R&R after market side tank adding sending unit

[Kurt Combs]

I have removed my after market side tank and I am adding a sending unit so I have a better idea of how much fuel is in the tank. There was a hole already in the tank that would accept a Ford pattern sending unit. Here is the Ebay listing for the sending unit I purchased:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Universal-G ... _692wt_897

I followed their quite clear directions to adjust it to fit my tank which is only 10.5 inches deep. The only problem I had was with one of the screws they provided, it galled with the tank metal when I was just trying it in threads. I was shocked that it would gall so easily considering it was dissimilar metals. Required breaking off the screw and drilling out the remains. The unit does not accept stock push on wiring clips, but then it isn't a stock units, so it doesn't really matter.

Now I am waiting for the stainless steel carriage bolts (14" long) to arrive to replace the rusted originals. I also must find some replacement plastic fuel line, mine is brittle and breaks easily. Hopefully I can get it installed this weekend and all wired up. Depends on what I have to do around the house on Saturday. Here are some pictures of my tank and the sending unit adjusted for my tank. The metal piece laying on the tank was removed to make it fit my tank.

tank and sending unit.jpg

Here is a shot of the end of the tank to show its shape:

end of tank.jpg

Does anyone know what this material is? It was used like a body mount, squeezed between the tank and the bed under floor.

tank cushion.jpg

[Kurt Combs]

Well I finished the installation of the sending unit and the gas tank today. I ran a wire to the dash from the auxiliary tank and wired it into a Ford switch I bought at Pick N Pull last week. That switch made it easy to wire in the extra tank's sending unit. While I was at it I changed the valve on the floor so it will be easier to change tanks.

I did make one error in judgement while I was changing the valve. I decided that I could remove the old valve and leave it and all the lines hanging while I installed the new one. That finally left me with just the cab tank to disconnect and quickly connect the new valve by slipping on a fuel line. Of course it wasn't as quick swap as I thought it would be, and as the gas reached my arm pit, I realized I didn't have a plan B! Fortunately the line slipped on and everything was fine, but I did have a brief moment of revelation that I had no plan to plug the cab tank line if something didn't go together as it should.

Here is a picture of the top of the auxiliary tank just before I installed it.

top of auxiliary tank during installation.jpg

[1970 Hi-Boy]

Nice job you did there. Was curious if your tank is the same as mine. Inside the fuel door on my truck the sticker says it was made by Travel Tanks, Orland, California. They seem to be similarly shaped, other than mine both(have 2 aux tanks) pull fuel from a fitting on the bottom of the tank, or is that a return line on the top of yours? Would be nice to know how much I have left,other than reaching down to switch it when the engine sputters and dies. Also was wondering if that's a new fuel cap you have there, and if so do you happen to still have a part number? Mine are a little crunky and when I took it in to the Auto Parts store, all I got was the deer in the headlight look and a huh? Am saving the sender unit to my E-bay account just in case I'm able to do this conversion, like you did here.

[69SCJ]

Great info and write-up. Thanks. I'm not sure what that material is you asked about, but I used inner tubes before for a liner.

Could you shoot some pics of it mounted once you get it installed please. I have an extra tank that came with my truck but not sure how to mount it.

[Kurt Combs]

Thanks for the compliments. BTW, this turned into almost a $200 job by the time it was finished. I started this project because I thought the tank had a leak on the top panel from rust, but the tank was extremely clean inside and out. Turns out the gas smell was from 40 year old fuel hose and the gas valve. I was completely surprised to see the covered hole for a sending unit when I pulled the tank and surprised again when the local Napa Parts store had a fuel valve in stock. The rest is just history and a surprise for my wife when she gets the American Express bill.

My tank draws fuel out of the top, it has a tube the goes straight down to the bottom with a slight curve at the end. The brass fitting in the picture is connected directly to this fuel pickup tube. I bought the gas cap at the local Napa Parts store a couple of years ago, the parts guy and I tried caps until we found one that worked. I will look at it for any numbers, but I don't have any other information on the cap. There were no markings that were still legible on the tank to identify the manufacturer. The material I was asking about is really used as a shim to fit a flat top tank to irregular bed channels. I cut up and old belt and used the leather for a spacer. I am now concerned that I should have used more considering it will compress, but time will tell.

Pictures really won't do any good with the positioning of a tank, it is a really tight fit. The filler neck pushes against the inside panel of the bed and the tank almost touches the bottom lip of the body side panel. I noticed that when this tank was originally installed they pounded the inside bed panel to make a little more clearance for the filler neck, that is how tight it fits. I used a floor jack to lift it into place and dropped the long bolts back down and tightened the nuts, that was it. If you are installing this type of tank on your truck I hope you have the bolt and filler hole locations as these would be a little difficult to figure out.

With all this done, if I were going to install a tank on a vehicle that didn't have a big hole already cut in the side of the bed for a filler door, I would use a factory tank. You have to have single exhaust or reroute your exhaust pipe, but it would be worth it. Some gas nozzles do not fit into the space inside the filler door. Yesterday I had to hold the rubber on the nozzle up with my hand to get the pump to work. I can usually make it work, but it is slower to fill and I sometimes get gas on my hands from back spray. Not a problem when I am in work garb, but not good if you are in your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. (Anybody still use that term besides me?)

Ending note: This morning I know I have 7/8 of a tank of gas in my auxiliary tank and 1/4 in the main tank. This is cool because I used to worry about switching tanks only to find out I had run the spare tank dry and forgot to fill it!

[1970 Hi-Boy]

Thanks for the reply, I never had mine out so not sure what that material is, if I were to hazard a guess, I would say it looks like a cut up piece of conveyor belt. Not sure about using leather, would it hold moisture and cause rusting? Mine too is not the easiest to fill, the doors were not evenly placed so the filler is off to one side, but I manage it OK. As far as the manufacturer, I found that info on the inside of the fuel door that's on the side of the bed. Not sure they are still in business, I could not locate them(Travel Tanks). I also replaced my 3 way fuel valve when it started to leak, I bought it at Carquest (so others know). Guess I'll try to feel my way around there and see if I can find a cap for the fuel sender like yours, sure would be handy.