Dad scared of sidesaddle tanks! Can u help me?

[fellinginlove]

Hi all!!!

So i've always loved 2nd and 3rd generation chevy's, and I finally found one for a steal. 1987 chevy in real nice shape. However, my Dad is convinced i'm killing myself by wanting to purchase one because of the sidesaddle duel fuel tanks  outside of the frame. The only way he'll accept it at present is if I switch it over with a propane tank in the bed (...i kinda think this would wreck the look of this purdy truck). Does anyone have any info debunking the danger? How "dangerous" would you say they are, and would you let your daughter play with one?

Anyone "altered" one to make it safer?

Thank you so much for your help   

[fellinginlove]

Any opinions would be appreciated on the subject of the duel tanks. Keeping, or altering them. Thanks

[timthescarrd]

Chris (CaptKaos) did a write up on how to install the blazer tank into the trucks

http://www.captkaoscustoms.com/blazertank.html

That sounds like it would please both you and your dad, just start hitting the scrap yards for parts

[VileZambonie]

Tell Dad to buy you a Volvo.  There's nothing "safe" about an 87 Chevy truck. They weren't built for safety but if you believe 1/2 of what you hear in the media then you're believing in a lot of buttered up stories just like the attempt at making these trucks look like ticking time bombs.

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php/topic,7131.0.html

[Blazin]

Does your dad believe everything the media, and politicians blow out of proportion, or make up?
If you do a search on this site you will find this has been discussed a few times.
 
As Vile said these trucks were not built to " BE " safe. On the other hand they are not built to be 
" UNSAFE ".

I have been hit in the side of one of these trucks. Caved the fuel tank in to the point the gage would not read below half tank as the float would hit the inside of the tank. No fuel leak, no fire, no explosion. A few years after that I was wheeling another one of my trucks. I gashed the bottom of a tank open on some ledge I was driving down over. Again no fire, no explosion.

If you do some research I believe GM sued either CBS, or NBC I don't recall which one because they used explosives to hype the media coverage of this up.

[Irish_Alley]

well i for one havnt dies yet due to my sadle take. any others out there that have defied the odds? click like if you have lol. but yeah even crown vics had a problem with rear end crashed and the gas tanks.

[thirsty]

The only way he'll accept it at present is if I switch it over with a propane tank in the bed

I used to work for a propane company. I can guarantee you that any issue with propane would be far worse than an issue with gasoline in a saddle tank. I'm not saying that propane is bad either but I have seen some propane mishaps. Personally I would rather take my chances with gasoline. Also I have been t-boned, rear ended, rolled over, You name it with these trucks and I am still here and never once thought my life might end because the tank was on the outside of the frame rail. Your dad should focus on how tough these trucks are and the fact that any rig on the road today that gets tangled up with a 73-87 is probably gonna lose...just saying.

If I could afford it my wife and daughter would be driving on of these too and I would sleep just fine at night.

[Donut]

Most of your larger duty trucks have fuel tanks outside the rails.  Gas, diesel, propane....
The Pinto didn't have saddle tanks, just a thought.

[Psycho71]

We had a '73 we used on deer leases. had a ramp kick up once while loading it on a trailer, and it ripped about a 12" gash in one of the tanks. Dumped about 10 gallons of fuel on the ground, right under the running truck. I drove it up on the trailer to get it away from the raw fuel, and to get it on there before the bowl on the carb went dry. No fire, and I'm still alive after driving these trucks off and on all of my life.

So a propane tank in, let's say, a roll-over would be safer than a saddle tank in a side impact? I see about even odds, long odds, on either of those happening.

A blazer tank conversion is very do-able though. I did it to my '71 just to get the tank from behind the seat. hey, there's an idea. Threaten dad to buy a 72 or earlier model with an IN CAB tank. I bet he'll cave on the saddle tank issue then, LOL.

Seriously though, it's good ol dad cares so much. But I think he might be over-thinking this a bit, or buying some hype he saw/read somewhere.

[78 Chevyrado]

I can stage a fuel tank explosion like the news did to these trucks and make any vehicle look more unsafe than that.

It's a minor risk, just like every vehicle that isn't FWD with a tank ahead of the rear axle.  Newer trucks have the tank mounted inside the framerail, and really anything except inside the framerail, ahead of the rear axle isn't that safe, relatively speaking.  I think the blazer tank mod is worse than the stock side saddle tanks safety wise (though not enough I wouldn't get one) because there are more rear end collisions than T-bone wrecks. 

My trucks got hit in the side by a broad goin 40MPH  and it crushed up everything from front wheel to rear wheel but the tanks were unscathed.  not a scratch on em.  almost flipped the truck over too.


There have been far scarier recalls and wierd crap on cars since the 80's, gas pedals sticking, cars at highway speed suddenly turning all the way to the right, etc.. 

Look up GM VS NBC.  I forgot this lil tidbit, NBC had rigged the truck to explode with little rockets, which set off the biggest libel lawsuit at the time.   They got busted because GM found the tanks started to smoke in the video 6 frames before the car impacted the truck. lol

[Blazin]

I have worked with LPG in the past as well. Worked on the trucks, and delivered LP. Propane is safe when handle correctly. It is also just as easy to have an issue with it. Plus if a gas tank catches fire most likely it will burn the truck down. LP tank goes it will do some serious damage, a 100 gallon tank could level a standard 2 car garage.
I have seen on 88 and newer GMs, and F150s where the drive shaft let go, and smash the crap out of the fuel tanks. Years ago a buddy of mine had a rust hole in the bed of his Toyota pickup. He had the spare tire in the bed with a ratchet strap holding it. The center of the rim cut through the strap, the ratchet part fell down through the rust hole, wrapped around the drive shaft. The shaft threw it right through the side of the inside the frame mounted gas tank, hole I could put my fist through. No fire, no explosion! Point is no matter where the tank is mounted accidents can happen, and possibly rupture the tank!
Another guy I know decided out of the blue he was going to try hunting. He took his 84 C10 went to the store, got a pack of butts, and filled up his tank, then drove out some old dirt road outside of town. Got his bolt action rifle out, popped the clip in, then slid one in the chamber. Closed the bolt, that in turn tried to slide a second shell into the allready full chamber. The first round went off when the second round hit the primer, the bullet went between the rear tire, and the rear quarter panel of the truck. It entered the gas tank on the back end, and exited about half way up the length of the tank on the bottom. I know lead doesn't spark, and shooting a gas tank only makes it blow up in the movies. Still all that happend was he lost his whole tank of gas! Oh yeah and he bout crapped his pants!
 I would rather see someone I love in one of these trucks than any econo box car!

[Lt.Del]

get a Smart car, see if your dad is happy then.

[slammed79]

Such is the result of over protective parents. Weird how things change in a such a short time.

[Jason S]

These year trucks, in my opinion, are safer than the '72 and back with in-cab gas tanks...  You could do something like a fuel cell in the bed or a swap to a behind the axle blazer tank, but I don't know that you'd really be gaining much in "safety". 

[VileZambonie]

Once again, if it's a "safe" vehicle you want.... keep looking because these aren't built with today's safety standards. The fact that you shouldn't get skewered by your steering column made people happy back then.