Value of L5 Fuel tanks

[John Griffin]

I recently bought an O-435-1 from a fellow and as we get ready to ship, he tells me he has both right and left fuel tanks for an L5. He doesn’t know the value and neither do I. Can someone give a ballpark price for the tanks?  Thanks

[Sam Taber]

Hi John,

My opinion…. I have seen tanks advertised for +$1000 asking price . But realistic terms depending on condition, 200-350 ea. is a fair price.  Shipping alone will almost match that price too.

 

Sam Taber

[admin]

First, be sure they’re L-5 tanks. The Stinson 108 fuel tanks look very similar and it’s easy to mistake the two. Many people have contacted me over the years thinking they had L-5 tanks when they were really for a Voyager. The 108 tanks are longer (20 gallons vs 18) and don’t have gauges on the inboard ends. As a point of reference, BAS advertises $500 per tank for clean, used 108 tanks, guaranteed to be in useable condition.

The problem with pricing L-5 tanks is they aren’t in high demand and shipping is expensive. When someone does need one, then it’s a different story. Shipping becomes more or less irrelevant. Since that doesn’t happen very often they should be priced low enough that someone would be inclined to buy them for a “rainy day”.  I sat on a pair for  ten years before they were needed.

Obviously, condition is important. If they have been cleaned and leak-tested, don’t have any patches, and the tops aren’t beat up they’re worth about what Sam quoted. If they include gauges, caps and vents, they’re worth a bit more.  NOS in crates (a few of those have turned up in recent years), they’d be worth at least $1000 each. Cosmetically rough and un-tested, the cost of shipping makes them a hard sell, so it would be a matter of accepting whatever someone was willing to offer.

JG

[John Griffin]

Thanks Sam, He is going to put them on the pallet with the engine and I will send him payment after I’ve seen them. Don’t need them, but like everthing else, spares are nice when you need them. I’m still grounded, got the cylinders back from chrome, then the valve seats were wrong, now it appears to be moving again. Chris ordered different seats and should have my cylinders done this coming week. Been down over 3 months now. I’m sending him 4 more cylinders to build up with the new pistons I found. I will have spares on the shelf next time. Thanks again.

 

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