Corvette Gas tanks

I just puchased a 1989 Corvette.  The car has been sitting for some time with a full tank.  The fuel smells like laquer.  I was told the tank will need to be removed and the liquid boiled out or find a new tank.  Can anyone help with this.  I would prefer to find a replacement tank and if not is there an easier way to clean this tank out?  

The mechanic has a new fuel pump but I will probably need to find a sending unit and injectors.  

it only takes half an hour to pull the sending unit out of the top...    pick up a new gasket first...

siphon out the old fuel....  there are places to get rid of it...   oil recycling companies.. are one place to call...

there is enough room to reach in and mop out the tank... with rags... they have a lining...  there is a guy in los angeles  818 area code  craiglist who has a bunch of tanks.. but you have to pull the rear bumper to change it..  he had some... with out a hanger they were cheep...

sending unit/pump hangers are also available after market...   change the filter...   pick up new orings for it...

put some gas in the tank... with the filter off.. run the pump... flush the line... put the new filter on... with the return line off at the tank....   run the pump....   let it sit over night...   run the pump again.. with the return fuel going into a container... so no dirty flushed debris goes into the tank...     the b12 chem tool fuel injector cleaner has worked good for me in the past...  clear tapered bottle...     the stuff in the steel can is just a tiny bit too strong to go through later gm injectors...

the car will probably start...     please don't run too much concentration of the injector cleaner...   it will smoke... like you won't believe...  

Thanks for the info.  The mechanic working on it told me that he had to pull the exhaust off, the drive shaft and drop the rear end to get the old tank out.  At this point I am not sure he is interested in working on the vehicle.  I may have towed home and work on it myself over the Winter.

Thanks again for the info.  

be sure to get a factory manual if you intend on pulling the tank...

you might also check the tech section above... someone will have done it...

the mufflers do have to drop off...   that might take a whole 10 minutes... to get them off..

but the tank is mounted on top of the rear frame rails... so if you want to change the entire tank... the rear bumper has to come off...   the tank is lined...  so unless the lining is pealing off.. it does not have to come out...

it only takes about half an hour to pull the sending unit.. and pump as one part...     do invest in some ball end extensions ... makes it easier to get the 10 mm socket on at an angle...

take it home.. buy a new sending unit gasket from chevy...  so you can seal it up... between jobs...

you can even wire up a remote switch... and use the factory pump to pump the tank almost dry...

hand pumps are available from harbor freight tools... several under 20 bucks... that would work...     do call an oil recycler first... so you can dispose of the swamp fuel easily...

best of luck... keep us posted... with results and questions...  

Thanks for the info.  I did speak with the mechanic after your first reply.  I have ordered a new AC Delco sending unit which comes with a pump.  In the meantime he has agreed to pump out the tank and try cleaning it the best he can prior to trying your method of running vehicle with return line into a bucket.

I spoke with a friend of mine, he does not own a vette but knows pretty much everything there is to know about each model, not a mechanis though.  He advised me the first thing to do was to join one of these sites and get talking.  He was right.

Thanks again.  I will post the result.