A couple Blazer tank specifics

[muddpile]

I have decided to finally do this mod. I read this tutorial here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php3?t=74876

along with the tutorial he wrote up about installing the side marker light filler. With this information, you think I would have it made, but as usual, I don't. I will be buying the blazer tank kit from Scott's or another dealer, and included is the tank, the sending unit and the straps. Sounds good so far right? Now, my next question is,

1. Do those fancy hooked bolts come with the kit to install the straps? I assume they do, but better to find out now than later, right.
2. Poly or metal tanks are available, what are the advantages/disadvantages of each.
3. I have dual exhaust, how far should it be from the tank?
4. when you put the box on, it looks like the filler neck would get crushed by the box. It obviously doesn't, but is there a spacer you need to use, or is there that much room between the box and the frame stock?
5. I have an 8ft box fleetside, can I still do the side marker light thing?
6. For a little different kick, would one of those fuel doors from Stylin Concepts work on the inside side of the box work? Copperhead had one in the bed floor. http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts....rd=fuel%20door

I think that's about it. Also, what would I fill the old fuel neck hole with? Is there a plate available from a vendor, or do I just fab something myself?

[67ChevyRedneck]

I'd like to know the answer to all of those as well. Especially poly vs steel and the exhaust distance. I have 2 1/4" duals that run right under the frame out the back.

[ChevyDude]

It is my belief that the board is in agreemant the the steel tank is better than the poly. I'm really not sure why? I have a poly tank in my 72'SWB 4x4 that the PO installed and have had no problems with it other than the sending unit did go bad and have to be replaced...but that had nothing to do with the tank being poly.

[/<eystroke]

I did the blazer tank install on a 6 foot fleetside bed. It is possible but not
easy. An 8 foot bed would be almost the same except for the length of fuel filler
hose.

If your looking for more leg room, then removing the tank doesn't help. The
seat back hits the rear wall before it hits the tank. But I fully understand
wanting to remove the tank due to odor/space/safty/weight transfer issues.

I used a poly tank and had no serious problems with it. It came with the
straps, sender, and 2 angled bolts w/ nuts. I had to supply 2 additional
carriage bolts and nuts. I had trim the locking ring for the sender to get it to work.
The tank is actually almost too narrow. It just barely catches the frame rails
with the "lips" on the tank. But I guess that it is better to for it to be too
small than too wide. I had to cut the middle part of the bed floor support
(See Pic) rail loose and move it to accept the tank. I moved it back about 6-8
inches so that it would sit directly on top of the last frame rail. The filler
tube fits between these rails, over the frame and under the bed obviously. There
are not spacer that you use for the bed. The single most time consuming task was
trying to break the pinch welds of the support without screwing up the bed floor.

I have no problems with the stock fuel pump with a stock carb and motor.
Someone wrote before, that you had to have a inline pump to get it up to the
motor. I don't understand why they would think this unless they were just
considering the length of the run. With the the stock tank, the pump has to
pull the full out the top of the tank about steering wheel high before it gets
to the pump. With the blazer tank it is only frame high. I would think that it
is easier for the fuel pump to pull fuel out of the blazer tank.

As for the fuel filler hose, I picked up a filler hose from the junk yard. It
was just laying in the bed of a truck so I don't know what type of car it came
off of. It doesn't matter becuase I had to cut it up to make it work. What
you see in the picture is what it started out as. It almost had the correct
bend and the correct length. I had to cut a notch out of the inner bed wall to
allow the fuel filler hose enough space to get up to the marker light. There
is only a couple of inches of space between the inner and outer walls and the
fuel filler hose was too big to fit without cutting the inner bed wall. I made
a cover for the notch and welded it in. The fuel cap is just a regular plastic
cap (from a ford I think) that I removed the top (handle) from. You can
probably get one that looks better that is small enought to fit through the
marker light hole. But I didn't spend any time looking for one. I used a 3/4"
copper nipple to connect the tank to the filler hose. It took some heat and a
hammer to get the nipple in the poly tank hole but it is there to stay. If you
use a steel tank you will have to convert the fuel filler hose to a different
size to connect it to the tank. If you wanted to fabricated the whole filler
hose from scratch you could get away without having to cut the bed.

The hinge is a heavy duty hinge from lowes that I rebuilt. It had a lot of play
in it. I replaced the pin with a larger one that took out the play. I welded it
to the backside of the bed fender. That was a hard task to get the welder in
there to weld it. I had to bend it up to get it to work. I can't describe it
here. That is more more of a trial and error process. In the picture with the
open marker light, the fender is upside down for you that are trying to figure
out why that doesn't look right.

Due to the horizontal run of the filler hose it doesn't fill very fast. I knew
starting out that it is hard to get fuel to flow into a blazer tank. I helped a
buddy of mine run his filler tube to the bed side and up out of the bed floor
just behind the wheel well and he had problems filling the tank. Some of his
problems was vent related, but still it is slow. Slower than most nozzles can
flow on the first click of the handle. Which means you have to baby sit the
nozzle the whole time.

It is cool? You bet. Would I do it again, probably not. It's just too much work
for the result. Your looking at removing the bed, cutting out and moving the
bed support, fabricating a fuel filler hose that works and a door either in the
bed floor or behind the marker light our in the wheel well.

[muddpile]

I think I'm going to try the steel blazer tank for mine. Every other vehicle I've owned has had a steel tank, so there's gotta be something good about em right? I can always re-route my exhaust if need be too. Don't know what I'll do for a filler door yet. The marker light idea is very cool, but I might dream up something else.

[purple gas]

Just a thought, and mine are usually a little differnt.. For my donor vehichle (motor/tranny) I bought a '77 chevy van . Got the tilt as a bonus. And I think I can make the van tank work too. The tank might have to go in sideways tho. The filler hose & vent line parts & staps from a van should all fit too. Before I hauled away the remnants of the van, I also sawed out the gas door parts with door flap, and the cool inside the body pieces that I may incorporate into the inside of my box. ( I'm Canadian, we call 'em boxes up here). SO, when your lookin fer parts keep in mind Vans have lots in comon with our trucks besides steering columns. As for metal/plastic, metal rusts, but it dents instead of breaking. Plastic can have static elctricity problems that can ruin your day.

[chickenwing]

I like the idea of a poly tank to have no rust contamination issues. If I went with a steel tank I would coat it with US Standard before it ever had a drop of gas with it.

For a filler, I am gonna go with a stock saddle tank filler neck. I have a saddle tank allready and I dont think it will look too bad with another chrome cap on the side of the bed. Besides, I will delete the one in the cab eventually. My in-cab tank is seriously contaminated. I keep 5 gallons in it and use it for oh shht purposes only. I need to replace it and figure why not a blazer tank.