Metal or Poly fuel tank?

[MisterE72]

Greetings fellow truck enthusiasts. I'm not sure if I should get a metal or poly rear conversion kit for my 72 C10. Can anyone who has made the conversion share their thoughts or recommendations? Does one require more prep work than the other? I would love to go aluminum, but hey, I'm on a teachers salary (and loving it..teaching..not the salary). Thanks.

[shifty]

Poly is easier install, the absolute cheapest solution and (this last part is just opinion) rarely looks "damn good". Admittedly, in this subforum within the past 2 weeks, I did see a damned fine looking poly tank install, and wish I'd have asked the person what their setup was.

Stock replacement steel (like the one ECE sells) is super expesnive, looks great when installed, and is solid. Looks as easy to install as the poly tank, but costs 3-4 times more.

Custom Steel or custom Aluminum (got my Aluminum tank from FuelCellGuy) is a little more complex to get mounted up, doesn't quite look as good as a steel tank, but I think overall if it is installed well, it looks good. Price is about 50% more than poly and looks better than poly.

Choosing a tank is a tough choice! I feel your pain, I finally broke down and bought mine from FuelCellGuy with the pump and sending unit already installed for a little over $600. Definitely well worth it - the same setup in poly was around $400, and in steel I would have paid over $1200.

[MisterE72]

Thanks for sharing your advice Shifty. Anyone else have anything else they can add to this?

[ChevyDude]

FuelCellGuy...is the ticket!!!

[rauto13]

I bought a poly tank and have now replaced it with an aluminum tank. The poly tank I bought had a small fill neck for the fuel fill and with the wall thickness necessary on the poly tank, the inside diamater of the fill on the tank was smaller than my thumb. Whenever I would fill it, I could not use the slowest automatic setting on any gas pump and had to barely let the fuel flow in or it would cut off the gas pump or backwash out the fill neck. I did have it properly vented with a 5/8 hose, so that was not the issue, it was the fill neck size.

Also after a while, the poly tank started deforming as the part of the tank that sits against the lower part of the frame rails started trying to creep up inside the frame rails (if that makes sense). The sides were bowing in and the bottom was starting to bow also.

My opinion is I will never use a poly tank again. I have one in the garage I will give you.... If ya want it.

[MisterE72]

Originally Posted by rauto13

I bought a poly tank and have now replaced it with an aluminum tank. The poly tank I bought had a small fill neck for the fuel fill and with the wall thickness necessary on the poly tank, the inside diamater of the fill on the tank was smaller than my thumb. Whenever I would fill it, I could not use the slowest automatic setting on any gas pump and had to barely let the fuel flow in or it would cut off the gas pump or backwash out the fill neck. I did have it properly vented with a 5/8 hose, so that was not the issue, it was the fill neck size.

Also after a while, the poly tank started deforming as the part of the tank that sits against the lower part of the frame rails started trying to creep up inside the frame rails (if that makes sense). The sides were bowing in and the bottom was starting to bow also.

My opinion is I will never use a poly tank again. I have one in the garage I will give you.... If ya want it.

Thanks Rauto13. Sounds like those poly tanks may not be the best thing to go with. Where did you get the aluminum tank? How would you compare the install to the poly? Any pics?

[brak]

Originally Posted by MisterE72

Thanks Rauto13. Sounds like those poly tanks may not be the best thing to go with. Where did you get the aluminum tank? How would you compare the install to the poly? Any pics?

you can get a OE steel blazer tank for $25 as both FrizzleFry and i have posted in the last few weeks.

requires a little modifying of the fuel neck to get it where you want it, but hell, for $50 shipped, you can't beat it.

[TN70C10]

yeah , there is no way i would pay even 1/3 of what some of these aftermarket tanks cost (like ece). summit has fuel cells in a # of shapes and sizes. of course its going to be a little harder than a bolt in kit but if you save $500 dollars by doing an xtra 2 hours worth of work then your paying yourself $250 an hour. hell , just call me , ill be glad to work for $250 an hour.

[A.P.]

MisterE72
Here is a link to one member's rear tank install. Good info.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...highlight=tank

[cstm68]

i used an aluminum 18 gal tank
the are some instal pics in my build thread
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=223308

[GREASEMONKEY72]

look at racecar fuel cells, poly tank inside of a metal can, or go to your local wreckingyard and nab a tank from a burban or something

[LUV2XCLR8]

If your buying a stock replacement steel over poly, anything else is, well anything else

[glock35ipsc]

A complete new steel Blazer tank kit is about $200, that includes straps and a 90 ohm sending unit. That's what I have. It's an inexpensive conversion kit in my opinion.

[shifty]

And if you need to install an electric pump, then ... Go to Tanks Inc.:

http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/pa...prod/prd84.htm

I'm using either part #PA-2 or part #PA-4 in my setup (FuelCellGuy will send you a tank with one pre-installed for a small fee). Pretty easy to work with. Comes with the complete assembly AND the pump and any hardware and gaskets you need.

[rauto13]

Originally Posted by MisterE72

Thanks Rauto13. Sounds like those poly tanks may not be the best thing to go with. Where did you get the aluminum tank? How would you compare the install to the poly? Any pics?

sorry, no pics at this time, tank is pulled out of truck as the truck got hit & totalled. If I remember correctly, I bought the tank from CPP. But the one I bought has the fuel fill too low on the side and requires some frame trimming. The tank comes with a piece to weld into the frame after trimming to clear the fuel fill. It was farily expensive when I bought it.

I am thinking that FCG or a steel tank is the way to go, I found out about him after buying this tank. I have seen some nice installs of FCG tanks and also the steel tanks discussed above.