Afrermarket fuel tank for 1973 k20 with dual fuel tanks

[chevykid71]

My truck still has original fuel tanks
There was a recall some tears ago wanting us to sell the truck back to the dealer but I kept it regardless of the dangers of the tanks being on the outside of the frame. But now I think it time to make it safer. Do I replace those tanks or just drop 1 in the bed and not use thise anymore.?

 

[fast 99]

I owned 4 or 5 trucks that were under that class action suit. To my knowledge there was never a buy back. At one point we received a $500 credit on each vehicle toward a new one. Then another suit was filed, they lost, credit was gone. It was a long time ago someone correct me if I am wrong. We did have a 1 ton with an exposed set of tanks. We installed a protective set of steel braces that was made by GM however they will not fit under the body.

As with everything like this side impact fires were blown out of proportion. In 30 years of owning a towing service I never saw one catch fire. Actually, any fire was quite rare.

 

[chevykid71]

Maybe that's what it was about I was a teen when all that happened but I remember my dad talking about a new truck at that time and I beg him for this old truck and he let me keep it. It's been stored in a garage for the last 30-35 years the fuel lines have deteriorated on the tanks now and wondered if I should replace with a single in the bed or just replace the lines and hoses on the old tanks.last time I drove it both tanks still operated fine just had to use the left tank first. For some reason the gauge only read correctly for the left tank is if the right tank is full.

 

[fast 99]

A bed tank may not be any safer. In a rollover it's likely going to be ejected and a side impact fuel will slosh to that side and either spew out fill cap and or vent. Another thing, frame rails on newer vehicles are wider to accommodate tank location. Then there is the driveline. With an inside frame rail tank, there usually is some sort of protection.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Maybe that's what it was about I was a teen when all that happened but I remember my dad talking about a new truck at that time and I beg him for this old truck and he let me keep it. It's been stored in a garage for the last 30-35 years the fuel lines have deteriorated on the tanks now and wondered if I should replace with a single in the bed or just replace the lines and hoses on the old tanks.last time I drove it both tanks still operated fine just had to use the left tank first. For some reason the gauge only read correctly for the left tank is if the right tank is full.

Change the lines, change out the fuel, change the filter, and run it

 

[75gmck25]

The most common swap is to use a Suburban gas tank mounted up under the rear of the truck. There are multiple articles on the net that explain how to make that work, and at least 3 sizes of tank.

The old saddle tanks may be rusty inside, and the sending units are probably so corroded that they will not read accurately anymore. But you can always just pull them and verify.
My preferred setup is 3 port sending units and a 3 port fuel pump. This lets you connect a fuel return line from the pump, which helps prevent vapor lock.

All the old rubber hoses are suspect, and eventually you want to replace them with new EFI rated hose that holds up to ethanol gas. However, they might be fine for now since you haven’t been running ehrhanol fuel through them.

If you have dual tanks you might want to only connect up the main tank for now, just to simplify troubleshooting. There are multiple posts on this site from folks who are trying to get dual tanks working properly, and some struggle quite a bit with all the old pieces and parts.

 

[chevykid71]

@ DoubleDingo that's what I'll do. Change lines and flush the tanks and run it.

 

[DoubleDingo]

@ DoubleDingo that's what I'll do. Change lines and flush the tanks and run it.

With it being stored inside you are ahead of the game, but still have the normal going through and replacing, checking, adjusting.