epoxy on the closing panel, paint it with POR-15, and then cover that with a coat of Rustolium Smoke Grey to get the color match. This should insure that the closing plate stays in good condition, even if the master cylinder does leak again. Another project to add to the list! Just like every restoration... two steps forward, one step back.