The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Gas tank dilemma

Hiya. 1954 GMC 1/2-ton, 248, Hydramatic, all stock. The truck hasn't gone very far for the past 15-20 years and has essentially sat for about 5. About five years ago, I was driving the truck and it just stopped climbing a hill. I drifted it back into a driveway and after a lot of tinkering (and help from a friend who happened to be passing by) discovered that the fuel filter on the pump was packed with fine rust. We cleaned it out and eventually got the truck running again.

This past summer, I discovered the truck wouldn't start, but it'd crank and run off of a squirt of ether. So I ran a line from a gas can into the pump and the old girl ran better than she has in years. I was able to move the truck out and back into a better spot in the garage, but it certainly ain't roadworthy under the current jury-rigged setup. I did find that the rubber line by the tank was very cracked. I cut it, but gas was just trickling out. I plugged the line with a bolt and hose clamp before heading back overseas.

So, finally, the question: Do I just order a new tank, sender (I don't think the gas gauge has read anything but 1/4 tank for at least 30 years), et al., and swap the whole tank and line(s?) out when I'm home next summer? Or do I try just replacing the rubber line, assuming the pump was sucking air through the cracks even though it wasn't leaking gas? Knowing there's rust in the tank and I need a sender anyway, I'm tempted to replace everything, but is that overkill?

An extenuating circumstance is that I'll probably only be home for a week or so next summer and therefore won't have time to take off the old tank, clean it out, and seal it, which I'd try if time weren't an issue. And my mom is likely moving across town next fall, so I'd like to have the truck able to be driven to the new place--she's already likely to have to tow my late father's '41 Chevy sedan, which she's not parted with yet.

Anyway, that's enough words for now. Thanks in advance for your advice!

-Dave

I'd vote for replacing the tank, lines, hoses, and pump with new. Install a new filter inline also and think about a shut off valve if mounted low. After 50+ years its time and a whole lot less frustrating for the few $ more you will spend.

welcome to the bolt.... either have it cleaned and treated (inside) and replace the sender or buy a new one.. both cost a couple of $$, new is probably easier.

What are you doing in China?

's like I said in the other post, Dave. I had precisely the same problem. My fuel tank has enough integrity that there is no gas smell in the cab, and therefore the rust has not advanced too far, but when I first started driving Epic #2, I was having frequent unplanned stops - one I remember particularly was just before the apex of a bridge; not a great place, and a condition which is not to be borne :

I have two of those garden-variety glass-encased in-line filters in the system.One is just under the tank, with a shut off valve before it, and the other is just before the (electric) fuel pump. I inspect the lower filter frequently. Every now and then - not so often lately - I shut the valve, dismantle and clean the lower filter, and Bob's your uncle! Oh, and the lower fuel line has been replaced with rubber, and there's a length of split radiator hose protecting the lower filter from gravel damage. This is all temporary, but it allows the truck to work, as I said, while the crud works its way out.

You can just throw money at the problem, of course, but we Stovebolters - well, one of us at least - are cheap and lazy bastids, and if a permanent repair can be effected with a little ingenuity and less work, then what the heck, says I.
I could also pull the tank, have it washed, etched and coated, and that, too, would be good for a time, but years down the road that coating might start to migrate into my fuel filters, and then I'd have the same symptoms again.
No. This truck will remain in regular service, so condensation in the tank (and the consequent rust) will be kept to a minimum.

Cleaning and coating your existing tank is cheaper, buying a new tank is easier but more expensive. Be happy you have the option of buying a new tank. That option wasn't there for me. I brazed holes shut, acid cleaned & coated my tank. If you want to save the original tank it's common to do so.

I decided to go the new tank route and am not sorry. Just one unscheduled stop on the road would make up the cost of new in aggrevation. My new tank cost about 160.00, now I have no fuel supply worries. The replacement tank worked perfectly, it is exactly the same shape and the fuel gauge rheostat fit right. Anybody want to buy a used gas tank from my '54.

OK, sounds like for my time parameters and desire to just fix the durned thing once and for all, I'll just spring for a new tank, sender and lines to the pump. The pump itself seems to be working fine yet.

So the next question, which I hope is appropriate here: What vendors do you guys recommend for this sort of thing? I know my dad got some stuff from Chevs of the 40s several years ago, and I've also checked out Chevy Duty online. Looks like American Classic advertises on here too. Anywhere else I should check out?

Thanks,
-Dave

I got my new tank from LMC and it was perfect (I've read that some guys had some weird fitting threads on some tanks from another vendor), but mine thru LMC was perfect. Shipping was fast.

I don't know who the manufacturer was but I bought mine from a local dealer, Fat Fender in Fresno, Ca. It came in a nice heavy cardboard box so I would suppose it could be sent to China easily by Fedex or some other carrier.

Thanks again. Chevman, it's not going to China. The truck is in Pennsylvania; I'm teaching here on the other side of the globe, sans autos.

-Dave

Dave, Given your needs, I'd suggest you take the sender assy. out and clean the pickup. I'll bet it's got a coat of flour-looking stuff on it (ie. rust dust). Put it back in and you can drive it to its new home. Then, when you have time you still have two options 1) spring for a new tank or 2) if its a weekly driver, then just take that tank out and clean it. Coating the inside (in my opinion) is not necessary. 2006 cars aren't coated are they? Just my 2c worth.

dlhoover: I had the same problem & after annalizing the situation: things like cost, removal time not to mention
the "hazard" of the tank being in the "cab" + the fuel smell
& that it is a small tank ...I went with a relocated unit under
the bed ! It is fairly easy to instal, a lot safer & gives you
more gallons (mine now holds 19 gallons) ! CPP offers a
good unit that is easy to mount & comes with good installation
inst. (around $400). They also affer a replacement for around
$200 & $40 for the sender ! Hope this helps !
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Do old trucks get new rust or is it just part of the recycling process!
>>>>>>>>>>>
'53 GMC 3/4 ton (8 lugs)