relocate side gas tank

[78chevyshortbed]

I want to remove the side gas tank and instakk a rear gas tank and use the orginal fleet side gas filler I dont want the filler in the bed. Any good advise

[Jason S]

I've not relocated a tank to the rear, but I've seen jobs where they used a Blazer or Suburban tank. The most likely scenario for you is to relocate the fuel filler to the rear and fill the hole at the front of the bed. There should be more people that can add to the subject.

[Captkaos]

Move the filler to the back of the bedside like the Blazer or Suburban.

[bluecrew]

Curiosity beats me.  Why?  I dig your idea, but why move the tank to the rear? 

[78chevyshortbed]

I want to get the tank off the outside of the frame rail for safety and clearance so not to rupture the tank.

[blazing816]

I do not see how placing it at the rear right behind the bumper is going to make it any safer for you. You get hit in the rear hard enough (which in my opion happens more then t-bone by the rear wheels) when bumper dents in or what not it can damage the tank the same as a side impact would with the sadle tanks. I believe there was a study done one this long time ago that have said the saddle tanks were no more dangours then other tank locations. Just my $.02.

[84burb]

There is some advantage to rear mount tanks if handling is what you are working on. Moving the weight back is beneficial. However, I agree with blazing816 about the safety of a rear mount tank vs saddle tanks.

Here is the 1993 Time Magazine article about the NBC - GM saddle tank debacle:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977814,00.html
You need a subscription to see the entire article but here are the pertinent sections.
I made a couple sections bold for emphasis.

Time
February 22, 1993 William A. Henry III

PRESS: Where NBC Went Wrong The network suffers a humiliating bout of confessions and soul-searching after admitting it rigged the crash-and-burn of a GM truck

But for a puff of smoke, it all might have turned out differently.

Last week General Motors Corp. might still have been reeling from a $105.2 million jury verdict, awarded to an Atlanta couple whose son died when his GM truck exploded in a collision. NBC News might have been touting itself for having exposed the danger of GM's controversial ''sidesaddle'' gas tanks in a riveting Dateline NBC segment. Instead the network singed its reputation, and the car company won in the court of public opinion the safety battle it had lost in the courthouse.

Dateline's report on Nov. 17 featured 14 min. of balanced debate, capped by 57 seconds of crash footage that explosively showed how the gas tanks of certain old GM trucks could catch fire in a sideways collision.

Following a tip, GM hired detectives, searched 22 junkyards for 18 hours, and found evidence to debunk almost every aspect of the crash sequence. Last week, in a devastating press conference, GM showed that the conflagration was rigged, its causes misattributed, its severity overstated and other facts distorted. Two crucial errors: NBC said the truck's gas tank had ruptured, yet an X ray showed it hadn't; NBC consultants set off explosive miniature rockets beneath the truck split seconds before the crash -- yet no one told the viewers.

There was plenty of sarcastic speculation about what happened between Monday afternoon, when NBC was defiantly dismissing GM's charges, and Tuesday morning, when it drafted an abject apology largely on GM's terms. NBC News president Michael Gartner says he simply realized that he had goofed by speaking first and asking questions later: ''The more I learned, the worse it got. Ultimately I was troubled by almost every aspect of the crash. I knew we had to apologize. We put 225,000 minutes of news on the air last year, and I didn't want to be defined by those 57 seconds.'' Gartner also faced nonjournalistic pressures. GM's top management had sent word it would sue via the top management of NBC's parent company, General Electric, a big GM supplier. Dateline co-anchor Jane Pauley, who shared the awkward duty of apologizing on air, told the staff in a pep talk the next day that she took ''perverse pride'' in the readiness to admit failings.

Snip... Snip...

2. PICTURES ARE EVERYTHING. The firm that NBC hired staged just two crashes. GM trucks do not, of course, explode in half of all sideways collisions, or there wouldn't be many left on the road. So the consultants helped things along. As GM later demonstrated, the truck that did burn -- apparently because it had an ill-fitting gas-tank cap, made for a different truck -- ignited for only about 15 sec. But to ensure that its images were graphic, NBC used tightly edited shots in which the flames looked much worse.

Snip... Snip...

[ah1115]

Did you ever do this?

[Captkaos]

I have done this on a few pickups (the Blazer tank.)
this is the write-up:  http://www.captkaoscustoms.com/blazertank.html

This is my R10 with it...
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=12120.45

[nlauffer]

I have been thinking about this mod a lot lately.  I have yet to see a really good how to on the door part.  I also want the original door to be used, although a surface mount might be easier for clearance reasons.  I don't know yet. 
Look closely at Capt's build.  I have gotten most of my thought from this, except the fill how to.  If you notice the tank 90s to the passenger side and a straight piece of fuel hose is on there about 12" long or so.  After that is where I loose track of how to do this.
But a buddy of mine has a 78 Blazer with a pretty good lift.  It has been easier to see on this one for me.  After the straight hose, it takes another 90 and goes between fender and inside of rear compartment with another piece of hose (I think).  At this moment I can't remember if it is a hose then another metal 90 or the fill neck is all one piece down to the straight hose to tank.

I hope this makes sense as I have no pics of his Blazer.

So if you can find a salvage Blazer or Suburban, you should be able to use your door after you cut it out of it's location or cut out the salvage one.  Then use the Blazer or Suburban fill neck and get some new fuel fill hose.

I still need to drop my fuel tank to finish my sheetmetal and I haven't decided for 100% if I will do this.  As some of you know my posts mention doing a lot to my 83 SWB and I am trying to scale this back to a more realistic approach.  But if I do this soon I will try to take detailed pics of the fill.

[Captkaos]

Blazers come straight out of the side, there is no turn.


For my tan truck, I am probably going to move the gas door to the rear so it would require less routing.

[ah1115]

I've thought a little about where to put it as well. Do you think  putting it behind the rear license plate will work? Do you have a picture of where you locate yours Captkaos?

[Captkaos]

It will not go behind the license plate.  It is way to low.  Mine will be behind the rear tire at the same level as factory.

Chris Lucas
73-87chevytrucks.com
captkaoscustoms.com
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