From the time I began disassembly, my plan was to leave the tank place and just work around it, figuring it was way too much work to pull it out and there was no need since nobody would be able to see around the tank when it was finished. As the time for sandblasting got closer, I figured the more stuff removed would mean more places would get sandblasted, resulting in a more complete job; plus I knew I would feel better about it when the job was done.

I devised a plan to use the beam over the carport at the house next to the shop and cleared it with the landlord. Knowing the tank really did not weigh that much, I was not concerned with pulling the roof down, but I decided to get some lumber to make a cripple to give the beam some extra support. With a rented chain hoist and help from Todd Powers, Dan Meyers and Liz Norris, the tank was pulled from the truck. The biggest challenge was getting the chain to lift the tank up evenly, but regardless of what link we hooked to, it wanted to tilt. We finally just decided to get it up as high as possible and lift the tail end over the rear body supports.

After the tank was out, we placed it on my old car trailer and hauled it away to be stored out of the way. It was very interesting to be able to see and gain access to everything that had been hidden by the tank. This access would now allow me to clean all the dirt and crud off the frame rails and other chassis components.