The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Completed Journals 1966 Chevy C-10 Short Stepside -- Step by Step

Just finished installing correct fuel gauge sending unit that matches the '70-72 Blazer 21 gal fuel tank with my new Dolphin gauge set. The Dolphin gauges came with the correct 90 ohm sending unit but it was for the original in cab fuel tank. The Blazer tank came with a 30 ohm sending unit to work with the original 66 C10 gas gauge. Took a couple phone calls & a bunch of online surfing but I finally found the correct sending unit . I had actually gotten used to the fuel gauge reading with the 30 ohm sending unit. When full it read about 1/3 full, then when reading empty, it took about 10 or 12 gal. Leaving me with a cushion of about 10 gal. Mom was not happy with my willngness to leave things as is (or was) in light of our upcoming trip to Tn for the Southern Stovebolt get together. Then, as luck would have it, the brass float on the original Blazer sending unit started taking on fuel, which left me with no gauge at all.

The more I looked at the way the Blazer tank was shoehorned in place, including the filler neck & two vent lines, plus the tank had 20 gal of fuel in it, I decided to raise the bed about a foot and install new 90 ohm sending unit without pulling the tank. Sounds like a lot more work, but with everything being fresh, clean & rust free it actually went quite well considering. To top it all off, fuel gauge now works correctly.

Also ordered two marine grade charcoal cannisters to eliminate gas fumes when parked in a closed or confined space. While road testing after work was completed, truck had an occasional stumble (This was over an 80 mi or so drive in 91 F ,sunny weather with AC on) I decided that the two newly installed canisters will not let tank suck in air fast enough as fuel is being drawn down (or used up) To correct this, I located a fuel tank vent valve from a 70-72 full size Chevy car that's vacuum operated.. I'll plumb it so that tank can draw air when engine is running but will vent thru charcoal canisters when engine is off. All vent lines will have in line filters to prevent dirt (or charcoal) from being drawn into the tank.

While under the truck, I also noticed the the new (two years on the shelf.one year on the truck & about 1500 miles) Monroe gas shocks were leaking. A little online research & I found a pair of KYB gas shocks for a reasonable price. They were installed while truck was on jack stands.

Our 80 mile test drive was to the front end shop that lined the front end originally back in Sept,'24. I thought it had a little too much toe in, after putting truck on the rack, the tech agreed with me. He made a little adjustment & truck steers the best yet. Plus I discovered I was running a little bit too much PSI in front tires. I had 35 psi, thinking of the extra weight of the BBC engine, but since dropping psi to 32, steering improved. Live & learn as they say.
Edit: Added matching key door locks in preparation for upcoming trip.
A few photos below.