Imperial Homepage -> Repair -> Fuel -> Tank -> Drain Plugs
Question from Mike (1956):
At the front of the '56 Imperial gas tank (bottom side) is what appears to be some sort of a plug or drain. My tank had a slight leak here, in addition to a dry rotted looking hose from the filler tube to the tank, so I've pulled the tank in order to do a full clean up/seal the tank/check & adjust sending unit job. Can anyone please tell me if this plug is threaded, and can be removed by using a 1/2" square drive to remove it? Or is it meant to be permanent, and I should leave it alone and just clean around it and POR-15 it to fix the seepage problem?
Replies:
From Doug:
My '58 also has a drain plug on the bottom of the gas tank. From what I am told most cars have them back in the 50's. For some kind of reason they were deemed dangerous and were deleted in later years.
From Dave:
My '60 Imperial does not have a drain plug.
From Dick:
This is a threaded plug. However, it is screwed into a part which is held to the tank sheet-metal by a crimped seam, and unless it unscrews easily, I'd leave it alone - the seepage will be cured by the tank sealant. Attempting to force this plug to unscrew after 47 years may lead to a whole bunch of trouble that you don't need to face!
From Ted:
My Imps and N.Y.er's also have them. Was told they were later eliminated to save Ma Mopar a few bucks in production costs. They sure were handy for draining old gas, or contaminated gasoline.
From Arran:
Nine times out of ten when an auto manufacturer discontinues the inclusion of a feature, like a gas tank plug, it is due to cost cutting. If you think about it is a seldom used feature that most car shoppers wouldn't contemplate in their decision to buy a car. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that the gas tank plug costs $.50 cents to include with each gas tank. Given the scope of production that Chrysler had then, roughly 1,000,000 cars per year, that $.50 cents adds up to $500,000 dollars. Since mechanics don't have to drain gas tanks that often, and it isn't a selling feature to car buyers, and costs the company $500,000 dollars to include across their production range, why not eliminate it if it's not warranted?
This page last updated February 20, 2004. Send us your feedback, and come join the Imperial Mailing List - Online Car Club
