The 12v gas gauge for my '54 sits higher than the original 6v gauge, too. Mine came from the
Truck Shop and is their CounterParts brand.
I tried to bend the face of the gauge back a little. Don't know if I succeeded very much - I was afraid that I would pop the rivits holding it or that I would damage the gauge mechanism. Luckily, the needle did not touch the glass or bezil.
I lightly sanded the face of my new gauge, painted it flat black, and attached new decals to all of my gauges so that they would match. I painted the needles after attaching the decals. The gauge faces on your '53 may require a different base paint than my flat black.
Here is a link to my PhotoBucket album of my gauges. Shows the original color and pattern inside the speedo and gauge housings. Also shows the original color and pattern of the back of the gauge bezils.
By the way -- The needle on my 12v gauge does not return to "E" when the ign is turned off. Gravity pulls it past "F" when the ign is off. My gas gauge also responds slowly. Don't know if it is the new Truck Shop float or the gauge. It takes a couple of minutes of driving for the needle to register Full after filling up the tank. Even so, it's still better than having to carry a 2-gal gas can in the bed when my old gauge didn't work.
