The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Fuel tank safety

My 1950 3100 project is coming along and I still need to decide on what to do for a gas tank. The truck came with a good behind the seat tank. Needs some cleaning but only minor rust.

I keep hearing people saying it's best to relocate for safety.

Is it really a big safety issue? I mean this was standard for decades. Back when smoking was cool lol

If I cleaned the tank and bought all new stuff, I would smell any gas vapors before start up anyway right?

If I went the in cab route..should I keep it gravity fed or get a fuel pickup sender from a 54 up?

If I relocate, what are my best options?


Looking for advice and opinions and examples..thanks.

You could get a gas tank from a '70s Pinto.

I'm planning on going totally stock on mine. My dad used a '48 GMC for years as a shop truck and I never smelled gas in it.

i left mine original too. what are you going to do with the truck? if it is just to take out for local pleasure rides, cruise-ins, etc., then you can get away with leaving the tank behind the seat unless you are really uncomfortable with that. Using the truck daily, or taking it out on the interstate with all the knuckleheads out there, may incline you to put the tank under the truck between the frame rails.

Been enjoying cigars in my '49 for years --- haven't blown up yet

I plan on using it daily. Putter to work and back. No hotrodding or anything from me lol. I wasn't all that paranoid to start with, but I think I've been reading forums to much. So now it's either clean this tank and buy all new stuff or get another tank while bed and engine are out.

No one has ever reported an occurance of the interior-located fuel tank exploding in an accident.

Did those concerned people (who told you to get it out of the cab) give you a good reason why? Did they first-hand know of a problem?

You should not smell gas in the cab. Check all connections:
- filler/vent tubes and gaskets
- non-venting gas cap, and good gasket
- outflow fitting/line connections
- all seams on the tank

I recall some 35 years or so ago there was an outcry because some then current models of trucks and cars sometimes caught fire after a rear end collision. As I recall, the cause was a design problem, the tank got ruptured by other parts of the vehicle during the collision. My recollection is a bit vague on all this, but it was a compact car and a pick up truck that were most often named? Neither were GM products. Does that ring a bell with anyone else?

PINTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not worry about the tank in the cab. Millions made that way until we got afraid of our own shadows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto#Fuel_system_fires.2C_recalls.2C_and_litigation - rear end collision fires

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/10/u...ying-test-was-inappropriate.html?mcubz=1 - outside "saddle" tanks

All old panel body trucks (47-55 at least), out of necessity, had the fuel tank between the frame rails near the rear of the truck.

http://www.jimcartertruckparts.com/Articles/In-Cab-Gas-Tanks.php

A little more reading for you.

The key is to have a new sending unit gasket to prevent fumes in the cab.
If you were ever in a wreck so severe as to rupture the tank behind the seat, you would not likely be around long enough to know it.
I prefer the '54 style of sending unit, especially on a used tank due to the potential of 60 years of debris which likes to move to the hole in the bottom of the earlier gravity feed tanks.
The '54 pickup is slightly off the bottom of the tank and comes with a decent sock to keep it from clogging.
Carl

I drove my old 1963 C10 around the entire Western United States and never had a single problem with either the in cab tank or the 2 extra saddle tanks outside the frame rails under the bed. I loved having a 47 gallon fuel capacity on long trips.

My '62 C10 still has the in cab tank and I don't plan to change that.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Like others have suggested, you could refresh the gaskets/seals, but other than that, enjoy your truck.

I like the idea of the 54 sending unit also. So I would use hard lines inside cab right? What about capping off the gravity feed? What's the proper way? Should I seal the tank after cleaning? Minor surface rust inside and out, patches really and looks like old deposits in tank.

Do yourself a huge favor. Buy a new tank and don't look back. It will give you the piece of mind of not having to deal with 60 years of deposits on the sides of the tank being dissolved by volatile additives in today's gas, and finding its way into the fuel pump and carburetor. It will be that mysterious yellow cake uranium looking stuff.
Or you can keep your old tank and have to wonder if it is causing your driveability problems later down the road.

Rockauto.com has a fair price on new tanks. Quality is good but the sending unit bolt holes will be metric thread.🛠

Oh I'm paranoid about a rusty or leaky tank and even I think this one is ok. But I'll post some pics and y'all can see what you think.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PYl8U4RZobgc0j5A3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/woplERKuVTpPeaGB2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dVz71QlR9mxkFK892

Minor rust that comes off easily. I'm thinking if I spend the money on a new tank I might as well but a mustang or similar tank and get cab room too.

That sounds like a good plan to me. Kills two birds with one stone.

Is a mustang tank my best option as far as installing and mounting? No straps or cradle right? Mounted right to frame?

We're you able to see pics of old tank? Thoughts?

Ok, the picture I saw of a mustang tank installed was in a 57. My frame is much wider in the rear huh.

Been watching this for a while Matt, same old thing that people have been asking
ever since I joined up way back when.
First---safety: The tank in its stock location is in just about the most well protected
spot that it could be in. It's protected from the front the rear and from the sides
by lots of body work and frame. If you got hit hard enough to get into the tank
that would be your last worry.
Second: guys that put them under the back of the bed where the spare was
stored are asking for the "Pinto" syndrome where when they are ars holed,
they are sitting in a pool of fuel.
Third: the early 'Bolts had the tanks mounted under the front right side of the
box just inside the frame. If hit from the right side, again, your sitting in a pool
of fuel.
Forth: If the tank doesn't have a lot of rust, and a lot of them don't, then a
decent inline replaceable filter before the fuel pump will take care of any
fine rust or other small particulates. If it's badly rusted then as posted,
they are around $200 brand new. If you make sure the replacement tank
you get is from Spectra Premium Industries http://www.spectrapremium.com/products/fuel_tank.html
the threads will all be correct, i.e., not metric. If you get an import tank
from one of the vendors because it will save you $20, you will probably
end up with metric threads as mentioned.
Fifth: The fuel delivery system that was designed for the truck is perfectly
adequate for the stock engine. No need to worry about changing that.
And lastly, as the guys mentioned, no matter what you end up doing,
make sure you replace the gasket and hoses with new items and the
only gas smell that you will get in the cab will be what you spilled on
yourself when you filled up.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/fuel__air_filtering&page=all
Denny Graham
Sandwich,IL

Thanks Denny. Looks good on the inside just has some flaky black stuff and minimal rust.

And your saying there's nothing wrong with gravity feed system? Do I need to put anything on the threads or just tighten up good?

I need a new sender anyway, anything against capping off gravity feed and buying a 54 pickup/sender?

Cap it off and put on '54 unit. You will be glad you did it.

Is ok to use flex lines inside the cab? Or should I go hard lines throughout?


I think I'll clean this one up and see how it looks. I still like the idea of a rear tank I think just because to me it seems normal lol young guy here. But if it cleans up as well as I think I can't see buying another. If there are issues after it's cleaned then ill get a rear tank of I'm spending the money.

I'll probably ask little bits of advice when running the lines.

Thanks guys

My donor truck will be hauled off soon, so I'm off to the electric forum to see if it's worth stealing wiring harness or if I should and which kit to buy.

Hard lines with short rubber lines on the ends for shake/flex/vibration isolation.🛠

If you use the '54 sender, it will come with a female inverted flare pipe coming out of it which will accept a flared hard fuel line.
I would recommend you buy the copper-nickle-iron (CU-NI-FE) hard line (you usually need to ask for it specifically). You can make most of the bends by hand. I used a bender for the really tight bends. Put the short flex line on the new line right after it clears the hole in the floor. You can either connect the other end of the flex line to an inline filter or directly to a hard line which goes to the fuel pump.

Thanks, is there room enough to use one of the two holes in the floor under the tank? Or will I make another hole?

I bent the line to use an existing hole.

I moved mine to under the bed before I knew you could stop the smell by replacing the fill seal. But I did gain some in-cab storage for cameras, tablet and other sundries. Also room for additional speakers. BTW there is a way to hinge the seat back and I think it is on the site. I used the plans to do mine before I replaced the seats with ones that had shoulder harnesses.

I've got a stock tank with a '54 sender. I was able to bend new hard lines to exit the cab where the old gravity feed line did and into an inline filter isolated with short pieces of rubber fuel line. I had always intended to put a new tank under the bed, but a long time ago I came to realize the old tank is in the best and safest place.
In roughly nine years as a daily driver the only time I've smelled gas is when I get greedy at the pump and fill the the tank and then the filler neck all the way to the top. When you can stick your finger in the filler neck to check the fuel level you've got too much