Building a fuel tank

[Midgets50]

Hello all,
first off i will state that im not a good enough welder to do this but has anyone ever made their own fuel tank to put in their old truck. havent found a fuel cell that i like yet and they are outrageous price. Transfer tanks dont have anything special inside and im running a carbed motor so bellows arent needed for fuel delivery. whats your guys thoughts on the subject?

[mr48chev]

I would think the "not a good enough welder" would be the killer here.

Do a bit of a search on here and you will see that a lot of guys run Early Blazer tanks or other factory tanks behind the rear axle where the spare went.

If you do build your own tank have a sheet metal or fab shop shop bend up the pieces so that you don't have so many seams to weld. That will save a lot of welding and lessen the leak issue. Make sure they make it out of mild steel and not galvanized though if you do.

[OrrieG]

This was discussed before and the concesus seemed to be that even if you are an excellent aluminum welder, by the time you buy the material, fittings, etc and add some value for your time it is cheaper to buy one. I looked at fabbing one, and with a sale price, got within $50 bucks of my material costs (included conversion of my welder to work on Aluminum). I did not have confidence in my skills and the last thing I wanted was to be in the boonies with a leaky tank. One pin hole that opens up over time is all it takes to cause problems (not just fluid but also fume leaks).

[Midgets50]

i was gonna have a fab shop build it for me and if it comes close to the cost of a fuel cell ill do it. otherwise im gonna get a transfer tank and just run my lines right into it

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by Midgets50

i was gonna have a fab shop build it for me and if it comes close to the cost of a fuel cell ill do it. otherwise im gonna get a transfer tank and just run my lines right into it

I would like to see what your quote for someone to build you a tank comes too.. Brother's is running a sale on under the bed tanks out of steel for $299 I had on built for a Model A woodie under the body out of Alum. and it cost over $400

[Kid]

I've built a few custom aluminum fuel tanks for extra spending money. Charged anywhere from $280.00 to $350.00 including sending unit, depending on the complexity. But with about 18-20 hrs. of labor per, was not getting rich by no means. As for using the fuel transfer tank, the safety aspect should be researched, not to mention the aesthetics

[mr48chev]

My son's old 79 ElCamino came with a 45 gallon steel "reacher" tank that some previous owner had custom made and paid 245.00 for over 20 years ago. The receipt was still in the glove box. Having a fab shop build a tank isn't cheap even if it is mild steel.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by Kid

As for using the fuel transfer tank, the safety aspect should be researched, not to mention the aesthetics

You should check your local and federal law, I believe there is a difference between "transfer tank" and "auxillary tank" by DOT approval and construction. When I was researching tanks I noticed that a lot of "transfer tanks" intended to carry fuel for transfer to other uses (say a farmer that uses it to refuel his tractor in the field) were specifically label not to be used as auxillary fuel tanks. I could see two problems, 1 if you ever needed to get your truck inspected and 2 if you ever had an insurance claim related to a fuel related fire caused by the tank or an accident. Same applies to fuel cells listed only for off-road purposes.

[Midgets50]

Im assuming the transfer tank is legal because my friend, paid the same fab shop that im gonna try and have mine done at, to run the lines through to his transfer tank and it passed inspection. as for the looks of it im building a flatbed for my truck and am gonna hide the tank inside the headache rack it will only go up to the seam on my 51 and im just gonna have the fill spot on the outside of the headache rack