How To Build A Custom Gas Tank - Fuel For Fraught

The finish welding on all the seams can now take place. Once done, the edges and welds are deburred and ground smooth.

Each tank is pressure-tested before it leaves Rock Valley to ensure there aren't any leaks, or bad smells.

Here's the space at the rear of the Willys S-10 chassis where Eric is going to install the tank. Luckily, there's plenty of room for the tank so he wasn't limited too much by space.

We mocked up the tank using a pair of jack stands. Note that the sender is installed to ensure we leave adequate room for it below the bed floor.

A framework was fabricated to support the top circumference of the tank. Tie-downs are being used in place of the tank straps to check fitment before the tank straps are bent and cut to fit.

With the tank straps fabricated, the tank is now installed and ready for plumbing.

At the front of the tank, Eric welded a pair of 5/16-inch studs for the tank straps to attach.

At the rear, Eric used a T-bolt and bent the strap around it, similar to an OEM application. Here, the strap is bent to fit but has yet to receive a 1/4-inch fastener to clamp the bolt firmly in place to ensure that the strap doesn't stretch under pressure.

Here's a look at the tank strap once it's been bent to conform to the shape of the tank. The extended "tail" on the right will be trimmed to fit, but illustrates the extra length Rock Valley includes in their kits.

To wrap up the tank installation, we mounted an Air Ride Technologies billet locking gas cap from their Precision Coachworks line of products. The bung on the backside of the cap will attach to the fuel tank's filler neck via a rubber hose.