Fuel Tank Opinions...

[bj383ss]

Rustbucket. The setup you described is what my dad's 72' had when he got it from my Grandpa. Two saddle tanks with the fillers pointing 45* toward the rear. Plus he had the seat tank as well. He used it to haul his camper to bluegrass festivals and needed alot of gas. My dad took them off because they were rusting out. They were a homemade job out of plate steal. They hung down about an 1 1/2" below the body. And he didnt have gauges for the saddle tanks so you had to switch over before it ran out of gas or else.

Bret

[rustbucket66]

My old tanks were originally a set of those saddle tanks that were fairly popular way back when. They used to cut a hole (ugh) in the boxside to access the filler neck, and put an aluminum door over it, that had a key lock on it. Lots of trucks up here had it, right up to 72, because of the limited capacity of the seat tank. I had the filler neck moved to the rear when they were new. The filler neck goes on the rear of the tank at about a 45, also it tilts outward a bit towards the wheel opening. Next time you are at the gas station, just point the handle into the opening, facing forward, and you will see how little room it takes, and where your filler neck should come out at. It takes a custom made tank, especially as far as installing the filler, but the dimensions of the tank are fairly straight forward to measure. There is a lot of fresh air in that space, and to put the fuel tank(s) there makes good use of that space. With the filler neck and cap being in the area I described, there are no filler caps or boards to flip up in the box floor, no gas tank doors or caps in the body, nothing. Very clean, you don't see the tanks, or the filler cap. Frees up a spot for your spare tire in the rear also. I'd like to have a coffee with the guy that cut all the holes in the boxsides of all those trucks way back when to install those saddle tanks, jeez.

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by rustbucket66

At last, someone is thinking about something other than the tank between the rear framerails. The last time I restored my truck, years back, I had the saddle type tanks, with the filler neck sitting at about a 45 facing rearwards, towards the wheel well opening. You couldn't even see it. No holes.....anywhere. Not on the box floor, or the body of the truck. I had a tin can sitting over the neck to protect it from the water and mud that the tire would throw around, and the filler neck and cap stayed perfectly clean underneath. At the gas station, slide the can off, and just stick the handle inside the fender opening towards the front, where the filler neck is, and fill it. This gives you the advantage of two tanks if you want, and still have a place to mount your spare tire at the back. I've thrown away my old tanks, as they were rusty, but I will get some custom made tanks made out of stainless, and fab some brackets to mount the tanks on, and bolt to the framerail. I think there was 18 or 20 gallons in each one, and a switch to change tanks. You need a sender on each tank if you are using two. I used a selenoid to switch tanks, and switch from a 73 to 80 chevy truck, and the guage works for each one. The cabs in these trucks have very little storage behind the seat, so it is nice to remove the tank so you can put speakers or storage compartments back there. I think I may be the only one to ever do it like this, but the advantages are many. It only works for fleetside boxes though, as the step on a stepside is right where the tank would be.

Excellent info, rustbucket66. For the past few months, I have been quietly doing my homework on a very similar mod for my '64. I am trying to utilize as many factory parts as possible, using easy-to-find, wrecking yard parts. I want the installation to look 100% factory. I like having my seat all the way back in the cab while still having room for storage, and I don't want to drive around with a spare tire laying in the bed. For me, saddle tanks are the only answer.

I'll post up the mod on my build thread very soon.

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Underbed, tig welded aluminum 16gal fuel cell with tank foam, filler neck hidden under false bed board.

Hey, I like your hidden fill neck--great idea and job!
sam

[1972RedNeck]

Personally I'd go with both.

[del66]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

I wonder why nobody ever considers using the saddle tank from a '73-'87 and mounting it in our trucks in the same location? This way, you can have the tank out of the cab to give you more room AND you can use the original spare tire location? Seems to me like that would be the best of both worlds...

It's a Chevy. I can almost bet you can use all factory parts to make it work.

I tried this idea, and later regretted it. There is a lot of trimming on the back of the cab (I regretted this part), and then it still hangs down a lot. The rear cab mounts need to be moved also. The floor on the 73 was changed quite a bit. Not saying it will not work, but there is some work involved, and it did not work for me.

del

[chevyrestoguy]

That's great info, and that's just the stuff I need to know while I'm brainstorming this idea. I will take all of your info into consideration before I commit to anything.

[rustbucket66]

There is no way an OEM tank out of anything will work as saddletanks. It has to be a fabbed tank and mounting brackets, with the filler neck in the right spot at the rear for it to work.

[CRGRS 66]

have a look at post 6300 in "what did you do to your truck today", Rich has done what looks like the most perfect rear tank I have ever seen, no disrespect to what others have done mind you...