1978 f150 sat for 7 years

[WA hunter14]

i bought a 1978 f150 from an older man and he said it hasnt ran in 7 years well we got it running easily but i dont know if there is going to be rust in the gas tank(s)? we have been running it by sticking the fuel line in a gas can just to be safe. what are the chances that there is rust in the tanks? 100%? if so how do i tell and how do i get it out?

[jay.sharkbait]

Is the tank still behind the seat in 78? If so it's really easy to remove and clean it out.

[lostbackpacker]

put fresh high octane gas and a treatment of seafoam and see what happens

[WA hunter14]

no the gas tank is not behind the seat. and what if there is rust in the tank and i just put gas in it and start driving it what will happen?

[C-Money]

You may be changing fuel filters, i'd buy a few and keep them in the rig.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Worst case scenario is clogging the fuel system, pump, lines, filter and such. Just drop tank and clean it out.

[turkeyfeather]

I was in a similar situation when I bought my 78 about 7-8 years ago. Guy said secondry tank hadn't been used in 5 or so years. I didn't want to take the chance. I ordered a replacement tank from LMC truck. I think it was about $150. Installed it with the sending unit off of old tank and she was good to go. 

[Mike450r]

Replace any rubber fuel lines and drain the tank,  put a few gallons in there and disconnect the line to the carb,  turn it over and let it pump out and see what ya got coming out.  Hopefully the tank isn't bad but those rubber lines will often swell on the inside causing a restriction, I have had good luck with just replacing rubber lines when getting something like that on the road again.

[jackmaster]

I think you can have the tank vacuumed, either way those are easy to drop and clean, defiantly alot easier than todays rigs

[WA hunter14]

Replace any rubber fuel lines and drain the tank,  put a few gallons in there and disconnect the line to the carb,  turn it over and let it pump out and see what ya got coming out.  Hopefully the tank isn't bad but those rubber lines will often swell on the inside causing a restriction, I have had good luck with just replacing rubber lines when getting something like that on the road again.

thank you! For the advice that is exactly what i did then drove it probably 30 miles and got a new fuel filter runs great