The BlackBird Gas Tank

This is the run down on how I modified a sportster tank for the BlackBird. I by no means consider myself a fabricator or a teacher. This is just how I went about it.

The final result is something I hated but is starting to grow on me a little bit. It changed my entire vision of what I saw for the final out come of this bike but like they say..... You just have to let them built themselves.

I started by cutting out the bottom and filler cap then rounded out the flat spot in the top of the tank. I didn't have sandbags or those fancy hammers you see Jesse James using on TV so I did my best to duplicate it. I cut down one side of a rubber mallet and layed the tank face down on a pile of tarps and beat the shit out of it to round out the top of the tank.

Hillbilly Hammer

Filling the filler

Mapping out my cuts. Half inch out of the top and one inch out of the bottom. Turned out to be a lot more than I expected.

cutting

tacking it back together

A big difference..... I hated it. Too much out of the back.

After finish welding the top I took it to Bravetown and used Slippery Petes English Wheel.

I filled the tunnel then added to the bottom in the front then cut off some in the back. The idea was that if I take out in the back and add to the front I could change the appearance of the tank and still hold plenty of fuel. I used 16 gage steel everywhere steel was added.

Making the tunnel out of some scrap tubing.

I hated the tank so I started getting stupid with it at this point. I found some scrap round rod and started bending it.

This was to highlight the filler cap.

I figured this wasn't enough so I cut out the center to add a dished section.

The table I was working on had a few different sized holes in it so I took advantage of one of them. I busted out my hillbilly hammer again with the added help of a torch.

template

I made a petcock bung on the lathe and welded it in.

I couldn't wait any longer for my filler caps and bungs to come in so I stole a cap off the Ironhead and made this bung for it.

Rock and Roll

I wanted something clean so I used these allens and made so tank mount tabs.

Rear mount..... reminded me of something Mitch would try to smoke something out of.