The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop behind the seat gas tank safety issues

i was wondering if anyone knew if there were any safety issues with the gas tank being in the cab, like the risk of explosion from heat or something similar. i don't want to take out the original tank if it is safe, but if
it is unsafe, i want to get it out pretty soon.

thanks for tolerating my dumb questions,

Indy

EDIT: i think i put this in the wrong area

If it's not leaking I don't see a problem.

Are you a smoker?

Some folks claim it's not safe in the cab....
Seems to me it's one of the safest places. In the cab it is least likely to be damaged in a wreck.

Obviously if it's leaking you need to fix that, and you'll smell it if it does so no surprises there.

Actually in 48 they were outside the frame and in 49 they moved inside the cab for years and years to come.

Grigg

not a dumb question, considering modern tanks are where you can't see them so don't think about them .... some of the car tanks are right under the back seat

some folks worry about the tank inside in an accident, but it's likely the safest place unless you have such a bad one you'd be dead before any gas caught fire .... and there's not much risk of it exploding unless you click a spark into the open filler, just make sure the rubber joints on the fill neck are sound and tight so there's no fumes inside .... I've been driving these ol trucks for decades without problems and haven't seen any reports they're more of a fire hazard than any other vehicle

Bill

Didn't they sell a few million of those trucks with the inside-the-cab gas tank? Didn't all those trucks also have an ash tray? Didn't a huge number of owners of those trucks smoke while they were driving?

How many fires can you recall that were the result of gas fumes in the cab? I can't remember any, right offhand.
Jerry

I did see one in an Ohio Highway Patrol safety film, Signal 30 (OHP code for traffic accident w/ fatalities). The truck was a late'40s/early '50s Dodge. However, it was the train that hit it that caused the fatality, not the rupered gas tank.
BTW, the '04-'06 GTO and its G8 succesor had the gas tank behind the rear seat, where the rear bulkhead would be on most other cars. From what I nderstand, the Holden Monaro/Commodore thay were based on have been built that way (and still are) for many years.

There was an accident here locally a few years ago that involved a later model Jeep Cherokee, maybe a mid 90's that had the tank mounted in the rear between the frame rails. It was rearended on the interstate and the tank ruptured, then burst into flames.
The vehicle occupants, a woman and her daughter were burned to death.

thanks for all the responses, it answered my questions and now my mom feels better (i'm only 16 and am obsessed with trucks from 1947 to 1979 ) knowing that i'll be safe driving my truck.

thanks again,

Indy

by the way, i figured out what was wrong with my truck....... the timing is off just enough that it won't start

actually it is probably the safest place. pretty much anywhere else is more prone to damage in an accident. Like several people have mentioned, if you get hit hard enough to damage the tank you are most likely dead anyway. There may be some issue with the fill tube side in an accident.

I'm a retired firefighter from the Los Angeles area. Any flammable liquids or pressurized vessels in a passenger compartment is an invitation to serious burns or a fatality. I have seen dozens of both. When it involves the kids too then it shifts from tragedy to pathetically stupid. My advice. Don't do it. Think of what impact damage will cause.

Ford Pinto

As long as the filler hoses and supply hoses are maintained then you shouldn't have any problems.

About the only time you could have a safety issue is if someone hits the cab hard enough to contact the tank, or if they hit right on the filler tube. A rollover could compromise the filler neck, but if the tank is properly strapped in it won't be tossed around the cab.

My brother rolled a 1971 F... and the tank did leak. He got nearly out of the pickup before the gasoline that had spilled out the filler tube ignited.

But because of the way the fire started on his truck it probably wouldn't have mattered if the tank had been under the truck. The gas would have spilled out anyway.

These old trucks have gone many miles with these tanks behind the seats with little problem. I still think they are safer inside the cab that stuck just in front of the rear bumper.

If I remember it right, the idea was that in a roll over, you're going to scrape right along that gas cap and have an invitation to spark and ignite.

The actual chances of that happening are probably incredibly slim, but a lot of us relocate it just so it's out of sight, out of mind. If you have the money and it worries you, I'd say just change it for piece of mind. Otherwise, try not to flip any trucks!

then why do some auto parts stores sell the not-so-safe under bed replacement gas tanks (the ones that eliminate the spare tire mount) that would explode if you were rear-ended?

the reason vendors sell any type of gas tank is because people buy them, there is no "fool proof" place to carry gas in a vehicle, so just don't be a fool

Bill

How about a motorcycle? You're practically hugging the gas tank.

If it concerns folks that much, they can just buy a NASCAR-specification fuel cell, and install it according to round track race car construction rules. The tank, and the installation cost will run somewhere just south of $1K, but you can forget about fire in anything short of a 200 MPH multiple rollover situation.
Jerry

I think some guys thinking is that they'd prefer a fire in the bed, rather than in the cab. But gas tanks don't really explode, they just catch on fire. For it to explode, it would probably need to be vapor and pressurized, with oxygen mixed in. Even then... The Pinto's for example, didn't ever explode, they just caught on fire. Mythbuster's did a pretty neat episode on it to illustrate that part.


The thing I really don't like about the bed mount is most tanks have it right in the center line of the bed. I'm not a fan of gas drips all over a wood finish bed.

Some guys run it over to the wheel well for that reason. Guess it's all just personal preference.

Grigg, I was gonna say the same thing. Its right between your legs!

On that note, I was hit on a '74 Honda CB750 about 11yrs ago by an '86 Chrysler NY'er. The top/cap sheered off and tank split at the bottom weld on impact. There were plenty of sparks and I was soaked in gas. No fires tho. Gasoline won't necessarily ignite even with a spark.

Most of us old folks grew up with these old trucks and even learned to drive on them. Heck, I took my first date out in one loaded to the brim with mortar boxes and buckets ,shovels and so forth. I was glad to have anything I could get behind the wheel in. It was common practice for the tank to be there so we are used to it.Now days young folks wear their caps backwards and the think us old men are the ones who have em turned backwards. I think this young man born in a generation or two after they moved the tanks from behind the seat asked a good question.Look at where you would move the tank. Cost and fabrication then make your decision. I had a 79 GMC and was part of a class action law suit about the saddle tanks that were strapped outside the frame. Seems some of them ruptured and exploded after being hit.As far as safety goes( Gas is gas no matter where you keep it) I have known of some fellas who burned down their out house just taking out the ashes. Just think and do safety while working on and driving your truck.

i guess i'm what you call a purist, i think i'll leave it.....i kinda like it there

yeah i agree with you on the comment about kids wearing their hats backwards.....i always thought that made you look like a thug (ok, i admit, i'm wierd, i wear a 50s fedora and so my friends named me Indiana Jones....not only that but i have a 55 truck so they also call me Mr. Oldskool. i ain't your average teen and quite proud of that )

6571,
They SAID they burned down the outhouse with ashes. The fire was most likely caused by something else.

In the country when it was winter time. The trip to the outhouse was nearly always incorporated with removing hot ashes from the fireplace. A carry all hand warmer to the outhouse. Did not do much for that old rear end but good for the hands.(They had a job to do) If you forgot to take them with ya and a good wind came. Guess what?

I can't think of much I'm less likely to WANT to carry around with me then a big tank full of gas. That being said, I just put a 31 gallon tank in my '69 Panel, up from 18 gallons. Like Roy Rodgers said, make absolutely sure your delivery system is in perfect condition with all new lines and hoses and new clamps. What more can you do?

best wishes,

Les

I think the worst place is right behind the rear bumper, your much more likely to be rear ended than T boned. Saw a K-car get rear ended and the gas tank caught fire.

Hey, 8 year old thread aye.

That’s what happens when you have to stay at home. Dig up old threads.🤣

Like everyone said, don't worry about it, I T-boned a 1996 (1996 one ton state truck in a 54-3100). he pulled out in front of me as I was doing 55 mph. He had the problem not me. Doc.

Got any pics of that? Might be interesting...

I'm still unsure on if I want to keep the tank in its original location on my '58 or move it to beneath the bed. With the truck being a 1 ton, the frame rails are thicker than a 1/2 ton so they should hold up better in a wreck (I say that but the frame in currently at a shop to get straightened out) Though I really don't mind the tank in the cab either.

My first truck was a '67 C-10 - tank behind the seat, then I owned and drove a '73, '74, '76, '77, '84, '87, all GM's - all with tank/tanks outside the frame rail/s. The 1974 had a little mishap in 1975 on the Divide in Colorado, truck rolled countless times down the face of Red Cone mountain and came to rest on it's wheels, no gasoline issues and no fatalities. There have been and still are millions of trucks with exposed tanks on the outside of the frame, many are right under the driver's door and used as the step. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

You're talking about big rig trucks with diesel tanks...right? It's been many decades since trucks were built with gas tanks on the outside of the frame rail...

Mike B

Yes Mike, I'm referring to medium and heavy when describing the saddle/step tanks. Even into the mid 1990's we were using some gas engines in medium duty for city delivery (beer)with exposed tanks but were switching over to diesel for the most part. I'm not saying that the pickup truck tanks can compare to the commercial truck tanks, I'm just generalizing about the placement and relative few fires in vehicle accidents.