assuming you can get it out and clean it throughly, its hard to believe that a top flight local fabricator couldn't saw 8" off the end of that and tig weld a new one on for 350 bucks or less... sounds like an easy decision to me...unless you REALLY want a cell... no magic at all to modifying your existing one...

Yah, my bud has a big lincoln TIG. He's a great welder so that wouldn't be a problem. i'll probably go that route.

Aluminum is very porous, so it's been soaking up impurities all these years, it will be difficult but not impossible to weld it back together!

Yea i hear you on porous. it would have to be as clean as i could possibly get it. My bud just welded a used oil tank for his funny car and it came out really nice. i guess i'll see how it goes.

See about having your local radiator shop boil it out before he welds it.

actually would suggest NOT boiling it for a couple reasons... first the solvents a lot of those shops use are very aggressive with aluminum and your tank is 5052-0 probably and could disappear before your very eyes... second a lot of times the heat will open the pores and the chemical solvent becomes almost embeded which makes welding a nightmare...

a clean cut with a sawzall and a through cleaning with one of those high speed 80 nylon scuffy wheels will take off a few thou and get you to virgin material... but your guy knows all this...

Most shops here in the states no longer are allowed to used the good chemicals that etch into the aluminum. Nowadays it's usually a boiling soapy water mixture.

I'll cut it w/a sawzall, sand the area to be welded, and have him weld a nice bead all the way around. Then i'll pressure check the tank. that should work good. hopefully!!

Well I shortened the tank by 1 foot. it came out perfect! Plus I got a free craftsman phillips screwdriver that someone lost in the tank! I am thinking of ways to mount the tank without using foam, I don't see any way to keep the stuff from soaking up water. I was thinking four 1/4" ,2" wide stainless straps formed to the bottom of the tank, bolted to the stringers. The concern I have is does the hull NEED the extra support of the foam and tank? Any info would be great!!