Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have a 67 elan SS s3 and have had the gas tank cleaned out. The exterior of the tank is coated with a tar coating..... Is this the original sealer or did some one goober the stuff on? If it's not original... what is?
Regards
Greg Foster

My stock tanks have always had a mat black paint finish, some with a slight "crackle" texture. I know of no tar coatings, maybe another SS feature!

Hello Greg, just realized it was you, how's the Cortina block coming? My +2 is the one with the crackle finish, I think just plain non gloss black paint was applied at the factory on Elans. Eric

Hi Eric, Good to hear from you.
I haven't had time to work on the block as I also want to set up the head and blueprint everything at the same time. Still looking for a weber head although I could pull one off another car I have.
My +2 elans both have smooth paint on the gas tanks, no tar coating....and I believe they are original.
Greg

Undercoating was popular back in the 60s-70s which sounds like what yours is coated with. The idea was to prevent rust/corrosion. Is the underside of your car sprayed with the same? It's a royal mess as fuel will break it down as will most petro solvents. FWIW: My S4's tank was just painted black, no crinkle finish nor tar.

fj..

The outside of my S2 tank was just black paint, too.

I think I will strip the tar off the tank and paint with a quality epoxy or similar. Thanks for the replys!
Greg