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

I have done several Fords with moving the tank to the rear. There's Tanks and the oem Ford line. If you look at the late 80's tanks, most have a fuel pump in the tank. Before Ford went to installing the efi high pressure pump in the tank, the in tank pump is around 8psi. It was used as a transfer pump but will work with a carb. Deciding on where to run the filler is your choice. The extra length in the cab is a big deal to me and I'm not as tall as you.

 

Rear frame rail is the limiting factor . I believe RRC I mentioned their 17 gal is 7” high by 29.5 wide. My ‘48 is at 30”. The 20 gal is like 24”x20”x10” h and the 25 gal is 30” and 10” tall . I want to set mine level front to back and mine has a subframe on it .

 

Wonder if a mid 80's F 150 or even Ranger under bed tank would work? They mount inside the frame rails, have a through the side filler, and can be had in metal or plastic versions. Only problem is if you run dual exhaust, you have to run them down the passenger side then back over with one side behind the tank.

 

Here's another two cents. Look up "C10crewcabs". Guy in Bakersfield sells a clever behind-the-tailight fuel door. Would probably work for other brands sans taillight. I have it on my 66 C10 and it works great. (Under bed tank from tanks.)

 

I used a 69 Camaro gas tank on my C10

 

This is our basic plan on my son’s C10 since we don’t want a gas door on the bed side, don’t figure it can be high enough behind a tag, and don’t want it in the floor. Still have to pick a tank, but the fill seems like a clean install. Might swing the door sideways or something since this one might be in the way for filling in my mind.

 

There is always a compromise when you move a gas tank from an original position.

Usually there is room behind the rear axle, between the frame rails, and in front of the rear bumper to hang a tank. If it can fit between the frame rails, you can usually get it pretty high up, and can fit a larger tank in the same location, but that often limits the fuel fill location to behind the plate. The size of the space available will limit the amount of gas the tank will hold, the only option would be how low the bottom of the tank lays.

What might be another option could be a saddle tank either between the driveshaft and the frame rail, or outside of the frame rail. The options for gas fill get pretty limited, through a bed side, or inside a wheel well, or possible run the fill tube up through the cab floor and out the original hole. (Dodge did that a lot in the 50s).

I've had several trucks with relocated gas tanks. By far, having to fill the tank from a fill tube inside of the bed is a pain in the*****. You always have to be careful to not spill a bit of gas inserting or removing the fill nozzle, and the gas fill is nearly always a pain when you have something in the bed.

The last two trucks I've had an inside the frame rail tank with the fill tube running up inside the bed, and a gas door outside of the bed. Then I built a protective box around the fill tube. A 4" x 4" square doesn't take up much bed space. I often mount the battery in a box right along side of the fill tune protector.

The size of the tank capacity has been discussed here. My preference is a tank in the 16 - 20 gallon capacity. Its a large enough capacity to be able to put some miles between fill ups. Larger capacity tanks have too big of a sting all at one time when it comes time to fill it up. I understand a 10 mpg truck uses the same amount of gas with a 16 gallon tank as it would with a 25 gallon tank, but when I need to open my wallet and fork over the cash, the small tank has less bite, even if I have to fill it more often. The 16 - 20 gallon tank full of gas has the ability to last about the length of time you need a***** break and a whiz anyway.

 

That’s my conundrum. A 25 gal tank will get me further down the road wether cross country or to another state but will hurt at today’s cost . A 17gal would be great for everyday and the aluminum tank height at 7” is better for getting the rear end lower but the 20gal is middle of the road mileage wise but at 10” height may have to adjust for road objects .

 

That matches the tank that came off a 74 F-150 that I got a nine inch rear out of. that on should take the correct sending unit and all. I'm thinking about using that one in my 48 as I can match the gauge to the sender real easy with the dash I have. The capacity is close enough to the same as the 74 Blazer tank I have but it doesn't stick down as far. Filler neck out the left side and you could either snag a filler door off a mid 70's Ford truck or use a grommet and just have the cap exposed outside the bed.

 

from the internet, a mustang tank in a '59 ford f 100 p/u.

 

you asked for opinions here is mine, you are 10 times likely to get rear ended as you are to get t-boned remember the pintos so if it was me ,I would comepletly redo the plumbing on the orig Tom

 

I once had to make a cap to cover the sending unit and silicon it in place to stop odor of gas from coming through.

 

I worked on a '50 F1 for a guy and put an '85 Ranger tank under the bed. It did have the pump in it, but you could probably replace that with a longer hose pickup and sock. That had the same resistance as stock for the sending unit ('86 back).

 

I am sure the truck didn't have any leaks or gasoline odors when new but when I got the truck it did, I change engines and transmissions and used it as my daily for a number of years, after a engine issue it was parked in the barn, I never dreamed it would sit as long as it has but I have built multiple hot rods since that time.

Presently, I'm just asking questions and thinking about options, nothing is written in stone. HRP

 

Depending on the mileage your truck gets, the extra 5 gallons, or the extra 9 gallons is probably only worth another hour or two down the road.
My coupe has a 16 gallon tank in it, that is at least 5 hours driving time, and/or at least 250 miles getting 17 -21 mpg. I don't ever remember putting more then 14 gallons in it (except that one time the set the mileage limit). On the road, when that gas gauge gets near 1/4 tank, its time to find a gas station. The idea of running into unexpected construction, or an accident that stops or slows traffic to a crawl, or a closed gas station, and running out of gas isn't very appealing to me. www.gasbuddy.com is a great resource to find the best priced gas near where you are.

Unless you expect to get 2 or 3 mpg, those extra gallons, compared to the complexities of mounting a larger tank isn't worth the effort, and that is coming from a guy that had a 25 gallon tank on a 54 Dodge pickup.

Pics of the 54. A 12 oz beverage can did not fit under the front of the running board, the 25 gallon fuel tank was just in front of the rear bumper, the gas fill be behind the plate. The tank was out of a 76 or 77 Dodge Charger. I modified the rear crossmember to get it in there. Gene

 

Danny, look at a Mustang or a 50 Ford tank, they are bot flat on top and should fit between the frame rails.

 

That truck has to have a lot more room inside the cab than your deuce pickup.

 

Oh Yeah. HRP

 

I have a 1966 F-100. I don't think you can move the seat back much further, if at all - if you look at the top of the seat back, it's nearly up against the back of the cab as it is.

 

You could install the gas tank inside the frame rail possibly.. My truck,,same as avatar the filler cap is on driver side corner of cab, filler spout goes into the cab down through floor and on to the frame mounted fuel tank. this was how IHC did these originally..always thought it was odd how they plumbed it.
Truck never smells of gas

pictured is filler tube that’s located inside cab and goes out through floor

 

Your probably right, I haven't pulled the truck out of the barn yet. HRP

 

On the 51 stude pickup I'm thinking late 60's early 70's grand prix with the gas cap behind the license plate myself.

.

 

Danny, just thinking out loud to myself…where is your spare at? I’d like my ‘57 it’s the reason on never put one all the way in the back, as I didn’t want to find a spot for the spare.

 

Here's what I have planned for my 58 F-100.
https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm?ptype=product&product_id=83&category_id=133&mode=prod
It fits in between the crossmembers with, possibly, some slight trimming. You will have to remove the spare tire hanger. It eliminates corrosion from ethanol laced fuel and has the ability to be adapted to an in-tank pump if needed. It will require an in-bed fuel portal but this same vendor has lots of options.

Lou Manglass

 

Thanks Lou, I could sacrifice the spare tire. HRP

 

Long time ago I did the same project on a 66’ Chevy. Being in the marine industry I had my tank guy build me a custom aluminum tank. It was one of those situations where it was worth it to take the available space, and build to fit. Not as cheap as adapting something, but I wanted to maximize capacity without having it hang down.

I ran the fill up thru the bed floor with a generic flush Mount boat cap. Never had an issue with access. Cap was in the far LR corner of the tank - I usually just opened and sat on the tailgate while filling up. Others have questioned “what do you do if you have a load of manure in the bed and need to gas up?” My answer is plan ahead. Can’t remember cap location being an issue.

I’m 6’2” so can space was my main concern. The original seats curl back I guess in a designers attempt to disguise the tank being there. I used a seat from a 90’s Chevy pickup that didn’t have the curl at the top. I moved the seat back about 1.5”, but more importantly I was able to raise the front of the seat about 2” and lean the seat back. Tilting the seat has always been the trick for me to get more comfortable, and getting rid of the tank makes modifying the seat fit much easier.

Trying to find some pictures.

 

Danny, do you need a good grill? Do you remember my cousin Andy? he has a 1965 Ford grill hanging up in the back of his garage.

 

John, please send me a PM with his phone number, Thanks HRP

 

That is extremely well done. HRP