The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Gas tank under the bed of a 57

Has anyone put a gas tank under the bed of a stepside 57? Most of the stuff I am finding is for the LWB types of trucks. Any suggestions out there in cyberspace?

I have a 57 short step that I put a 66-68 Mustang tank in. It's a 16 gal that fills through a trap door in the bed.The tank falls between the frame rails like it was meant to be there. I fabricated a crossmember in the front of the tank and two pieces of angle iron for the sides. The rear frame crossmember was removed and then reinstalled upside down and became the rear mount for the tank. In case of a leak the whole thing will slip out the back without removing the bed. I extended the filler neck with a piece from Speedway and did it all for under a c note. The tank looks good from behind unlike some of the catalog tanks that look like suitcases hanging there. Good luck
Richie Z

Richie: Have you any pics you can post? I used to play with those "ponies" and wonder if the taller/larger tank from a 71-73 would fit. How much room was above the tank you installed? Oh and before I get too far...Thanks for the info. I had not have concidered using foreign parts

This is a gas tank under an AD (NOT my truck, NOT my work; this is just a pic from a pro).

I hope he can come back someday........... .

Sorry I,m a web tv guy so I cant do pictures. I can tell you that the mounting flange of the tank is centered in the frame which leaves enough room to get to the bed mounting bolts, but still don't hang too low. The tank I used was a 16 gal. the 18 just hangs a little lower. The later tanks had a higher top I think, and probably wouldn't work as well. I kept the Stang pick-up and adapted my 57's sender to it. I did the trap door thing so that gas spills would be outside and not spoil the wood. I've seen a few boat filler neck jobs through the bed that looked bad after a spill or two. The price is right, the look is right. Richie Z

Here's a look at what the PO did with my 54 :
Relocated Gas Tank

Hey Plum I goofed, my tank is closer to the top 3rd of the frame. If you flip the rear crassmember it will dictate the tank location and provide a nice ledge for the tank to sit on. Richie Z

FWIW, I installed the under-seat tank from a Jeep CJ-5 under my 57. It was NOS, so I could cut and weld without fear of a big bang. I had to plug the original filler hole in the side, and fabricate a new filler on top in anticipation of a gas cap in the rear fender. I modified the mounting holes and pick-up tube from the original 57 sending unit to fit the Jeep tank. I got a pair of new hanger straps based solely on proper length. The T-tabs attach to the crossmember over the rear end. I installed a new crossmember of 1 x 2 square tubing about 8 inches from the end of the frame rails, and that carries the threaded ends of the hanger straps. The new tank rides tight up against the original rear cross member with pieces of tire sidewall for tank-to-frame buffer. I does indeed look like a suitcase hanging there, and way too much work, but infinitely cheaper than a new 69-72 'Burb tank. PS-if my geometry calculations are correct, it holds about 23 gal.