Gas Tank Strap and Finish
Short answer: Correct finish is a natural galvanized-steel tank with bare-steel (or gloss black) straps — per the Camaro Restoration Guide (Firebird and Camaro share the tank and straps). Clear-coating is a fine way to keep it fresh.
- Tank: use Eastwood’s tank coating or a quality galvanized spray — avoid cheap “galvanized look” paints (some go on dry and look terrible).
- Straps: base-coat with POR15, then top-coat with Eastwood “Fresh Steel” or gloss black.
- Insulators: the factory used tar-impregnated paper (like thick tar paper), not rubber — rubber shifts around and can squeak. Use 3M weatherstrip cement (“Gorilla Snot”) to hold the insulators in place while you raise and bolt in the tank.
One original 1968 tank was found coated in a paraffin-based undercoating that wiped clean with mineral spirits — along with green crayon factory assembly markings.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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