I thought my sweat equity might help some other HAMBers out there. I am nearly finished installing a 49-52 Chevrolet passenger car fuel tank in the rear frame of my 65 Chevy C10 Shortbed. Not much room in a shortbed for one of these tanks. I bought the new steel tank from Tanks, Inc. The reason this tank works good is it does not stick down to low like a lot of these rear mount tanks do and the fuel filler neck comes out of the corner instead of the top. If you got any questions or need additional pictures just let me know.. Gas Tank Sending unit http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATK59SU P/N ATK59SU 47-87 UNIVERSAL GAS TANK SENDING UNIT 0-30 ohms
Looks to be a perfect fit. Nice! How many gallons in that tank? Will that sending unit work with the stock gauge?
It is a 15 gallon tank. Gas Tank Sending unit http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATK59SU P/N ATK59SU 47-87 UNIVERSAL GAS TANK SENDING UNIT 0-30 ohms Here is the link to the Tanks, Inc. page: http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/p...ategory_id=77/home_id=59/mode=prod/prd113.htm Bob Drake is also now selling Chevy Gas Tanks for a few bucks less than Tanks. You will need to call them, they don't have the tanks on their website yet. http://www.bobdrake.com/
Thanks for the tip, I could only find the "low hangers" as well and had resigned myself to building from scratch. Dave
A bit more information: Installation was complicated a bit by me putting a rear roll pan on the bed. I modified the roll pan to fit between the rear fenders, instead of hanging flush with the back of the bed, which moved the roll pan closer to the frame. The roll pan also has a license plate recess, which hit the rear frame cross member, so I had to shorten the frame. This meant even less room for the tank. I also didn't want the tank to be visible, a.k.a. hanging down below the rear roll pan. This meant the tank needed to go up with some of it sticking above the frame rails and some below. Using a Sawzall and a grinder I trimmed and contoured the bottom leg of the (2) frame rails and the (2) cross members to make sure the tank can be removed from underneath the truck. The side rails needed about an inch removed from both sides. Also the drivers side frame rail had to be notched to give clearance for the fuel fill line. I used 4 inch channel for the notch. New rear crossmember was made from 4" channel, upper tank supports are 1" square tubing, lower supports are standard gas tank straps.
More updates for the 1960-1966 C10 crowd: So I widened the bed 2 inches on each side for a total increase in overall width of 4 inches. I used a trailer fender cut down the center to make min-tubs. Also added a roll pan (that I had to widen) and some cable tailgate supports. For the tailgate latch I am using (2) rubber hood latches mounted inside the bed. They prevent the tailgate from rattling by applying elastic force. I also added urethane tailgate bushings to keep the rattling to a minimum. Front Bed Corner Extensions: Fabricated Angle 3-1/2x3-1/2x3/16 steel. Front bed panel attachment holes transfer punch located from bed sides and front panel. Tailgate Jamb: Angle, 2x2x1/8 & Rectangular Tubing 2x1x11 gauge. Cable Tailgate Support: Advanced Auto Parts generic replacement cable. Bed Cross Sills: Purchased (1) new cross sill from Mar-k and cut it into pieces to extend original cross sills. Cut each sill in the center and spliced in a 4 inch long piece of the new sill in the center of each original cross sill. Rubber Hood Latch: Speedway Motors P/N 970-07315 Urethane Tailgate Trunnion: Mar-K P/N 102381 Roll pan mocked up in this photo. It also needs widened. Update June 2012: In this photo you can see the rear fender is now just a bit wider than the front: [/INDENT]
I'm not picking on you, but why didn't you widen the bed with the gate, and front panel. It would have been a lot less work and less noticeable.
Good question. I considered widening the tailgate and front panel. The approach I took still utilizes the stock bolt on tailgate and front panel which is an advantage if they ever need replaced, especially the tailgate. Plus because of the way I added steel to the existing bed side corners the bed is structurally much stronger now. There is no bed side flex when the tailgate is down. I disagree that widening the tailgate and front panel would have been any easier, and it probably would have been more expensive too. The tail gate would have to be cut twice to keep the "CHEVROLET" text and the tailgate is fabricated from multiple pieces of steel, the front bed panel is embossed so it would also need to be cut twice, rewelded and metal worked. Based on my access to structural steel at reasonable prices the method I choose was cost effective, for me anyways.
I saw your build today and I love what you did with the passenger gas tank!!! I have been searching long and hard and explored every option and had come to the same conclusion you had about them hanging too low. I had another idea to go with this is and to hang the spare tire underneath the gas tank. I dont have my tank yet and I wanted to kindly ask you if you might have time one day to take some measurements. Most importantly how much is the tank above the top of the frame rail, and how much below the frame rail. I am planning on using my stock spare tire since it is a really high aspect ration 29" tall and only 7" wide which in this case would add to the height. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Looks like a Good Fit & Fab, But I sure wouldnt want to get hit from behind by some Dumb Cunt on the Cell phone in her Mercedes at a stop light !! I'll keep mine in the cab with me
I guess that is the age old debate what happens if she tbones you in the intersection, jamming the door shut and fuel leaking in the cab.
As long as its not on Fire, I guess I would be Cool with Leaky Gas. If she hits me hard enough to Explode the tank, I assume I would be Dead anyway. Percentage of Rear End accidents as opposed to T-Bones I think i will take my Chance. Guy looks like he did a Nice Job with his Build though !!
Definitely very nice work, good fab guy! For me the other reason to move it to the rear is that I am tall guy and I need the extra room moving the seat back, even an 1" will give me a bit more comfort
The tank sits 2" above the frame and 1-1/4" below the frame. Back when I did this conversion I made a drawing. It is posted in my "webshots" link below. Send me a PM and I will email it to you. John
Great post, I'm working on a 64 swb right now myself. I have one of those tall tanks from LMC and I didn't like it hanging down so far it looks like crap. I'll pm you when I get back in town on Saturday, I would like to talk with you about this tank. Thanks Grits
I looked for the material to put between the tank and upper supports and tank straps. What material did you use? thanks for the post. Dave
Dave, I used "Body to Frame Welting", sometimes called "Frame Webbing" left over from building my Model A Ford. Basically this stuff is about 2 inches wide and is a woven fabric that has been soaked in some type of oil-based liquid. I don't recall where I got it but Bob Drake sells the stuff http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-b...todone=http://store.bobdrake.com/nsearch.html It's good for all types of anti-rattle applications as well and since it's soaked in oil it helps to prevents rust too. Rubber would work but it traps moisture and creates rust problems. John Dec 2012 Update: Here's a link to my build thread for the '65: http://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=13928
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