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1953 Chevy Truck Rear Mount Gas Tank Install - Universal CityInstalling A Rear-Mount Gas Tank In A '53 Chevy From the October, 2008 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Dakota Wentz Photography by Calin Head
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One common thread that truck builders are faced with is what to do about the gas tank. For the majority of trucks we cover in CCT, the gas tank is located behind the seat inside the cab-not exactly an ideal spot. We don't quite know what it is, but there's just something about sitting atop a Molotov cocktail that doesn't sit easy with many. Not to mention that the tank takes up precious cargo space in the cab. All in all, it suits most truck owners to move the tank out back. Several aftermarket companies offer direct bolt-in kits for rear-mount gas tanks for specific-year trucks. However, with the ease, style, and quality of those kits comes a price tag. A lot of guys can fork over the dough for a product like that, but other guys are in the "budget-build" business-which means alternate means are in order. What many guys do is settle for a tank from a junkyard that they adapt to their truck. However, there is another option that is budget minded, yet driven to the truck market. Chevs of the 40's sells an aftermarket universal 171/2-gallon stamped-steel gas tank that is designed to mount between the rear framerails of a truck. Although the tank is universal, fitting it into your ride is made easy-due to the fact that tank straps are included in the kit. All one has to do is decide where to mount the straps, along with a few other things. On top of that, the tank includes a fuel pump pickup and a filler neck. The best part is that the kit retails for roughly $200. With a price tag like that, one must think that the tank is a "cheapo-depot" special. Quite the opposite. Like we said before, the tank is made from stamped steel. It's also baffled and vented-and it's reinforced to prevent oil canning. In a nutshell, this is the ultimate way to move the tank out back and stay within budget. Even if you were to go to a junkyard, by the time you buy the tank and all the necessary components you would be spending upwards of $100. With this Chevs kit it's all packaged together for a simple, cheap, and quality job. To show in detail how one would go about installing one of these tanks, we headed over to Sam Head's shop to watch as he installed one in his '53 Chevy. Notice how easy the job goes down and, most importantly, how ideal this setup is for anyone's build.  This is as basic as it gets:...  This is as basic as it gets: a stamped-steel 17 1/2-gallon tank. The cool thing about this Chevs of the 40's universal tank is that it comes with the necessary pickup, filler neck, straps, and hardware-and it is baffled and vented. It's also reinforced to prevent oil canning.  Before Sam got to work, he...  Before Sam got to work, he taped up any opening in the tank-that way nothing will accidentally fall inside and cause a major headache down the road.  Because this is a universal...  Because this is a universal gas tank, some alterations to the frame may need to be made. However, being a universal tank is what makes it so great, as it can be used in a number of situations. In this case, Sam's '53 Chevy truck has an aftermarket crossmember to mount coilover shocks, which prevented him from being able to mount the tank between the rear crossmember and the rearend. In order for the tank to fit, he had to make some room, therefore the bottom inner lip of the rear crossmember needed to be trimmed. The piece you see lying on the ground is what was trimmed away to make room.  Because the tank has nothing...  Because the tank has nothing to rest up against at the top, Sam needed to build his own upper reinforcement braces. First he started out with a 1-inch strip of metal, roughly 1/4-inch thick, and marked it to the correct length.  Next, a 1-inch mounting tab...  Next, a 1-inch mounting tab was bent into the strip.  From there, the proper holes...  From there, the proper holes were drilled: one hole at one end of the strip, and the other hole in the fabbed mounting tab. Once the first strip was made, a second identical strap was then made.  Sam then drilled matching...  Sam then drilled matching holes into the crossmembers.  Next, the straps were mounted...  Next, the straps were mounted in place. One end of the strap is mounted to the top of the coilover crossmember, and the other end is mounted to the side of the trimmed crossmember. Once mounted, the tank was then pushed up into position, as you see in the picture. These straps won't physically hold the tank up, but they will play a key role in mounting the tank in place, as you'll see in a few steps.  Chevs of the 40's sends these...  Chevs of the 40's sends these tank straps with the kit. These straps are what hold the tank in place. But because the kit is universal, the straps come straight, so they can be bent to suit various applications. Also, one end of each strap is already pre-made with a mounting tab, while the other end is left straight to allow for maximum "play" in a custom installation.  Sam bent the straps to match...  Sam bent the straps to match the contour of the tank using a...  ...combination of the "Knee...  ...combination of the "Knee Bender 2000" and the bench vice.  Once the first strap was made,...  Once the first strap was made, Sam then went back and created the second strap to match the first strap. Lastly, mounting tabs and holes were made at the other end of each strap.  With the straps bent, they...  With the straps bent, they were then placed in position. A mark was made where they met the two crossmembers. At each mark a hole was drilled and the proper bolts were dropped in place.  With the upper braces in place...  With the upper braces in place and the straps made, the tank was once again hoisted into place. At this point, one end of the strap was mounted to the coilover crossmember via a small 1 1/2-inch nut and bolt. As for the other end of the strap, shown here, a 3-inch-long bolt was dropped down from the rear crossmember. Then the nut was chased up the 3-inch bolt until the straps tightened and raised the tank up against the upper braces installed earlier. Once tight, that means the tank is locked and mounted in position.  Next, the bed fill neck and...  Next, the bed fill neck and cap were screwed into place. Once the bed floor is dropped in a hole, the diameter of the fill neck will need to be cut from the floor in order to access the neck.  Then it was time to install...  Then it was time to install the fuel pump pickup. First, the depth of the tank was measured at the mounting hole, which turned out to be 8 inches.  The fuel pump pickup tube...  The fuel pump pickup tube needs to be cut at an angle with the point of the tube roughly 1/8 inch from the bottom of the tank.  The last step was to drop...  The last step was to drop the pickup unit into place. There are three outlets atop the unit. One outlet feeds the fuel pump with gas...  ...Another runs to the rollover...  ...Another runs to the rollover tube, which is mounted near the top of the inside of the wheelwell (see picture). And the last is the fuel pump return line, which Sam decided not to use, therefore it was blocked off.  As for the last hole, it's...  As for the last hole, it's for the sending unit. If you know what gauges you plan to use, the unit should be installed at this time, too. And that's how you install a universal tank. | Sources | Chevs of the 40's
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The Thinker??? - Haul Monitor
Ryan talks about the friendly badgering that goes on around the shop and overcoming obstacles that seemly pop up out of nowhere during a project....
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