The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Fuel Tank and Main Fuel Line Mismatch

i ordered this gas tank:
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and this main fuel line:
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and the brass fitting that came on the line is too large in diameter and isn't even close to the same thread pitch as the threading on the underside of the tank.

has anyone had a similar issue? would it be better to cut the line, put on a new fitting and re-flare the line to fit the tank, or get the tank rethreaded? any advice?

The hole in the bottom is a drain hole. Get a '54 and later sending unit with integral fuel pick up tube.

that's kinda the direction my mind was going but i was hoping not because i already got a non pickup sending unit. so does the fuel line still go down to the drain plug hole in the floor? i didn't see any other spots for the fuel line to exit the floor and go under the cab

The hard fuel line dose not thread directly into the tank

Depending on how you decide to run your line you will need a fuel hose just off the hard line
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The early AD's use a shut off valve on the bottom of the tanks. The fittings on the valve make the transition from inverted flair to pipe.

You need a hose because the cab flexes

The proper sending unit and hose for your year will get you there.

If you do go with and under tank set up you will need the valve
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and/or this hose ...link...

Be aware that the threaded hole in the bottom of that exact tank (I have one) is a metric thread.

Good point

Ill add that the spectra brand after market tank has the correct standard pipe fitting on the bottom.

I'll see if I can get my receipts in order and let you know how I've rigged mine up. It's been so long since I was in the cab working, that I've forgotten how I did it. I do remember it was a pain though...

where would i get one of those shut-off valves from? looks like you did a lot of rigging to get that together. this would allow me to hook the main line to the drain plug in the bottom of the tank?

after reading cletis' reply, i went back and saw those flexible hoses, but they only come in 7.5" or 4 3/8" lengths.. i measured the top of the tank (at sending unit) to the floor in the cab where the drain plug sits and it's atleast 12" tall. even if i buy the sending unit with pickup tube and enough flexible hose to reach the main line, the drain plug would have to share the floorboard hole with the flexible hose.. i didn't see any other holes in the vicinity; that seems a little crowded.

the factory assembly manual wasn't much help, in there it almost looks like there's supposed to be a hard line coming from the sending unit down and then a flex hose right at the grommet-hole to meet the main line under the cab.

I'm not an AD guy but here's the deal they are speaking of. The cab flexing they are speaking of is the cab flexing relative to the frame. If you had hard line from the tank and attached to the frame and to the engine it would theoretically stress and break because the cab "moves" independent of the frame because there are rubber pads, a small cab to frame mounting area, and allowable twisting in all the chassis. I don't know if the tank is attached to the cab, if it is, there is NO flexing between them to worry about. So you can put a piece of standard rubber fuel hose between two sections of fuel line tubing BETWEEN a point where the tubing is attached to tank/cab and attached to the frame, as in: clamped to cab and frame. (does not have to be a long piece). If the hose they show does that, it's good to go or if you want to be totally stock. Don't let that special hose bother you if you don't want to buy it. I still have the same question you have that no one has answered for sure and clearly. Do you hook the line to the drain hole or do you get a sender with pickup? Once you get that answer, you simply buy fittings that fit the threads you have all along the system/line you have with an appropriate short section of fuel hose you get from O'reilly's, or other. I plumb with fuel line sections I get from them and bend to suit. When I need a rubber section I just scoot the nut back, slip on the hose over the flare and clamp it with a hose clamp, then clamp the other end of hose to the next section of the pre-flared, store bought, tubing. Piece of cake. Buy a bunch of lengths and take back what you don't use. You need to tell these AD experts what year and model you have. Sounds like there may be differences in early and late AD line hookup.

Not sure where to get the valve from, try eBay or Jim Carter or the parts wanted section of the forum.

My valve and fuel filter set up have been on the truck as long as I can remember.

Again this is not the set up for your year truck.

You can eliminate the valve if you wish and just use a 90, the rest of the fittings should be available from your local auto parts store.

The valve is handy for me when changing the under tank filter. Not all place a filter there.

looks like the 54 has a hard pipe just off the sender
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Hear is a link www.bowtiebits.com look under the year of your
truck and gas tank. The valve is listed. Hope this helps.

They say the tank has metric threads? Why the heck would it have metric? Is that the only tap the Chinese have? Anyway, email bowtie to see what thread the valve has.

Thank you that was very helpful! i never knew about that website, they have some items for cheaper than classicparts. I ordered the shutoff valve from there, so hopefully it mates with the tank and the main line. this shutoff valve should allow me to keep functionality of the drain by just closing the valve and disconnecting the main line, it seems. So this "retro-fitting" will be better for me than buying a whole new sending unit with a pickup tube. Thanks for all the inputs everyone! Can someone who is using the shutoff valce setup tell me what fuel filter ya'll are using

don't use the drain hole to run your truck. it will get all the junk from the bottem of your tank. that is why the pick is on the gage. WW

The metal canister I'm using is from auto zone FF3424, but this may not work for you. It will depend on what size hose your using. Just get one with a matching barb size. I just found one off the shelf that worked

First you need to determine If the threads n the bottom of the tank are metric or standard pipe, as suggested above.



If its metric you mayl have to re evaluate


The valve you purchased has male pipe on one end and compression on the other. It will need adapters to work.

DADS is right on. Also I use WIX 33033 at O'Reilly's, it has 3/8 barbs. Hardware store brass adapter or McMaster Carr has 4860k611 metric (BSPT) to NPT (SAE) adapter $7. male/male. That one is 1/8, you need to find out what size metric the tank has, then buy an adapter, then get a NPT to Barb, then a fuel valve, a valve that has barbs on each end will work between two hoses. Don't know why you need a valve anyway. I just squeeze the rubber hose with locking pliers if you need to do something on tank or drain it. To recap: McMaster adapter to tank, NPTF-barb fitting on adapter, bulk rubber fuel hose on barb down thru hole in cab to beginning of hard line that is clamped to frame.(pull nut back and clamp) If you want a valve, put inline with rubber. (Fuel valve with barb-barb, motorcycle shop, marine supply, lawnmower shop, auto parts store). Plumb in your canister filter between two hard line sections or at carb with the hoses and clamps that come with the WIX 3/8 barb or the Autozone 5/16 barb. Sound OK DADS? P.S. I love McMaster Carr because you can download a 2D CAD .pdf drawing of their parts for free, sometimes a 3D. then you can really "go figure".

my sending unit doesn't have pickup.. i understand there's a screen on the pickup-style sending unit, but that's what the fuel filter is for inline from the bottom of the tank to the main fuel line. also, i can use this shutoff valve as a little anti-theft feature to cutoff fuel to the carburetor. i've done something similar before.

thanks bartamos and DADS. guess i'll be mcgyvering after all

Nice write up Bartamos
A few years ago when I was looking for a tank I was reading here about the metric threads and mis match filler necks on the overseas tanks.

The spectra tank fits without those issues.(from rock auto)

Hopefully the vendors fix that problem

Not a new tank, but my reproduction inside door handles for my 55.2 3100 had metric threaded set screws. I don't think China owns any SAE. tooling.

OR you could do it the right way and find the right fitting. Unless you like adding to the noise the truck makes by having that flare nut rattle around.

Hopefully a new tank, after washing the manufacturing particles out with soap and water and rinse and dry, will have no junk in the bottom for many years. Some "dirt" from the gas but filter will catch. The flare nut won't rattle so as to hear it.

You can put band aids on it, or you can do it right.

Functionality will not be affected by "pull back nut and clamp".

Flare ends are not hose ends. They may work, but only for a while. I've seen to many leaks at hoses put over flare ends. The suggestion I've already made was to find the right fitting. An inverted flare to hose or hose barb would be a better solution and a more lasting repair. Doing something right is not opinion. It is using tools and parts in the way that they are designed for. Just because functionality works for now does not mean it is a properly designed solution. There is a reason metric to standard, pipe to AN or inverted flare to hose exist. It is the proper design. Sure, I could probably ram a standard fitting in to a metric hole. And when I was young, I did. But I had to pay for it either with leaks or disassembly issues later.

Sure I can put a hose over a flare end. But I know that the hose will eventually crack and leak over the flare because it is stretched over its design. If you use a larger diameter hose, then the expansion and contraction of that hose will start to cut at the edge of the hose clamp. Using a barb gives more contact sealing area for the hose and using a hose end has a more gentle bubble for the hose to seal over.

I will continue to do it my right way, maybe in the second 60 years of my life I will someday have a leak, but not yet. Will keep my eyes open. A flare is not much bigger than the OD of the tube. Rubber flexes, that's why they call it rubber. It will not fail because it is flexed a little. If you've ever seen a canister fuel filter in your vast experience, you would see the exact same thing and they are sold with Rubber hose sections and clamps. Hello. I can't believe I'm even discussing this! Look up the WIX 33033 sometime. Smith, you don't need to pound this, it's a molehill.

I'm really not trying to pick a fight with you. In the 35 years I've been wrenching, I've seen a lot of stuff go wrong. You get to the point where you want to do it right the first time so you don't have to do it over. You have your method and you stand by it, and that is admirable. I disagree with your method and there is nothing wrong with that. Through this discussion, hopefully the original poster will make up his own mind. I guess we can agree to disagree.

BTW, I have plenty of 33033's on the shelf. A hose end is still different from a flare end.

Bartamos, understand where I come from. I maintain a large fleet. 2500+ pieces of equipment. We see all kinds of equipment that puts on many miles and hours. So we'll see higher failure rates sooner than than the average Joe. When you start seeing a failure trend, you come up with a fix that maintains a safe vehicle for the user and nips the problem for all like vehicles.

Understood. Sounds like an interesting line of work.

Meh. It's work. I'd rather be playing with my Suburban all day. Or, at least, staring at it.

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got to do some rigging today, got the double female and double male adapters and the hard line from NAPA, and got the FF3403 fuel filter from auto zone. used half of the 4 inch fuel line from bowtiebits to connect the filter to the main fuel line, and used a bit of hose that came with the filter to connect it to the hard line from NAPA. all in all, i think this should work well and with the hard line, i'm properly using the compression fitting on the shutoff valve. this rig might not be very symmetrical or look so great, but i think it'll get the job done.

tomorrow i'm gonna throw this assembly in, probably cut down the hard line, and bend my main fuel line to run the frame like it's supposed to. i have no idea what configuration my main fuel line was bent for, but it sure wasn't for my year truck.

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yeah, your setup pretty much goes by the illustration in the assembly manual.. i'm just gonna get under the truck with benders and get as close to factory assembly as possible.

Nice work!!!

Replacing the fuel tank on my 1952 Chevy Truck 3600 (3/4 ton).

My truck draws fuel from the bottom of the original tank and uses a 2" nipple and fuel valve identical to the one DADS50 posted pictures of on 06/14/2013. I used a "Fuel Line Connector" (LMC #32-3447) to connect the original valve to the original rigid fuel line. That part was a perfect replacement for the original rotted connector. Will have to consider adding an extra in-line fuel filter here. Nice idea!

Like others have mentioned here, the hole in the bottom of the new fuel tank (LMC #32-5918) did not have the same pipe threads as my original tank. The new LMC tank had a larger hole with flared connector (maybe 5/16"?). The filler tubes on the tank were not angled correctly and did not match up with the original filler neck. Their replacement filler neck kit (LMC #32-3347) was much different than the original neck! The smaller vent tube was on the wrong side of the filler tube. The grommet they included with the filler neck kit was 0.25" too small and VERY loose in the filler neck hole in the cab even after sliding the filler neck into the hole. Their sending unit (LMC #32-4008) did not fit their tank correctly either. I tried to offer LMC pictures of these fit issues but the person I talked to said they did not need them. First time I have had major fit/compatibility issues with LMC. Sending the whole mess back for a refund.

I plan to have my original tank and filler neck dipped/cleaned/sealed instead of dealing with these fitting issues. The inside of my original tank looks too rough for me to cleanup with a home kit, but the bottom of the tank still seems to be very solid. Should hold up for a long time. Would have done this in the first place, but thought I could spend a little more on a new tank and come out ahead.

Thanks for the great info and pictures!

Jason

check out rockauto.com they offer the Spectra brand "made in Canada" fuel tank for AD's. correct filler neck and correct threads on bottom.

I believe Oreilly auto also sell spectra at a higher price.

In the end, I was able to send pictures of the tank and filler neck fit issues to LMC. I had told them that I would prefer an exchange if they had an item that would fit properly. They had R&D review before confirming that they did NOT have the correct item and issuing refund.

I attempted to have my original tank cleaned and resealed. The tank was not holding up too well after the power washing.

Thank you for suggesting the Spectra tank! I see that the Spectra Premium fuel tank (#GM55A) is available at Rock Auto ($151+$16 S&H), O'Reilly ($259), and Advance Auto ($249).

I purchased from RA. I will post an update after it arrives to compare to original tank and confirm fit in my 1952 Chevrolet 3600.

Hey there DADS50...what is the reason for that in-line filter? Do you not have a fuel filter on the engine up front? Or do you need both?

The one under the tank has been there since as long as I can remember.

I did add a second one to the Carb when I was having a flooding issue.

Not sure if two are needed but I have not had any debris in the carb since I added the second one.

Ok....noted. Thanks.

Saw this thread and ordered a new tank from Rock Auto. They stated only 3 left, so now that makes 2. If you need one, you better hurry. Timing was because I am almost ready to paint my interior and I noticed that my original tank was painted interior color. So, I wanted the tank for painting when I do the interior.