1972 BSA Thunderbolt...

ApriliaBill

Yeah...I'm old school.
Ok, so I got a pretty good deal on a 72 BSA. I rebuilt the carb. and it was running pretty well. I wanted to change the paint scheme (current paint is very poor). Today I started taking the fuel tank off the bike.
1. Looks like the tank was poorly coated.
2. Tank seems to have quite a bit of rust (audibly) rolling around in it.
3. The left seem, below half tank, back by the seat, is seeping.
4. Petcocks are in pretty bad shape. One is completely closed up with rust.
After taking this all in, it seems I could drop almost as much on this tank as I spent on the whole bike. I see all this India stuff around, but I've seen a few issues and at 3 weeks turn around, you could eat a couple months if there is an issue. I wouldn't mind an alloy tank, but I don't want to break the bank. This is an oil in frame bike and not sure if anybody makes a drop on tank. I'm not doing a restoration, just trying to clean the bike up for riding.

So, I guess what I'm asking is for ideas. Does anybody carry a reasonable drop on tank? Alloy? Stock, closer than a world away? I have limited space and talent... I'm just looking to get the ol' girl back on the road with the dignity she deserves, but without draining the bank. I figure cleaning, recoating, painting, and taps could cost more than just buying a decent replacement.... I still have to rebuild the forks and a little electrical, but this tank issue has me a little stumped as to what I should do...
 
The stock BSA OIF tanks (US market) are notorious for cracking. And they're ugly.

There aren't alot of options for tanks to fit OIF frames, especially in the "reasonable" range.

Cheapest bet is a OIF Triumph tank. I've seen them go for $50 at the Barber swap. Just slap a BSA sticker on there!

Another good option is the European market tank for Triumph/BSA's. They're bigger and more sporty/ less dirt bikes lookin. I bought one awhile back for my A65 on EbayUK. Think I paid $200 plus shipping.
 

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AAAAAaaaagghhh.... I was looking at a tank like that, but wasn't sure it would fit. I bought another shoe box. At least now I know, if I run across one of those for reasonable, I'll pick it up and shelf it in case I ever need another...
 
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