Underbed Factory (47 &48) gas tanks are often discussed so I wonder if building your own with common tools and for about $60 of material would be of interest. The frames are the same from 47-53 so the tank will mount the same as the factory to all these years. Will probably work with 54 and 55.1 also. One must be aware that for the V8 trucks it will be necessary to run both tailpipes on the drivers side, right side crosses over at the transmission crossmember and crosses back behind the rearend if one wants the pipes evenly spaced at the back. It does leave the spare tire area unaltered, unlike other underbed tanks and the filler is in the factory location. I will include three pics showing the very simple tools needed, the front end with the fuel pickup tube fitting, and the inside showing the pickup tube but the center anti slosh baffle hasn't been installed here. Now the kicker--I don't know how to put text with pictures so if there is alot of interest I can send the pics to someone that does and they can make a "how to" list. For ourselves we use a brake, box brake, press brake for brackets, TIG, etc., but we did this with tools that most home shops have.
Evan, I'd certainly be interested in seeing how you did this! I'm not the guy to help you get the text up on the forum, since I can't even get pictures up for some reason. I'd thought about putting an underbed tank on my truck, but didn't want to spend the money. However, I have the sheet metal and enough welders to make it, and I know a guy who could do the brake work for me. Thanks for sharing this!
I had a local fabricator do my under the bed tank. It is aluminum. He built it with the old tank as a pattern and got the neck at a slightly wrong angle. I just tilted it a little and it is fine. The only thing is the take up tube is on the high side so I will always have 1 gallon of gas on the low side. That still gives me 17 gallons to work with. At least I don't have to worry about rust anymore like I did with the original. The materials and the 8 hours of labor ran $250 for the tank. See how much you save when you are handy with a welder? Gater
or you could spend the 250 and give no effort at all. Rust would NEVER be an issue either. http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/p...category_id=77/home_id=59/mode=prod/prd45.htm ________ UNIVERSAL HEALTH WAREHOUSE
Evan i am not ready for a tank yet but when i am that would fit the bill nicely. as i have a cab tank i do not know the diamentions for your tank, or the neck angle etc. do you have those details? i would appriciate them very much thank you! QUESTION are there any rules about building a tank general or legal?
Ken, my "wheel" brakes are done (by me) The brake work I was referring to is the bending of the angles in the sheet metal of the tank on a metal brake, box brake, and press brake. I don't own any metal brakes, but I know a guy who has access to that type of equipment.
My bad! In the words of Emily Latilla, Saturday Night Live correspondent in the '70's "Oh, well that's different. Never mind!"
For The PANEL Guys Wow , that's great ! . You know thewre's LOADS of old Panel truck guys who are dying for an original style frame mounted fuel tank.... Hopefully one of the 'Puterhead guys will come along and help you flash this out as a How To thing .
Underbed tank Here's a pic of the factory tank and brackets in a 48 that was used for pulling dimensions off of. 65gmcman asked the dimensions and the factory tank measures 13"X13"X24". As you can see in the pic they fill most the available space but could be stretched an inch in each direction.
Evan- is that a 1/2 or 3/4 truck? That fills the space, but looks great! Goodbye gas tank- hello speakers!
does anybody know why they switched from the underbed gas tank to a tank INSIDE the cab?? seems kinda backwards to me. jon
Zig, it's a 1/2 ton. The tank is about the only part that hasn't been massaged. Transam ifs and rear, ladder bars, coilover rear, discs all around, frenched lights, Vintage heat/air, Dolphin guages, hurt your teeth fillings sound system, and really, REALLY salty 389 stroker; in other words the kind the neighbors hate to hear coming home at midnight. Definitely not my preferred ride but I'm not paying for it (except for cuts, burns, skinned knuckles, and headaches). It does have the best hidden fuel filler we've designed to date and a clean looking front bumper/splash pan delete that has the lower grill bar welded to a second upside down grill bar. Here's a pic of the front treatment (with about a month of dust buildup).
Thanks Evan! That is too slick! I love the idea of the grill bars as a chin! You know- that truck next to it has an interesting back end going on also! Thanks so much for throwing us visual types a picture- I know it takes a tad extra time. So, ah- could you show us this fuel filler idea??? Two thumbs up!
