Home made under bed gas tank

[Kent]

Wife and I are both tall so I wanted to get the tank out from under the passenger seat so I can lower both seats.

I have a 4 link and custom made rear tub. I followed the same basic shape of the stock tub and had the metal shop bend it up. Got the sides bent and put it all together with the stock top rail. Rear crossmember has been moved back too - along with the axle. This setup left me with a nice open space between the frame and above the control arms for a gas tank.

Volume calculations placed it at around 19 gallons but I had to modify it a bit and with baffles I suspect around 18. I haven't filled it yet.

I lowered the rig onto the bumpstops to make sure the control arms don't hit the tank on full stuff. I have about 1mm of clearance

I may need a slightly longer bumpstop or elevate the bottom pad a bit so it's not so close.

The biggest challenge I had was sealing all the fittings at the welds. I am not a certified welder so after chasing leaks several times I sealed all the welded in fittings with lots of JB weld

 

[chicago]

WOW!!!
Great job on the tank man! Thanks for the link!
Came out GREAT!
What ga. steel did you use?

 

[bikersmurf]

Looks good. Can you make me one too?

I'd carry a tube of "Seal All" in you tool box. If you ever develop a leak, you can put a drop of it onto the end of your finger, put your finger on the leak, rub it in a bit, and then hold for 20 seconds. Presto, the leak is stopped. For good measure add a second or even a third coat. The tank will rust out before it ever fails.



Just kidding... I don't need another fuel tank.

 

[Kent]

WOW!!!
Great job on the tank man! Thanks for the link!
Came out GREAT!
What ga. steel did you use?

Thanks, used 14 ga. steel. It's sturdy and heavy!

 

[chicago]

Did you pressure test it for leaks?
Where did you source the fuel level sender from?
How about the fittings? Where did you get those?
Did you seal the inside with anything?

 

[Kent]

I pressure tested with air, sprayed it down with soapy water. After getting most of them closed with welding I eventually gave up on that and sealed the rest with generous portions of JB weld.

The fuel level sender is the stock one. I made sure the distance from top to bottom was roughly the same as the stock tank.

I got the fittings from the local pipe fitting supply house. They are barbed and fit 3/8 fuel line. The fill hole is also a large barbed fitting that fits 2" (I think) fuel filler line.

I did not seal it with anything on the recommendation of the local fab shop (Twisted Customs). They said their experience has been lots more problems with sealers flaking and plugging filters etc than rust from an uncoated tank. Plan is to keep it full of gas when sitting for extended periods.