Hot Rod, thanks for the article. That's a really great summary. I don't remember who said it on this thread, but somebody said that a person needs to do whatever they need to do to feel safe. I'll admit that I've never heard of an in-cab tank leaking or exploding, but, still, I'd feel safer with the tank located within the confines of the frame, so I guess that's my answer. And the truth is that I would like some extra cab space and no gas oder when I fill up.
The safest, most convenient, and best-looking way to move the tank is still in question. Lots of good solutions have been proposed in this thread and others. I like Markeb's approach of hiding the filler neck in the fender and just having a cap on the inside of the bed, but the problem he had with gas being kicked back up the filler sounds like a pain. That would have to be resolved. I also like someone's suggestion that the rear of the frame possibly could be reinforced to protect the gas tank in the event of a rear-end collision.
I hope it makes sense why I'm obsessing over this. I love the trucks, but with a wife and baby to take care of, I need to make sure any vehicle I drive is as safe as possible. Clearly, by driving a vintage truck, you're automatically giving up some safety features of modern vehicles, but you can gain much of that by updating the brakes, steering, seat belts, and maybe the gas tank.
By the way, Woogeroo, your friend who survived the head-on collision- that's wonderful, and it's great to hear that the tank was not at fault in his injuries. I bet he was using the standard lap belt or no belt at all during his wreck. Do you know if that's true? Would a shoulder harness or 4 or 5-point belt improved his chances of escaping serious injury?
Thanks to everybody, and I'm sorry for not being more active in this thread I started. We're looking at buying a house, and my time has been used up in that endeavor. Money, too. Once we get our savings account built back up, it's full-steam ahead with a search for a truck!
Steve.
