Move the gas tank or no?

[JNiemela]

Ok. I've got a 68 CST with a 396. The gas tank is in the cabin and I've been deliberating on moving it to the bed. I don't want to use a filler in the bed and would want to add a door and filler to the side of the bed. But my mechanic that has done a few of these said just to get a new tank and lines and leave it. The current tank vents gas fumes when it's full and is the original tank.

What do you guys think?

[body bolt]

I'd mitigate the fumes in the cabin issue.

[JNiemela]

Originally Posted by body bolt

I'd mitigate the fumes in the cabin issue.

For sure on the fumes. Just don't know if it's worth all the money to move the tank.

[Ironhorse]

Kind of a personal decision for moving the tank verses replacing. I moved the tank in my '71 4x4 not because of tank fumes, fire safety or for room behind the seat. If you have fuel fumes most likely a bad sending unit gasket, bad rubber hose connection or rust thru on the tank. Does make a little room moving the tank but not enough to justify the time, effort and $$ to move the tank. I moved mine for added weight over the rear axle during winter time. Normally we get a fair amount of ice and snow during winter and I moved it when at the time my truck was my daily driver 80 miles a day round trip. Seemed to help some along with driving sane and sensible in inclement weather. That idea tho seems to be somewhat old school.

I did not want a floor mounted fuel filler and the truck had been already sanded, primed, ready for color when I got the idea to move the tank. Placed the fuel filler on the driver's side wheel well hump and get some odd looks when people see me dump gas in the bed of the truck, LOL.

[leddzepp]

Did it once, won’t do it again. Not worth the hassle, saw no benefit to it. To each their own.

[LS short box]

On my 68 C10 swap I used a 69 Camaro tank. It hangs down a bit low but it fills thru a flip down licence plate mount from a 88 Monte Carlo.

[chevmn]

I agree with some others, if you have fumes in the cab - you have fuel hose issue, or leaky sending unit o-ring, or maybe a leaky tank. When I removed the tank from a truck I currently have, I was very surprised to find a line of severe rust where the truck had sat for years (roughly 35), and apparently moisture on top of the old fuel had rusted the tank. What was odd, is it was not visible on the side closest to the seat, but it sure did a job on the back side closest to the cab. Tank was obviously junk, and I found a good used tank, and putting back in cab. I gave thought to moving tank to rear, but as someone else mentioned, it = more work and zero benefit (for me anyhow).

[JNiemela]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Kind of a personal decision for moving the tank verses replacing. I moved the tank in my '71 4x4 not because of tank fumes, fire safety or for room behind the seat. If you have fuel fumes most likely a bad sending unit gasket, bad rubber hose connection or rust thru on the tank. Does make a little room moving the tank but not enough to justify the time, effort and $$ to move the tank. I moved mine for added weight over the rear axle during winter time. Normally we get a fair amount of ice and snow during winter and I moved it when at the time my truck was my daily driver 80 miles a day round trip. Seemed to help some along with driving sane and sensible in inclement weather. That idea tho seems to be somewhat old school.

I did not want a floor mounted fuel filler and the truck had been already sanded, primed, ready for color when I got the idea to move the tank. Placed the fuel filler on the driver's side wheel well hump and get some odd looks when people see me dump gas in the bed of the truck, LOL.

Thanks and really agreeing with your sense of not worth it. Thanks for the post and will be replacing the tank and fuel filler and hose, but also the lines to the filter. Hate to see how bad it might be.

[JNiemela]

Thanks for the comments and agree. No real reason to move it. Going to update the entire fuel system from tank to carb.

[1970 CST Short Wide]

I moved my tank for two reasons 1- I did not like 15+ gallons of fuel at my back along with the smell. 2- Worked better for my LS swap. Tank, Electric fuel pump, lines, regulator all parts included was just under $1000. Tank and pump were from Boyd’s tanks. I do have a flap on bed floor for filling but unless your putting a lot of stuff in your bed it’s not a problem. Just my 2c

[Sheepdip]

Unless your actual tank is leaking it's a very low budget thing to replace or seal everything up for a leak/fume free experience....just my .02 worth.

[chewychevy67]

I did it on my last truck. Had to fill it slow at the pump for some reason or it would click off. Tank rubbed on speed bumps from time to time. Never thought it thru enough but still took a lot of bodywork to do thar wasn't reversible after i found these issues when the truck was finished and driving. On this truck I couldn't be bothered. Had the tank cleaned and will put it behind the seat again.

[Richard]

Rolled my dad's 72 at 16 years old. Stopped on the lid. Knocked out, when I woke up the gas was leaking in the cab. A rare occurrence., but scary enough to make the tank relocation an easy decision in my current build. My first 72 I was young, not as intelligent and poor. So the decision to leave tank in cab was purely monetary.

['68OrangeSunshine]

No. I had a Suburban with a factory belly tank. With a 454 I had fuel feed problems.
I had to splice in a Holley Red pump to feed it.
In-cab tanks are the best for fuel flow.

[chevmn]

Just realized I had a photo of “new” used tank, new sending unit. I flushed lines as well, and hoping I got all of the old junk out.

[dmjlambert]

I wish I had kept my original tank. It had a better lip to seal the gas cap compared to a new tank. I was advised when I was a newbie it had to be replaced because it had some rust in it. If I had to do it again, I would put some vinegar and chain in it and slosh it around for a while and rinse it, and put some tank sealer coating in it, then viola it would be a good tank. Tank in the cab is the best and safest possible place for it.

[Palf70Step]

I moved mine, mainly to get more capacity. I used a 31 gallon tank from a squarebody Suburban (84 in my case). If I was going EFI, I would have used a 87-88 model tank. I didn't want to cut up the outside sheet metal, so I made a filler neck cover from a squarebody stepside fender I have had for years. I could have done a 41 gallon tank, but it would hang a couple inches lower. BTW, this is a long bed. With short bed you would be limited to a 25 gallon Suburban/Blazer tank.

[Accelo]

Relocating the tank is not a easy swap.
Full disclosure, I relocated my tank to the rear.

Disadvantages.

1. Our trucks were engineered with the tank in the cab and relocating it requires a lot of changes, one of which is what to do with the filler. It was more work than I thought it would be. Since I was repainting the truck I chose to weld up the hole in the cab. Leaving a dummy tank fill is also an option.
   
2. Managing the new fuel filler is difficult and can be intimidating. My tank came with a pop up filler, which I didn't use. They work fine with a wood floor but with the corrugations they are difficult to incorporate into the metal floors.
   
3. Behind the marker light or tail light all require welding and fabrication skills not everyone has.
   
4. Installing the fill behind the license plate typically requires a lower tank, can be problematic on lowered trucks.
   
5. System changes, that are required for tank relocation, are expensive.

They do have several advantages.

1. No more fuel in the cab. I consider this a safety item especially if the truck ends up on the drivers side where it could shear the filler.
   
2. Adds weight to the very back where it does the most good for trucks with traction issues.
   
3. Moving the pump inside the tank greatly reduces the noise if you have a EFI motor.
   

You have already stated you are going to replace/repair your in-cab tank. Which makes sense as it is the least expensive and certainly requires less effort and $ to fix rather than relocate.
Cheers.

[indymachinist]

Moving the tank was a no brainer for me. I don’t think it was a good idea right from the start to put a fuel tank inside the cab.

[michael bustamante]

well. i know the idea of a gas bomb behind us is kind freaky but have any of us actually known a tank to blow? gas fumes? yes definatly.. reseal tank and get a vented cap or replace it with a 71-72 tank and run a vent line.
i have both a moved tank and one in the original area and if youre running carb, it just makes sensse to leave tank in the cab..
tanks were in the cab all the way until 1972.. so its not really a safety issue as much as what you want.

[jeffahart]

NO, leave it where it is! We used to smoke like chimneys in these cabs back in the day, we're all still alive(mostly, but not dead from in cab gas tank). Gas is dangerous, but not so dangerous you can’t live with it…. else you wouldn’t be able to have gas stations with every lame dummy pumping gas…. or we’d all already be blown to bits!

j

[ZEKE68]

Put it in the back, like the Pinto's.

[custom10nut]

I went back and forth with this conundrum.
I originally wanted to relocate the tank to get more space in the cab.
I went to the length of fabricating a patch to fill the hole, for when I removed the in-cab tank, got a filler door to graft into the bedside, and even found the factory piece (From a Blazer) to cover the filler neck inside the box.
What it came down to was this:
I just couldn’t bring myself to cut into pristine factory sheet metal on my LWB box side. That and I like the looks I get from people at the Gas Station

[KQQL IT]

If you do move it. PJMoreland makes a neat gas filler cover to hide the fact you moved it.

[Accelo]

Originally Posted by ZEKE68

Put it in the back, like the Pinto's.

Just for clarification;
The Pinto's tanks were in the back but also on the inside with the occupants.