The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Safest gas tank for a 60-66 Chevy?

I'm considering buying a truck to restore/rebuild. See my other thread:

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=621699&page=1

On that thread, my focus has become gas tank questions. I figured it was worth starting a new thread just about that.

So I would keep the appearance of the truck stock, but I would do all the upgrades I could to make it safer.

What's the safest gas tank and safest way to install it? Plastic, aluminum? The Blazer tank or a custom tank from LMC or some other dealer?

I would be moving the gas tank from the cab to to under the bed. I've never seen any pictures of someone moving the gas tank in front of the axle. It's always to the rear, which I've read is pretty dangerous if you get rear-ended. Is it possible that a tank could be bought or fabricated to fit in front of the rear axle? Is there any room there for a tank?

I've seen some people say they put the tank "in the bed". What's up with that? Is there a way to do that that doesn't look redneck (no offense, I'm am one)?

Ok, that's enough questions! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
Steve.

under the bed inside the frame rail, forward of the rear end is the safest place, however you may not find one to fit there, as between the bed body & frame is the most room, but poor location from a t-bone accident.as seen on models with the saddle tanks just inside the bed side.
Rear located tanks are fairly safe with a good bumper, but then where do you put a spare ?

I've seen the spare somehow mounted in the bed up near the cab. If it comes to that, I'd put the tank in the rear and the spare in the bed. Still hoping for a better solution.

A guy at work who is a car buff/mechanic/restorer loves S10 trucks. He said some or all of the S10's have the setup shown in the attached drawing. He thinks it would work on a mid-60's Chevy.

Drawing is here: http://schwinn.webs.com/apps/photos/photo/next?photoid=71631826

Better yet, here's a photo I found:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/skidplate_off.jpg

The tank would be long and skinny, maybe a 16, 17, or 18 gallon tank. Something similar to this but maybe smaller:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/d...uel_TankQQ19851995QQARBC670106.html#desc

It would be really cool because you could run a hose from the stock filler tube location behind the driver's window down to the tank which would be in the frame just behind the cab.

Here's a good picture of a '64 frame in that area. There are a couple diagonal beams in that area, but there is some space between those and the bed.

http://image.customclassictrucks.com/f/9487568/0702ct_03_z+1964_chevy_stepside_pickup+.jpg

Would a tank fit here?

Thanks.
Steve.

One thing I know is to not use the plastic or poly-whatchamacalit tanks. A fella I know locally used one of those to put his under the bed and he was not happy with it. He said when it was full in the summer it would get hot and kinda droop over the mounts like.

If he had it to do over, he said he would have used a metal tank.

A lot of people use some model of old chevy blazer tank, apparently it fits between the frame rails.

The challenge with putting the tank under the bed will be... where do I put the filler neck? There will be some modifications done there.

I'll try to root up some more information this weekend, if I can find it.

-W

Thanks, once again, W for the info!

I definitely don't want the filler cap to be in the center of the bed. It needs to be routed to a fender, or like I said above, the neatest thing would be to route a hose to the existing filler neck behind the driver's side window. How would that work?

Steve.

i think the tank won't have room in front of axle because of arms, it would too hard to run a hose from the orig filler location all way back to under bed due to cab and bed flexing, the in bed method will be in the way and prob the most dangerous because it's not protected at all and it gets rained on. you could prove me wrong though.
the bend in the hose will make it hard to go to fender on a fleetside bed and fill well. if it passes thru bed it will be in the way. it may be in the way anywhere you put it unless you leave it behind seat. not to talk you out out of it. i have the poly tank in my 64 and a steel tank in my 63. i prefer the steel, would prob prefer the aluminum if i had a fat wallet.
my 64 filler location in on side under a custom wrecker bed i made and it's a pain! you have to kneel down every time you get gas. the 63 is in the bed close to the drivers side , but it's a stepside. i don't like that a lot either, it is a little in the way but not bad. good luck, you may figure out a great solution. if so i may copy it!

Not to be a party pooper or anything, but the safest tank for a '60-'66 Chevy is the original fit one that goes behind the seat!

There's a few that don't want to hear it, but I don't see anything wrong with a good cab mounted tank. But the so-called debate goes on......
Scott

Gas Tanks... probably the most debated "safety" issue here on the Stove bolt.

The best plan: Do whatever makes you feel safer.

For me it was moving the tank to the rear. FYI: pictures and data, go to post #8 of my build thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=363509

My opinion (for whatever it is worth) is having the gas tank any place but in the closed compartment where I am sitting is an improvement.

If you look at "modern trucks" they have the tank between the frame rails and not in the cab. The manufacturers are required to crash testing vehicles today which results in locating items, such as fuel tanks, in "safer" locations. That was not the case when our old trucks were built in the 1960's.

With the "truck arm" rear suspension on our trucks mounting the tank in front of the rear axle will mean the tank will end up being under the cab and therefore can't be more than about 8" deep or it will be hanging down. You will also have restrictions on where you can run the exhaust and the tank will be problematic for transmission removal / repair.

If you feel safer not having the tank in the cab putting the tank behind the rear axle is a compromise. It gets the tank out of the cab and it puts it between the frame rails. And, as has been said before, if you have a structurally strong rear bumper or add a structural cross member at the back of the frame as part of the gas tank relocation it will be as protected during a rear end collision as much as it would in a side collision.

Again, it is about doing whatever makes you feel safer. Nobody can argue that point.. but you!

I hope this helps.

I don't ever remember hearing of a problem with a gas tank behind the seat. Most people who remove them want more cab space.

Just make sure that the gaskets are in good shape to prevent fuel smell in the cab.

Whenever I have purchased an old truck this issue has never crossed my mind. I guess I put a lot of faith in GM's original design and engineering. Also, I like the easy access to the fuel tank in case I need to work on it, it's better than crawling under the truck!

Thanks guys for all the suggestions so far! This is all very fascinating!

What about what this guy did on his 1952? Is this a possibility on a mid 60's truck? Granted, it looks extremely involved. I doubt I would go to this much trouble, but it is a possible solution?

http://www.1952chevytruck.com/1952chevytruck_brakes_fueltank_exhausts.htm

I can't tell: did he raise the bed to accomplish this? Doesn't look like it to me.

By the way, can anyone point me to a nice photo of a 60's frame?

Thanks.
Steve.

i put mine [custom built resonably priced 20 gal] under the bed behind the rear end and have the filler tube come up through the bed [nice marine chrome ] works good

Bill's Truck Shop has used 60-66 Suburban gas tanks for 125 bucks Canadian. Seems about as close to Factory Engineered that you can get. (If you're on here reading this, then you have the tools to find them.)

Steve,

The 1952 has leaf springs. If your truck has the swing arms suspension that gas tank set-up won't work.

John

Ok. Thanks everybody for all the discussion. If anyone has any other ideas, please post them.

What I'm getting from all this is that there is no obvious place to install a gas tank other than the extreme rear of the truck.

When I get my truck, I'm going to revisit this and look at the frame myself and see if I can get creative. If I think of another option, I'll post it here. Otherwise, I'll put the tank in the rear and look for ways to strengthen the frame back there. That will be good enough. I know I'll feel better with the tank out of the cab.

Thanks again, everybody!

This is what tkdtkd of chevytalk did to his truck:

tkd's gas tank pics

I liked the way he covered up the neck inside the box of the bed on his fleetside.

I saw a tech article on a little later chevy truck... 67-72 where this fella put a tank under the bed and he hid the fuel door behind the side marker light... so it didn't stand out at all.



For the record I recently emailed a guy who was in a head on collision in a truck like ours... someone doing like 40-45 mph... totaled the truck, put him in the hospital for 11 months plus rehab... but he sold the gas tank to another guy for his project.


-W

I am in the "behind the seat is the best location" camp. If fact, my truck had a tank mounted under the bed when I got it and I am just finishing up relocating it back behind the seat. I'm VERY thankful that the guy who built my truck didn't eliminate the original filler hole and also didn't add a filler anywhere else. It was located behind the tail-light (fleetside) so putting it back proper did not require any major repairs. Something to consider, GM (as an example) put the tank behind the seat for decades right up to and including 1972. All that time, they had tanks mounted between the frame behind the axle in the suburbans and deliveries. If that location was decisively safer, wouldn't GM have just used the same tank in ALL truck applications?. I've seem many pre '73 trucks that have been smashed from every angle from fender benders to almost unrecognisable but can't recall one that suffered a fire as a result.

as an environmental specialist with the University of Georgia I have done numerous tests on gas tanks, one of which was a study on the amount of probability involved in a gas tank leaking after an accident. I won't bore with specifics, but you have a better chance at being struck by lightning 2 in the same spot then you do in having your gas tank rupture in a wreck. Also, for all intent and purpose it’s impossible for a gas tank to actually explode from a collision. So I think the prevailing wisdom from the group is correct, the safest place is behind the seat where it cannot come in contact with the actual collision. The only reason they moved it was for room and smell.

Interesting discussion.

Lets face it, as Lee Iacocoa stated when talking about Pinto's exploding: Safety doesn't sell cars.

GM put the tank in the cab because it was the least expensive place for them to put it from a cost of installation on the assembly line perspective.

Long bed, short bed, step-side, fleetside, didn't matter, all the tanks were in the cab... it was easy and made them more money due to minimized labor to install.

There was almost no thought concerning "safety" when designing cars before the mid 1960's, let alone trucks.

Unless you have provenance to prove that GM's choice to put the tank in the cab was to save cost, I think that it is just speculation. I'm not saying you are wrong, you may be right, I just don't understand how making a rear mount tank for the suburban/panels and a completely different tank for the trucks can be cheaper than just one tank for everything. The rear tank COULD have been used in the trucks but the seat tank COULD NOT have been used in a sub. It could be that they wanted to keep the tank out of the elements. Tin tanks under a vehicle have a relatively short lifespan. Seat tanks last as long as the truck. It's great to kick differing opinions and thoughts back and forth. It's how we learn and keeps a forum interesting.

Thanks

I moved my tank to the rear primarily to get rid of the gas smell. Even with new seals and gaskets it almost always smelled in the cab, especially in warm weather with a full tank, since the vented cap was right next to the drivers window.

One way to eliminate the floor fill is to mount it in the side wall inside the bed with the fill pipe under the (stepside) fender as shown on the 6th entry of the following link. Not sure if this would work on a fleetside or not. I made a mistake on the inlet to the tank so it didn't work as well as planned, but I'm convinced the concept is sound. Just another option to consider when deciding how to fill a rear mounted tank.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=390279

I agree that it's great to kick differing opinions and thoughts back and forth. As far as the lifespan of the tank goes that really depends on the climate the vehicle is used in. Here in Colorado where I live my experiences have shown that the arid climate and lack of the use of "salt" on the roads makes the gas tank last as long as the vehicle.

In 1967 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) introduced the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 301, “Fuel System Integrity” [NHTSA Part 571.301] to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires. Initially the standard only applied to passenger cars, however, in 1977 light trucks were also included. GM no doubt saw thsi standard lurking on the horizon and redesigned the fuel tanks outside the passenger compartment. As far as GM's Safety vs. profit record they actually did a study on this subject in 1973:

At the heart of GM's resistance to improving the safety of its fuel systems was a cost benefit analysis done by Edward Ivey which concluded that it was not cost effective for GM to spend more than $2.20 per vehicle to prevent a fire death.

While this was certainly done in response to the side mounted tanks that were used on the "new" 1973 models, it shows that safety wasn't job one at GM, profit was.

Yes, but the original questions from the author of this thread was concerning safty.

Has anyone ever heard of a safty issue with a cab mounted tank. I never have.

If not, then he may be going thru a lot of time and money for nothing by moving the tank under the bed! I can see making the change if extra cab space was wanted.

This is from an article written by The Center For Auto Safety

History of the GM Side Saddle Gas Tank Defect: Like Ford and Chrysler, GM made pickups with gas tanks inside the cab in the 1960's. Because of concerns about the safety of placing the gas tank inside the passenger cab, the Big Three auto makers all considered relocating the tank outside the passenger compartment in the early 1970's

http://www.autosafety.org/history-gm-side-saddle-gas-tank-defect

Hot Rod, thanks for the article. That's a really great summary. I don't remember who said it on this thread, but somebody said that a person needs to do whatever they need to do to feel safe. I'll admit that I've never heard of an in-cab tank leaking or exploding, but, still, I'd feel safer with the tank located within the confines of the frame, so I guess that's my answer. And the truth is that I would like some extra cab space and no gas oder when I fill up.

The safest, most convenient, and best-looking way to move the tank is still in question. Lots of good solutions have been proposed in this thread and others. I like Markeb's approach of hiding the filler neck in the fender and just having a cap on the inside of the bed, but the problem he had with gas being kicked back up the filler sounds like a pain. That would have to be resolved. I also like someone's suggestion that the rear of the frame possibly could be reinforced to protect the gas tank in the event of a rear-end collision.

I hope it makes sense why I'm obsessing over this. I love the trucks, but with a wife and baby to take care of, I need to make sure any vehicle I drive is as safe as possible. Clearly, by driving a vintage truck, you're automatically giving up some safety features of modern vehicles, but you can gain much of that by updating the brakes, steering, seat belts, and maybe the gas tank.

By the way, Woogeroo, your friend who survived the head-on collision- that's wonderful, and it's great to hear that the tank was not at fault in his injuries. I bet he was using the standard lap belt or no belt at all during his wreck. Do you know if that's true? Would a shoulder harness or 4 or 5-point belt improved his chances of escaping serious injury?

Thanks to everybody, and I'm sorry for not being more active in this thread I started. We're looking at buying a house, and my time has been used up in that endeavor. Money, too. Once we get our savings account built back up, it's full-steam ahead with a search for a truck!

Steve.

The tank behind the seat is well protected, and I think it is pretty safe. If they develop a leak, you will smell the gasoline.

The most dangerous are the 1973-1987 models with the tank/s outside the frame rail.

The real reason they moved the tank was because GM wanted to use a larger tank for '73 in order to best the competion. The larger tank would not fit in the new cab.

I'm in the same boat as the original poster. I want to put one behind the axle but don't know which one to use. I'm kinda on a budget but don't mind paying $150 - $200 for something that fiys. It needs to have a top filler also cause I can't afford the bodywork to go thru the 1/4 panel. I would really appreciate some help on this as it is my next step I want to get done. Any info about filler necks, sending units would be good too.

both tank kits i got included the sending unit. i have never got the gauge to work on the second one but it might be the gauge itself, but i have tried 3 different ones. the filler necks were a pain for me but maybe not for everyone else, i don't know. for the first one i went to a truck place in town and dug thru a box of them, found one the hose tapered down to correct size. for the second one i got a old filler neck i think from the 50's with correct diam and got a foot of hose from parts store.

1966guy,

All the gas tank kits that move the tank to the rear will require some fabricating and modifications to your truck. All the reasonably priced kits I have seen use the "blazer" style tanks and they hang down and are visible from the back of the truck once completed.

I didn't like that look so I went a different route. FYI: pictures and data, go to post #8 of my build thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=363509

Sending Units: Be sure to get one that is 0-30 ohms if your are using your factory 1966 gauge.

Filler Necks: Really depends on what tank you end up using. The ones that mount to the floor of the bed are the easiest to install. But then again if you are hauling something in the bed access to the fuel fill can be problematic.

Has anyone looked at the idea of a boat fuel tank? They come in every deminsion possible. (well . . . almost) This is what I plan to do if I decide to modify my all orginal 65 C10. But I really don't want to change anything on this truck. Anyway, check this link for some examples . . .

http://store.easternmarineoutlet.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog&categoryID=483

Just a thought.
Les

I think that's a great idea. There are tons of shapes and sizes on that page. Surely, one of them would fit in the rear of the truck, and maybe one of the smaller ones might fit somewhere in front of the axle.

Not knowing anything much about gas tank science here, but had an idea.

If I put the tank in the rear of the truck, which is probably what I'll end up doing, would it be possible to run a tube up through the bed and into the space between the fender and the box like I think Markeb did, but then run that tube all the way up the bed in that space toward the cab and then through the back of the cab and connect it to the existing filler neck, thereby eliminating the need for a new gas cap location? Would that length of tube mess up the flow of the gas? If that space isn't continuous all the way to the bed, maybe it could run somehow inconspicuously through the bed tucked into the corner between the wheel well and the cab end of the bed.

Thanks.

Steve.

I had considered something similar and spent a fair bit of time on the creeper looking at the possibilities. However, I wasn't going between the panels, just along the frame. One obstacle is that the cab and box flex quite a bit. The other problem is that the hose would have to be on a steady incline all the way from the tank to the filler cap or it will take for ever to fill up. Another possibility is to come straight up and use the rear stake pocket somehow. You could just put in a square fuel door like the suburbans had. I had thought about behind the license plate but that won't work either, too low. It can be a real problem for sure.

When you say that the cab and box flex, you mean they move independently of each other? The cab could be going one way while the box goes another way? Aren't they both mounted on the same rigid frame, or is one or both of them on some kind of floating mount? To get around that, I suppose the hose from the filler to the tank would have to also be flexible or mounted in such a way that it could move. You certainly wouldn't want the tube to crimp or break between the cab and the box next time you hit a pothole.

Yes, while the box and cab are mounted on the same frame, the frame is not THAT rigid. Just watch in the mirror as you slowly cross a speed bump diagonally. The box and cab will move a fair bit up and down from one another. Easier yet, just jack up one corner, even just a few inches and you'll see what I mean. A rubber hose will, of course flex and if you are only going to be driving it on the street it will not flex much but, entering approaches to parking lots or gas stations can sometimes create some twist. Don't know if it will hamper your ability to run the filler between the cab and box but just something to be aware of.

Definitely something to investigate when the time comes. Thanks for your help. I also like your idea of placing a fuel door near the back of the truck. It won't look stock, but it would look clean and professional if done well. Will keep thinking...

Thanks again.

It's likely the best solution. Trying to hide it just seems to be a compromise. It is what it is, do what GM would have done and put a fuel door. However, if you choose to do that, be aware that if you make the door too high, the pipe (or hose) will cut through the box to get to the tank. IIRC, my '85 blazer had a fuel filler 'tunnel' (for lack of a better word) that cut across slightly in the corner where the floor meets the wall. You will likely have to fashion a similar affair in your box. Even the '80's chevy truck may have had the same arrangement ?. Don't mount the filler TOO low or your back to taking forever to fill.

more gas tank options - chevytalk 60-66 trucks thread