My customer purchased a new 20 gallon fuel tank, sending unit and fuel filler neck grommet from LMC this evening, just before the City Counter doors closed at 7:00 pm. In a effort to get my customer's truck done and back to him, we decided to stay late and install the new tank, sender, filler neck & grommet. That is where the fun began.
1. The screws for securing the sending unit to the fuel tank where phillips panhead screws and one of them was mis-produced and looked more goofy, than a shot opossum. The factory screws are 1/4" hex head screws with rubber washers, which were not included.
2. The bolt circle on the fuel sending unit was clocked incorrectly, to mate to the corresponding threaded holes in the fuel tank, therefore the pickup line was either pointing slightly up or slightly down. The factory orientation is at 9:00 o'clock. Furthermore, three of the 5 holes aligned and the other two were too far off, to allow them to screw into the threaded holes in the tank.
3. The five threaded holes in the bolt circle on the fuel tank were incorrectly clocked and slightly off, in order to receive a factory fuel sending unit.
In closing, not only would the aftermarket sending unit, not fit the aftermarket fuel tank, but also the aftermarket sending unit would not fit the factory tank, nor would the factory sending unit fit the aftermarket tank.
If there is, in fact, an R&D Department at LMC or any of the aftermarket parts suppliers, I would be surprised. In my experience of working exclusively on '60-'66 Chevy/GMC trucks, Panels & Suburbans, I have found very few aftermarket parts, that are equivalent or "even close", to the quality, fit & finish of the original parts, they are replacing.
Words of wisdom, if you can purchase good, used parts, do so, in lieu of buying the aftermarket junk we are importing into this country. My customer is taking the fuel tank & sending unit back to LMC Truck, in the morning, for a full refund. We will bring these shortcomings to their attention, but the order-takers at the City Counter are none-the-wiser!
Last edited by 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks; 04/12/2011 4:10 AM.
