Aftermarket Underbed Fuel Tank Filler Neck/Cap Options

[roger55]

Originally Posted by HiRMKin

They most likely did that by design. My truck will never haul anything heavy.

Since we are going to use our truck, I don't want to worry about weakening anything.
I don't know whether to be concerned or not. I could plate it from behind to beef it up a little.

[HiRMKin]

I boxed my frame just where the spring hanger is.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by HiRMKin

I boxed my frame just where the spring hanger is.

That's a great idea! Much better than just putting in a plate. I can make that out of scrap steel easily. I really don't think I would have a strength concern at all doing that no matter how much weight I put in the bed.

I'm now pretty sure I'll go with the poly tank. It's right at $235 cheaper than going with the Kustom aluminum tank, hangs down virtually the same amount, gives me more capacity and the side option. It's also a little more narrow so I don't have to modify the helper spring stops.

Tanks, Inc. lists that poly tank as a a 17 gallon but when I calculate the volume from their dimensions, it's more than that. Accounting for the tapered sides, I'm estimating it's closer to 20.

Did you have any trouble getting to all the bed wood bolts with your large tank? That's the only thing I'm concerned with now. I'm not going to raise the bed like that guy did with the poly tank in those photos I posted several posts back.

[roger55]

Got the new poly tank ordered from Tanks Inc. It will be here Monday. I got their fuel injection pump setup and sending unit for it too.

I got the rivets out of the crossmember and moved it back to where it needs to be (which is 22 1/2" between the 2 crossmembers). Wow those rivets aren't easy to get out.

Now I need to drill some holes and bolt it in place. Also need to get some steel and weld it in to box the frame for strength. I'll also build 2 supports to span the crossmembers for the top of the tank to lay against when it is strapped in place from underneath. The poly tank comes with a universal strap kit.

[roger55]

Utilizing free time wisely while I'm waiting for my new tank to be delivered...

I cut out the flange on the original gas-fill hole.

Heck, I've got to patch a big hole anyway, I might as well make it a little bigger and make use of the flange. So, I used a 3 1/2" circle for a template and cut out the flange with a jig saw.



Then, I used a 3 1/2" hole saw and picked a place on the rear fender that had the same contour as the original hole up front.
I then welded in the flange and finished it off.



Now all I need is a new rubber mounting gasket and some hoses. I may need to fab a support for it underneath too.



So I've got a low cost and kind of original looking solution for the gas fill. I think I like the idea of keeping a retro look rather than going to a fancy gas door kit and saved some $ too.

Now, just have to make a patch for the original hole up front out of 18 gauge sheet-metal.

[Denee007]

That will be a neat filler spot! I bet it was a tiny bit scary cutting the hole in the fender, I could hear myself saying, "God I hope this works!". That looks like some really thick metal!
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[roger55]

Originally Posted by Denee007

That will be a neat filler spot! I bet it was a tiny bit scary cutting the hole in the fender, I could hear myself saying, "God I hope this works!". That looks like some really thick metal!

Thanks Denee. Not too scary. It wasn't because the reason I own a 2.5" hole-saw was that I bought it for drilling the holes in my '55 Bel Air dash to be able to mount the 2 side repro factory A/C vents. That was kind of scary but worked out perfectly. It was a fluke that the saw was the perfect size for the gas fill flange.





Yes, I agree that it will be a perfect location for the gas fill. My wife was really liking it too. She will feel a lot better about not having the gas tank inches away from her behind the seat too.

Not sure what you mean by thick metal. The edge of the original flange is bent downward at 90 degrees around the opening.

I got my new Tanks, Inc. poly tank yesterday and am mocking it up now. Looks like I'm going to have to do a little welding to fab a tube to the entrance flange on the tank. I'm also going to have to weld an adapter to the stock fill assembly to get the size right on that end. I think I can buy a couple of exhaust adapters at Autozone that will work for both ends. I'm also going to go to an industrial hose products store here in town to get a rubber hose to connect the fill assembly to the gas tank flange.

I'll take more pictures of this process and post them when I get further along.

[Denee007]

Gee that is FINE!!! The dash, the carpet omg!!!

I thought the metal of that fender was thick, you answered that question. Keep up the great work!
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[roger55]

Thanks Denee. I finished this car last summer and drive it as much as I can when the weather is nice.

Gathering parts for my tank installation today.

I just drove the '55 down to the local industrial hose supply store. He had a 30" left over piece of 1 1/2" ID hose from the end of a roll. He cut me a length of 1/2" gas hose for the air vent too.

Get this: No charge.

I am lucky to live in a small town where there are businesses like this that supply the oil fields.

[roger55]

I decided I wanted to raise up the tank as much as I could for maximum ground clearance as well as looks from behind the truck. I used some square tubing to do that with. I will have to notch out the bed cross brace to clear the tank doing this. I will lose some strength but I think I will gain it back if I have it fit tightly against the bars and weld it there. Also, with no room to work with, I will have to put in my bed boards before mounting the tank permanently. I don't see that as a big deal though.

I had to modify the flange on the tank fill to accept that 1 1/2" hose I got for free. Since the stock fill assembly was 1 1/4", I welded a short piece of 1 1/2" tubing to that. No cost as the 1 1/2 tubing was some stainless tubing that I had left over from my last project.

Can anyone see anything I'm not thinking about before I weld everything up? Btw, I am going to weld caps on the top of the square tubing so water wont collect in there. I'm also going to blast the entire frame and paint it all up with black SPI epoxy primer.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Roger,
That's a pretty ingenious recycling of the original filler tube AND it will look pretty good if you use one of those fancy "GM" repop chrome gas caps. You've got me rethinking how I will do this on my truck.

Up to now I had planned on following ChuckDriver's approach - since I do NOT intend to ever truly "load" my truck I was gonna use a bed fill using this:


I STILL like it but I'm wondering if it would be possible to put your approach IN this recess in the rear fender to keep the cap from "sticking up" in profile? Besides, I kinda like the stainless escutcheon! lol.

[Dan in Pasadena]

PS: I LOVE the Belair dashes in our trucks. I don't know why they weren't stock (well, actually I do!) at least in the Cameo's, because of the matching "humps" and the center located glove box in an era when trucks were usually used exclusively by one man. I just LOVE this photo:

[Speedbumpauto]

In my install using the same tank, I put a small door in the rear of the fender just below the belt line and made the same basic metal and hose fill tube/vent.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Roger,
That's a pretty ingenious recycling of the original filler tube AND it will look pretty good if you use one of those fancy "GM" repop chrome gas caps. You've got me rethinking how I will do this on my truck.

Up to now I had planned on following ChuckDriver's approach - since I do NOT intend to ever truly "load" my truck I was gonna use a bed fill using this:

I STILL like it but I'm wondering if it would be possible to put your approach IN this recess in the rear fender to keep the cap from "sticking up" in profile? Besides, I kinda like the stainless escutcheon! lol.

Thanks Dan.

I think you could do it but it looks like that assembly needs a pretty flat location to mount on. That would mean having to have it further up onto the flat part of the fender from where I put mine. I think there's enough room underneath to do that but I'm thinking it looks more natural to have it towards the rear. IMO, a door like Speedbump did would look better than what you propose.

[roger55]

It turned out to be more complicated than I thought to get my fill hose setup all worked out. It involved some trial and error, ordering more parts and a little welding. Got 'er done though.

I needed a 90 degree 1 1/2 tube to go in the middle of 2 hose sections. Also, that "free" hose wouldn't work. It was just too thick and stiff. I ordered a Gates gas-fill hose off the net. I also had to weld on a piece of tubing onto the original gas-fill neck to get the right angle and to adapt it to the right 1 1/2" OD size. I will be painting the gas-fill neck and the flange on the tank with epoxy primer.

So here's some photos:









So, now I'm ready to remove everything and store it away while I do the cab-off restoration.

[1959Chev]

This is probably one of the best ideas I've seen for gas filler. I hate the ones in the bed because of the gas pumps always leaking gas and it could get on your wood and discolor it. This is a great idea. and good deal on the tank. The K5 blazer tanks are similar in design but metal and will probably be what I use. Plus you can get a blazer tank on ebay for less than $100

[crossfire84]

what a cool idea, i am going to see what this would look like on my 50.

[roger55]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

I hadn't shown underneath yet and how I did the straps so I just snapped a few photos.

The strap kit came with the tank and it was a cut-to-fit kit where you have to bend one end and drill the hole. I cut the small reinforcement brackets off the original tank straps before discarding them. I welded them on the ends of the new straps after I cut and bent them.
I put the fixed end on the rear of the tank and the adjustable end on the front for better looks.

I'm really happy that I got this tank tucked up really high. It doesn't hang down low enough to ever worry about hitting on anything and looks better too.

[roger55]

You guys are probably sick of my pictures.
But, here's the last one! Unless I post a picture after the truck is painted and all prettied up underneath (in about 1 1/2 years!).

I removed the fender today and started stripping the 1/4" thick undercoating (yuk).
Anyway, I thought I would post an underneath photo of the flange I welded in.

[Daze57]

great job !!!

[roger55]

I need to make one additional note here.

Our member "oldcouple" gave me an excellent tip. We were talking about replacing cab corners and he mentioned that if you are getting rid of you gas tank filler hole, the curve of one of the old cab corners fits perfectly with a little trial and error.

Well, he was right on the money and that's exactly what I did. I don't think I would have thought about it if it wasn't for him.

[_Ogre]

nice work on relocating the tanks and filler roger
looks good

i noticed your pictures are hosted over on hotrodders.com are you part of the 55-59 chevy truck thread?

[Zach B]

I have actually seen a bed that slid most of the way out revealing the tank and making it easy to fill up. All the guy did was lower the tail gate and fab garage door tracks to the bed. Interestingly he managed to get a dual tank system to work on the truck to. He used the factory in can tank for emergencies.
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[roger55]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

nice work on relocating the tanks and filler roger
looks good i noticed your pictures are hosted over on hotrodders.com are you part of the 55-59 chevy truck thread?

Thanks.
No, I'm not.

Is it a good one to subscribe to? If so, I'd appreciate a link to it.

I don't spend a whole lot of time on there anymore. Back when I was restoring my last Corvette, I used to post there a lot.

[Kid]

Originally Posted by crossfire84

what a cool idea, i am going to see what this would look like on my 50.

much more practical than in the bed floor for a 'driver'