Technical RELOCATING THE GAS TANK ON A 60'S FORD PICKUP

Something that I have been thinking about with my old '65 Ford pickup is the gas tank, for those of you that don't know the gas tank was mounted behind the seat inside the cab and as my memory serves there was always a smell of gas in the truck.

Anyone ever relocate the tank under the truck? what did you use? HRP

 

My c10 had the same setup. I didn't smell gas really, but I was always worried about some bone head hitting me in the side and goin up in flames, which almost happened once actually. I did not relocate the tank before I sold it, it the new owner did immediately. If I'd have kept it, it would have been done by now.

 

Early Mustang tanks seem to be a popular choice for relocating in cab tanks.

 

If your plumbing is in good shape, there should be no problem with leaks or smells. I understand the thinking behind moving the tank out of the cab in case of an accident (tee-boned) but moving it to the rear only changes the location of the spill, not the danger of spill/fire. Rerouting the fill tube in the bed or side wall of the bed is a pain, and rarely done to look good, or accessible (try gassing up with the bed full of manure for the garden...... you ARE going to use it like a truck, aren't you?). IMHO, if interior room is not an issue, leave it where Ford put it.

 

Make sure the hose coupler between the neck and tank and the neck to cab grommet are both pliable and tight-fitting and you won't have any 'smell' issues, along with a properly-sealing gas cap.

 

X2 on a Mustang tank. IIRC one from a Cougar is the same basic dimension but the filler is different which might help for the new filler location. Or not. Even if you do/can resolve the gas smell issue the tank inside the cab isn't the safest thing. IMHO.

 

I used a 65 Chevy Impala tank and mounted under the bed, using original straps and 1/4" X 2" straps welded to top of frame. It had plenty of ground clearance, and the filler was inset behind the license plate. The hardest part was filling the hole in the cab.

 

My truck is a 54, I am using a Tanks poly unit mounted in the rear.

 

I'm looking at using a rear F150 tank in my Nomad project. Here's an aftermarket part number for it; see if the dimensions will work.
DORMAN 576121

 

I am putting the gas tank/fuel cell on the rear frame on my ‘48 F1 and already filled the hole in the floor and the cab . Just pondering what gallon size I want . I surmise an aluminum fuel cell would be better than a coated/ metal/ galvanized tank. But I am going to put in stronger frame cross members and maybe a roll cage tubing support if someone drives under me . Depending how low I go in the rear .

 

I left mine where it is behind the seat , bought a 55 t bird tank at one point to place it under the bed but never did , the way I look at it is if I get T boned that hard to damage the tank , the tank will be the least of my worries !!!

 

Biggest thing to consider is what fits and how to do the fill. Lots of guys cut a hole in the bed floor, but I would rather do something like behind the tag or in a wheel well or something. And, I have also never had an issue with the tank behind the seat in any truck I have had.

 

I have a 60 F100. Got my tank from No Limit i think it's 18gal. Works great.

 

Danny on my 62 GMC we moved the in-cab tank to the frame under the bed. We used a tank out of a Ford van including cutting out the gas door and welding it into the bed side. Worked great and also left storage behind the seat, no more gas smell.

 

If you move the tank and use a different filler, make sure and install a locking cap. I knew a guy that bought a Jeep Gladiator, and on his first fill up, he first smelled the gas, and noticed the the puddle under his feet. The prior owner had installed another tank, and removed the seat tank. Luckily, he wasn't a smoker, like most everyone in the 60's.

 

Well, I do recall the tank stayed a little damp where the sending unit fit the top of the tank and I suppose vatting the tank and and installing new gaskets would alleviate the odor but I would feel better relocating it under the truck.

I just don't like the idea of the gas tank being inside the truck with me, also me being 6'4" tall I can use the extra leg room. HRP

 

I found the major culprit for gas smell in the cab to be the cork gasket on the sending unit flange, made myself one out of 3mm thick rubber, problem solved. I do have a tank to relocate to the bed, just haven’t found the round tuit.

 

I moved mine from behind the seat to the front end of the bed. The stock mounts on the bottom need a slight riser and I used well nuts in the top front bed rail to hold it in. You have to push it to the driver's side so you can get to the neck on the passenger side to fill it, reroute the fuel lines, etc, but it's been working well for five years or so. Doesn't change the safety factor, and you give up a little at the front of the bed but you get storage behind the seat. Full disclosure, I saw this done on a truck forum and just did it myself.

Excuse the messiness, it's a shop truck that is last on the list to get any baths. Found one picture from when I did it and you can see how I notched the top of the bed side to slide it under the lip a little. I also set the stands far enough apart that I can slide a few pieces of plywood underneath and still shut the tailgate, when it's not full of stuff.

 

I just don't like the idea of the gas tank being inside the truck with me, also me being 6'4" tall I can use the extra leg room. HRP[/QUOTE]

Unless you fiddle with the seat mounting, it won't go back any farther without the tank, it's just useful storage room. I'm only 5-9 so there's more than enough room. Never looked at getting the seat to slide back farther, but it won't lean back any farther for sure. Mine's a '66, but I understand they are identical save grilles and badges.

 

Unless you fiddle with the seat mounting, it won't go back any farther without the tank, it's just useful storage room. I'm only 5-9 so there's more than enough room. Never looked at getting the seat to slide back farther, but it won't lean back any farther for sure. Mine's a '66, but I understand they are identical save grilles and badges.[/QUOTE]

Where there is a willy there is a waylie, I have looked at the seat frame and I think I can get a few more inches but reworking the mounts, we will see.

Your right, at least with the Custom Cabs, the grille is the major difference. HRP

 

A fuel tank in the bed can sometimes dress the truck up.

 

One of my brother-in-laws relocated the tank on his 60's something Ford PU to under the bed. He didn't want the filler under a cover on the floor so he did what a couple others mentioned, and put the fill behind the license plate. Said it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to fill with gas. He's an engineer, and knowing him his engineering of the job was probably overkill and he somehow helped create the fill-up problem.

Lynn

 

We used a 59 Impala under the Okie Apache. Had to fab up a filler neck, but it works. Comes out behind the license plate.

 

Biggest thing I have seen as an issue with relocating the tank is when you have a lowered truck. I looked at moving mine in my C10 and putting it behind the plate, but most tanks would have to sit below the frame and that puts the tank down low into that grey area of actually scraping it if the suspension bottomed out, but then my truck is lowered a decent amount.

 

I used one for a 65 Chevy II on the Studebaker I am building. I don't care for the Mustang style as the sending unit is in the lower half in the front of the tank. The Chevy is in the upper half at the rear. The Chevy is Side fill , no vent ?
But the Ford stuff may have the right ohm sending unit to work in your Ford where the GM probably won't be the right ohm sending unit.

 

Measure the distance between the frame rails and where you want the fill tube at. There should be a mfg. that has the measurements on its web site. I have read early mustangs are the right with.

 

I am planning out a side fill on the ‘48. I hope if you go under the bed HRP , that you secure it good . I am sure you as well as a lot of us, have seen others idea of securing stuff is. I am going with square tubing with a plate across the bottom and some rubber mat wherever the tank touches steel.

 

What type of tank/fuel cell were you thinking of , HRP ?

 

You look up Rhodes Race Cars and they have tank heights as low as 7” , 10” etc. and even make vehicle specific tanks. I personally just trying to decide wether a 17gal , 20gal or 25 gal will do what I want .

 

It really depends on the truck your working on. I am dealing with a 67-72 C10, and almost every aftermarket tank to slip between the rails has a bed floor fill and I dont want to cut a hole in my metal floor.

The low hanging issue is where your trying to stuff a tank out of another car back there. I've seen the early mustang and 69 Camaro tanks used in the back for the perk of behind the plate, but the tanks are wider than the space between the rails.