The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop under bed fuel tank for 50 chev pickup

Would appreciate any info from those who have already completed this modification. Trying to remove tank from cab and place under cab. Would like to use common tank as to avoid costly fuel cell and increased availability at local junk yard.

Welcome to the bolt. Try using the search feature to find some threads previous posted on this subject as it has been discussed several times.

There are pictures of my under bed tank install in my picture trail account on the attached link.

Bluenoser,
The 1948 Chevy trucks had the tank under the bed on the passenger side. They are being reproduced, but deffinitely not cheap yet. But the Suburbans and Panels also used the same tank, so if you can find a tank from a 48 Pickup, or a 47-54 Burb or Panel, it will be pretty much a bolt in affair, and the gas gage will actually work like factory!
My Grandfather actually added a 49 tank in my 48, so I have twin tanks in my 48 1/2 ton.
Garry K in Port Orchard, WA

How many gallons does that tank hold, and who reproduces it now?

mines not AD truck but iam just finishing one fo my 56 3100 turned out great . its a copy of one that was in a catologue i have.hey blue noser iam right next door sort of, nova scotia.

i found a junk jeep laying on it's side at a abandoned drive-in that appeared to be early 80s [pre fuel inj.]that was plastic it fit perfectly on my 53 3800. even had an indentation for the rear crossmember. everybody that see it says it looks like ti was made for the truck . it looked to be origanal on the jeep. stay outside/live within

Hey BlueNoser -

I bought a tank at a junkyard for 50 bucks for my 50 1/2 ton.

It came out of a 1979 Chevy Van, I beleive it is a 22 Gallon variety.

I mounted it where the spare tire used to be located by eliminating the angle-iron crossmember and mounting new angle iron just to the rear of the C notch in the frame. I then used some 1/16 metal strapping from HomeDepot (the kind with the holes in it) and some 2 1/2 inch 5/16 bolts to strap the thing in nice and tight. I drilled holes through the back side of the spare tire crossmember and another set of holes on the re-located angle iron for the bolts.
Total cost was about $85.00.

Now I have to figure a filler neck solution with a fuel door in the passenger side fender. I've seen pics of others' successes so hopefully I can get it done.

Hope this helps.

inthedoghouse50, you might take a look at my community webshot of the cool cap from airride. the cost of the cap and flanger is more tha you have already spent but it is an idea. you don't have to buy the flanger but it was the look i wanted. it is kif 0112 RON

WE b OLD

Hey that's an idea I hadn't thought of - looks like a marine-type filler plug but it works, nice and simple too. What is the name or brand of that flex hose you got running to the tank? I asked at local auto parts store and the guy suggested flex PVC which I think would dissolve after exposure to gasoline?

I can see your reflection in the fender - put some shoes on you're gonna step on a nail or something!

Thanks for the pointer

inthedoghouse50 ,the hose is a regular gas filler hose i got from a local independant parts house. they had the solid and this wire wrapped they suggested the wire type because of the bending, the smooth type didn't bend well. the bend will have to be adjusted, it fills real slooooow. i had moccasins on but i do run around barefoot a lot, but that garage is my house garage not my shop. thanks for mentioning it. RON

bluenose,
The 48 and burb tank is a 16 or 17 gallon tank, so it is roughly the same as the one behind the seat. The sending unit will work perfectly with your gages, in fact the sending unit is the same between the two tanks I believe.
Chevy Duty, Golden State Pick-up Parts, and a few others have all advertised 48/burb tanks in the past.
Garry K

Hey there happy to be on line. Very interesting all of the comments thks blue noser

Hey blue
i found a universal tank 16 gal that measures 10''x11''x34'', @ $215.00. i plan on placing this under the truck's right side in front of the axle, inside the frame. because gas weighs (6 +lb/gal or 100#) a fair amount 2'' straps will hold it and 4 - 1/2'' allthread rods, up to the cross strut(s). i'm a little concerned about ground clearance but there are ways to control this. i'm using the stock 1951 filler to make the nozzle fit just below the wood bed line in front of the rear fender slightly tilted up. a short rubber hose to couple to a 2'' prebent exhaust tube available @ speed shops, radius is 9''. i can cut this tube to fit and weld it into the new tank a 2'' prebent exhaust tube available @ speed shops, radius is 9''. i can cut this tube to fit and weld it into the new tank. the tank comes w/ a filler neck that i need to close off. i do not like the filler neck in the bed when the tank is @ the bed rear, besides i have a modern chevy cable crank cable to lower the spare in the back where it belongs, $25 @ the j-yard. a 7/16'' bolt grafted to a rod makes a good down crank hanle and easy to store. it also has an anti-roll shutoff and fuel pickup. i also bought all new gauges and in doing so they came w/ the sender unit. adjust to fit my tank and we're done.
hope it helps

Good parts houses will have pre-bent fuel transfer hose. I just got a 90 deg. 1 1/2 inch dia. Gates hose for my rear tank install. Gates has 1 1/2", 2" and 2 1/2" dia. hoses in 90 deg. 45 deg, and 30 deg. bends. I got mine from a big truck parts house.

I haven't seen any vendors with a 48 style underbed replacement tank. They don't seem to exist. If anyone knows of a place let me know. Thanks!

universal (tanks inc.) an under bed, styled after a tank behind the cab front of bed area. not at the rear where the spare type should go. uses the stock filler neck but in front of the pass. rear fender down low. @ $215.00

http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/1951otter/ use 1951otter and password katiemae in the search
you'll have to scroll down the page after you open the link ... forget the logon bit at the top.
The tank is from tanks inc. a universal 16 gal e/w anti roll valve.

I finally got hold of a digital camera. sorry no shots of the completed set up as i'm about to haul the 1/2t off to the blaster..... paint soon.


http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi...d=results&record=2454005-100201-KZRR

Put this 16 gallon fuel tank from Summit in a 49. http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/coilover/ Pictures 49007 and 49009 show the board open and closed. Didn't use the $400 kit but instead two gas flap arms off an 80's-90's cougar or T-bird, cost $5.

coilover,

You posted your login page.

Just in case you don't know, you need to login to you photobucket account as a visitor and past that address.

Would love to see your pictures.

coilover
go to photobucket and make your account
public access
then we can see your photos

Thanks guys, if I built trucks like I run a computer I'd be hurting. Let me know if it works now. Thanks; Evan

Classic Industries sells an under bed fuel tank for these trucks, designed to be supported on the frame rails.

Evan,
Nice truck, do you have more pictures?

Still looking for an underbed tank. Classic doesn't show anything for the AD trucks. I'm looking to mount in front of the differential not in the rear. Love to hear more ideas on other tanks that fit.

fireout1

Take a look at Tanks inc. They have many replacement tanks as well as some universal tanks. They should have something that will work in front of the axle.

http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/1951otter/
you'll have to scroll down the page after you open the link ... forget the logon bit at the top.
The tank is from tanks inc. a universal 16 gal e/w anti roll valve. @ $215.00

I finally got hold of a digital camera. sorry no shots of the completed set up as i'm about to haul the 1/2t off to the blaster..... paint soon.

these shots are of my under pass bed gas tank, a 16 gallon w/ the old cab filler turned 180 and welded to a plate. a decorative piece made to cover the bed outside was welded to the original cab filler neck and bolted w/ three 1/4'' bolts. i flared out the stock filler neck at the end to 2''. as was told to me by a friend,... '''jim this is a drive-a-way tank filler, and you'll have the station's hose''' . this mounts to the passenger side, in front of the rear fender, below bedwood @ the side skirting. there is room for a 2'' hose to connect the filler spout to the tank inlet neck.
it a universal steel tank from tanks inc. it's 10''x11''x34''.
http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/p...ry_id=69/home_id=59/mode=prod/prd128.htm

i welded shut the original chevy tank filler neck's vent tube as it was not needed w/ this new tank, (it has a newer system). I also welded the top of the univ. tank filler neck (as delievered) closed. i really do not like the gas filler hidden in the wood slat/area of the bed. A piece of curved 2'' muffler pipe was fit & welded to the new tank top-edge, side, (these are available @ muffler shops or auto supply houses as pre-bent pieces), w/ the new hole cut into the bed skirt that lines up w/ the new filler tube. the tank comes w/ an anti-roll vent so the rubber hose can be placed above the tank's highest point. i vented mine to inside the fender well & directed it so mud and crud will not plug the hose end. i had to cut out the stock 3104's frame 'corner plate' so the tank would fit as far forward. the four 1/2'' threaded rods are held up to the under side of the bed so the tank is as high as possible. 1/2'' all-thread w/ nuts welded to small plates welded to the bed's cross wood braces hold the tank up. i glued rubber strips to the bottom cross braces as well as the top of the tank when fitted so vibration is eliminated. You'll have to fit a wood spacer e/w rubber for vibration on top of the tank between the bed under frame to space what you'll need. tighten as needed to secure the tank in situ. my tank's finished in Por 15. unless you space your rear axle @ a further distance back, you may have to cut the rear tank corner to fit close to the third member next to the pumpkin and weld back a plate to the tank, my new 12 bolt rear end was fitted @ the same time @ 2-1/2'' back. this is a some-what tight fit length wise and the (stovebolt suppliers) kits only offset available @ 1-1/2'' offset. i think the 2-1/2'' offset looks A LOT better than the 1-1/2''. that gave me all the room i needed to fit the full 16 gal tank w/o hacking the tank at all. the gas pick-up fuel is @ the rear along w/ the sender. i set the sender so it should show empty but it has 3-4 gallons left as reserve.
hope this helps...

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=004252#000025


I have ours set as a 1948 tank
WE DON"T have a V8.
but if you do have a V8 think about (i've seen) two smaller saddle tanks that will probably have to be made to fit.... cost adds up $$ though. the transfer hose will have to be somewhat large between them or you'll have two filler necks.
other wise this IS the solution

lifting a whole board to fill a gas tank is wildly $$*&?"+??!~+??

Maybe you're right. I thought I saw an under-bed tank made for a stovebolt truck, but it doesn't seem to be in Classic Industry's catalogue, now that I look for it.

I can't think of where I saw it.
But why don't you want to go behind the axle? That seems to be the most vacant space under the bed, and then you can get a filler neck out easier.

I am running a V8, but I would like to retain the area for the spare tire instead of filling it up with a gas tank. Lots of good info here. Thanks!

Might think about a driveshaft loop so that a broken U-joint doesn't cause the driveshaft to rupture the tank right above it, in that case.

My 95 pickup runs a tank in the same place with no driveshaft loop. It is a poly tank so that would make a difference I guess. I have given a loop some thought though. Probably will be a good addition if I go with a tank above the driveshaft.

Found the tank I was talking about. This company makes custom tanks to fit between the frame rails.

No Limit Engineering
www.nolimit.net
909-386-7637

The tank is shown in a full page ad in the latest issue of Classic Trucks magazine.

...68-72 Nova (and clones), 67-9 Camaro.Firebird tanks work great behind the rear axle. They are reasonably priced and several places repro them.
Filler neck comes out in rear, fills in notch cut into rear bed sill; this can be hid with flip-down cover or flip-down licence plate.