Evinrude Problem

I have my father's 1960 3 hp Evinrude outboard motor that I have had for over 30 years sitting in my basement. It was in good running order when my father died. A few weeks ago I decided to get it running. When I took off the gas cap, I found out the aluminum inside of the cap had iodized leaving the gass tank full of aluminum sand. My question is what is the best way to clean this mess out? My thought is to wash it out with gasoline until the sand is out. But if there is any left, is there a way to prevent it from getting into the carb? Any thoughts would be appreciated. By the way, if any of you guys have an old motor, loosen the cap so this doesn't occur. I remember one of my Orvis fly rods came in an aluminum case, and I left it sealed for over a year and the same thing happen to it.

try a small shopvac with a little hose.i have cleaned out a few this wayto get out loose rust and such.

and then use the gas or alcohol to slosh it around and drain it. leave cap off to let it dry out. Chances are the carbs will need rebuilt after sitting so long and if any of the "sandy" stuff is in the tank supply line its on its way to the carbs already, so if you can disconnect it and even consider rigging in an inline fuel filter, it will prevent any particles from getting into the carbs. Good Luck.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am hoping it has a filter on it already but I have not had the time to look at it as yet.

If you can get the tank off put a handful sinkers or pea gravel in it and start shakin it,then rinse it out.

yes, if it needs treatment after removing all the scale, and you can remove it, the motorcycle shops sell gas tank sealer that you coat the inside with typically for rusty tanks, but if you want to keep this from hapening again, that would work, its not a low cost chemical though.