I recently purchased a 1987 V30 Chevy pickup for my carpentry business. It is in excellent original condition with only 8700 miles when I purchased it and has 5.7L, 3spd auto, 4wd, crew cab. When it was purchased new it was a cab & chassis and upfitted with a 6.5' Knapheide utility body. The problem with the truck is that it only has a 15-16 gal fuel tank and I have been warned about the saddle mount tanks on these trucks rupturing in a collision. My question is; Does anyone know of a larger capacity tank such as 30 or 40gal that can replace this one and can it mount between the frame rails? Thanks for your help!
If you really want to do it, you could get a '87-'91 Burb or Blazer tank and fabricate some mounts at the back between the framerails. Blazer/Jimmy tanks are 25 gal, Burbs are 30-40 gal. There are some websites that have writeups on how to do the conversion. I'm not so sure the fuel tanks would be a problem if you have a utility bed though. The problem with fleetside trucks is that the only protection the fuel tank has is the lower edge of the bed, which is just some sheetmetal with a metal rod in front of the wheel keeping it rigid.
The saddle tanks aren't quite as dangerous as was reported, and you can mount two 20 gallon tanks and switch between them. However, you can also mount up to a 40 gallon Suburban tank in the area where the spare tire goes on the pickup chassis. You would need one that is designed for your TBI truck, but they made Subs in this body style up through '91 and it should not be that hard to find. If you get one with all the brackets, it should just bolt in. If you can find a junked Suburban, the going rate for used fuel tanks (pull it yourself) in my area is about $25-30, including the sending unit. New fuel tanks are available for about $150, but that does not include the sending unit and fuel pickup. Bruce
I like the idea of one 40 gal tank. Any idea of website where I can get the brackets, tank, sending unit, etc.? I would rather start with new parts than strip from old ones and here in snow country most everything is so rusted its not worth trying to salvage it. Thanks, Fred
