Good morning guys, Im in the Garage and wanting to remove the fuel tank on my 1953 Chevrolet Panel Truck 3100 1/2 ton. ive got it jacked and blocked up. the two tank straps are rusted (broken) loose,ive removed the wire out of the clips and another is broken off, I think the only thing from keep the tank from falling down is its still sitting somewhat in the bottom brackets and the filler tube is still attached. Ive got to brake loose the fuel line yet. My question is this : Is the filler tube welded into the side of the tank ?? or will it wiggle out or will it possibly clear enoungh to drop the tank down ??? ive got a nice steel plate inserted into my floor jack to support the tank while trying to get the tank removed.
1953 Chevrolet 1/2 ton Panel Truck 3100 4800 LB. maximum rating, 85hp at 3300 RPM
The tanks I`ve removed from a 58 and 59 panel have the filler and vent tube welded to the tank. Joined together with a rubber filler tube and vent tube to filler door tubes. The filler and vent should clear the frame and down. W/O fuel in them , they are light and dont need a jack. I sat a cardboard box down to set tank on.
~ BD. "You won't find me in an old folks home" Pioneer Florida Cracker 1958 Apache Stepside 1958 Apache 1/2 ton Panel 1959 Apache 1/2 ton Panel
Check out the attached pic I snapped from my reproduction Factory Assembly Manual (FAM) for the Panel truck model 3105 fuel tank.
Maybe of some help.
According to the pic, it shows the tank filler neck with a flange that bolts to the tank. But without being able to see your tank set-up, can't say yay or nay for sure. Best guess is if you don't see such a mounting flange on your tank, the filler is soldered into place.
Per the shop manual (pic also below), you only have a few steps to remove the tank. The first being "Drain tank.".
Should be no problem following the directions to drop the tank past the frame rail once you have it properly disconnected (not a straight down motion).
Be safe!
Dan
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Thanks guys for your help and information. I got the tank out this afternoon. a few of the bolts broke off, some came out .i cut the rubber connector which helped seperate the filler tube, As I have said before Kroil works wonders, even better than PB Blaster in my opinion. The tank had about 2 gallons of gas in it and natuarally it was varinsh. I dont know if id want to try and seal this tank with the POR or not. I can tell you that I called Jim Carter Truck Parts yesterday inquiring on a new tank and the price in there latest catalog (2021) was $349.00 and when i asked them on the phone they said they had them in stock but the price went up to $472.00 Wow thats big increase !!! but what are you going to do.
1953 Chevrolet 1/2 ton Panel Truck 3100 4800 LB. maximum rating, 85hp at 3300 RPM
When working on 70 year old cars, you're happy that parts are available at any price.
Last edited by Otto Skorzeny; 03/10/20232:14 AM.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
I just bought a new tank last month from LMC Truck for $179.95 before taxes and shipping for my 1953 3600 series. It fits great and I'm happy to skip the old tank cleaning job.
Another good source at decent prices are tanksinc.com they have replacement GM tanks as well as some universal tanks. Probably going to replace my tank with one or two rectangular universal tanks under the bed and connect them for 25-30gal cap.
