Projects 32 Ford gas tank fuel line clearance problems

I ran into a problem with clearance for the fuel supply and return lines at the gas tank on my 32 Ford coupe project.
I have a Brookville coupe body and a Tanks Inc. standard size gas tank. I had to use one of the Tanks Inc. in tank electric fuel pumps because I could not fit a mechanical pump with the motor mount I'm using, but the tank pickup fittings are the same for both.
Here is the in tank pump fittings.

Here is a photo of the pump fitting with the body on. (Sorry for the bad picture, it's difficult to get a good shot under there). The trunk floor actually sits on top of the inlet and outlet fittings and the vent fitting hits the angled part of the floor. The photo is a little deceiving, there is no way to connect to the tank fittings without hitting the trunk floor directly in front of them.

What do you guys normally do to run the fuel lines to the tank?
What do you do to get the trunk floor to not sit on top of the pump fittings?
Here is the way I was trying to route the lines.

I'm thinking about making more room for the fuel lines by cutting out a section of trunk floor as shown in the photo and moving the rear raised section of the floor forward to give me more space.

What's my best option to fix this.

 

I’d look for a way to clock the fuel pump if possible to put the fittings in a different direction.

Even if that meant drilling new holes in the fuel pump flange to make it happen if it only fits that one way.

Much easier than cutting the floor.

 

Is the body directly on the frame, or are webbing or cushions in place? 1/4” might make a difference.
Can you gain any room by bending up a 3/8 hard line with inverted flare nut
and short 45* bend it toward the frame rail?

 

I tried it the way you show, but it places the supply connection in the same orientation as the vent outlet which ends up running directly into the trunk floor.

 

Are you going to provide a tank maintenance access opening in the trunk floor?
Or remove tank out the rear to service tank after body is installed?

 

I have built over a dozen customer package deuce roadsters over the years and have had a similar problem on the few that I plumbed with fuel lines. Take a look at the brass fittings offered by McMaster Carr. I have used a 45 degree brass hose barb fitting that fits a lot tighter than what you are using.

 

I did shim up the body 1/4" just to clear the top of the fittings. The real problem is that there is not much room in front of the pump fittings. The fittings are 1/4 inch pipe thread. If I try to put any adapter fitting or short nipple in them it will hit the trunk floor leaving no room to attach a hose or tube.
If you look at the photo of the pump assembly, you can see that there is not much distance from the center vent outlet hose barb which already is hitting the trunk floor and the threaded fittings.

 

Thanks Krylon, McMaster-Carr to the rescue. This might work. I hope there is enough room to turn the fitting and have the barb end miss the pump mount flange.
https://www.mcmaster.com/53525K47/
I might even try this 45 * fitting and then a hose barb or inverted flare adapter.
https://www.mcmaster.com/50785K82/

 

I did consider putting an access panel in the trunk floor, but I think it would be easier to just remove the tank for maintenance.

 

I think you’re wrong on that one. We recently lifted the pickup bed up with a chain hoist to change the fuel pump in my son’s OT Chevy truck and even that was way easier than removing the tank.

If I had the choice, working through a good sized removable access panel would be preferable to trying to drain and drop a tank.

 

I hope you weren't really planning on using those "plumbing" pieces, they are the biggest part of your issue, and I'm with you on not wanting to stack up adapters (most of the time).
A correctly oriented pair of the right adapter fittings such as AN style should get your lines pointing in the right direction. A small access "bump" is a good idea also if it's really needed.
Yes, it's pretty tight under a deuce for anything other than stock but nearly a million modified deuces have been put on the road.

 

I made an access panel in the floor. Much easier to work with. It'll be a bitch tryng to remove the tank otherwise. Undoing the fittings with no access? Unless you run real long hoses!

 

Access door every time, then you can wire and plumb at your leisure , plus if there happens to be a small tank to sender leak you can deal with it. And you can also ensure nothing has moved and you are 100% happy with clearance. As @beater32 says how are you going to undo a tank fitting you cant see?

 

That's the fitting I have used. Might have to install the fitting in the pickup before you install it in the tank? Also I have use just a 1/4 pipe to 3/8th hose barb fitting directly into the Tanks fitting. Either way it's more compact than what you currently have.

 

My '54 is a bit different than your deuce but I had the same issue with trunk floor clearance. With the pump installed, the fittings stood an inch above the trunk floor. I cut an access hole and built a raised cover to conceal/protect the fittings and fuel lines.

 

No those are just pieces I used for a mockup. I do want to transition to some kind of AN fitting.

 

I think I will cut out the trunk floor section as shown in the photo. This will give me a better idea of what I have to use fitting wise to connect to the pump. It's hard to visualize what is needed in that tight space by looking in from the side with the body on.
If I can do it without modifying the trunk floor I'll just weld that piece back in. I have feeling I'll have to have a raised trunk floor section above the pump to make it work with the AN fittings I want to use.
As far as whether to use an access panel or not, my plan is to run hose sections from the pump over to the inside frame rail in front of the rear axle and connect to hard lines that will run along the frame to a filter and regulator and then to the firewall. If I need to remove the pump I would disconnect the hoses at the frame rail and then slide the tank out.
If I have to modify the trunk floor and raise it, I'll consider putting an access panel there.
I'll cut the floor tomorrow and post photos to let you guys see exactly what I'm dealing with and make a decision on how to make this work.

 

When building a 32 with the tank in the rear it's always a good idea to have a hole in the trunk floor to access the sender and pickup unit. Henry Ford did it that way originally

 

I'm with the others who suggest an access panel in the trunk floor. My 3W, Roadster and '97 GMC all have modified access panels for fuel line connections and fuel pump. My GMC has over 300k miles on it and is on its 4th fuel pump. I can replace the fuel pump in 20 minutes. Make it easy for yourself and cut the hole.

 

So Brookville copied an original 3 window coupe to make their repro body and forgot to put in the access door.
Well I'm convinced an access door is the way to go so I'll be doing that. I'll go ahead and raise the floor section since it will be getting modified for an access door.

 

^^^^ Yes access door is an option ..
There is so many companies marketing """Made as Original """
and there are completely not.
I have had the same issues with Tanks / aftermarket fuel pump in Tank on steel Body's .
Even with access door, ( will stick up higher then trunk/ floor pan. (5W & Sedan) So I used tight radius tube bender with rollers wheel . SS 3/8 tube removed the Square block (out) & return Fitting , fabricated 2 new Lines come down following the shape of the tank (back side of tank ) then turn towards passenger side rail ,& used A/N - Jic male # 6 on fuel ends ( both from pump In & out)
( Tig weld )
You can use steel & mig , or copper Soldier if you prep clean well .

Aeroquip makes the tightest Radius fitting witch are for PTFE steel braided line / hose

 

An original for reference.

 

^^^ like above ,then I turned towards frame rail.

 

He sure you shim the whole body the 1;4 inch.

 

the only Body shims should be @ rear sub rail , @ least the 32s helped / worked on Full fender , I have not had a body off a 3w

 

On an original '32 Ford , the access hole in the floor is over the bulkhead fittings at the forward edge of the gas tank .
There is no access over the pickup / sending unit .

 

Anything higher than this is not going to clear the stock floor .
Things are really tight right there .

 

Thanks for the photo, I was wondering how an original tank looked. That explains why there is so little room with the repro tank and the inlet-outlet fittings.

 

I cut out the floor above the pump to get a better idea of what needed to be done. I could instantly tell that I would have to move the angled floor section forward to make room for the fittings and hose that connect to the pump.
You can see how little space there is between the pump fittings and the angled part of the trunk floor.


I moved the cutout section forward a few inches and this gave me all the space needed to fit the fuel lines. Also moving the piece forward raised the rear section up about one inch, this will let me set the body on the frame without shimming the back to clear the pump fittings.

Made some card board templates for the side pieces to box it in. I'll have to add a top piece to fill in, and decide what to do for an access hole. That's as far as I got today.