[williambartram]

I am installing 55 chevy pu sheetmetal on a 80 chevy short box frame. The stock 80 chevy tank wont work because it hits the runningboard. I could use the stock 55 truck tank but dont want to listen to gas slopping around and would like to mount the battery and killer tunes back there. I have a 30 gal. 79 blazer tank but it is too big length wise(will be to close to diff.) and I hot wired the send unit to the stock 57 pu gauge unit I plan to use and it didnt work.If any one has any ideas I would app. it.

[bullheimer]

as far as the gas gauge goes, you're kinda hosed unless you get an aftermarket tank with their sending unit. you will have to get a gas tank out of a SUBURBAN. that's what i did. you will be able to use either the stock mounting hardware or use uni-strut and all thread rod to hang it. be sure to use rubber or something between them. the burb tank will fit right btwn the frame rails. you just have to remove the crap for hanging the spare tire there. you can sort of see how mine is hanging if you go to the old photo album. i have a service box. i used the stock 55 filler hose and grommet and ran it up. warning, there is not alot of clearance btwn the bottom of the bed and the top of the tank. i used a 29 gallon job. so make sure to leave yourself enough room to reach in there and make connections.
the way my gauge works for me is this: anymore than 5 gallons and it reads full. at 5 it starts bouncing around, when it reads half a tank it's time to look for a station as i have btwn 3-4 gallons left. at about 2 it starts to go back up to full. then you cant tell what the hell it is, full or empty. i dont get it. but you have plenty of time if you keep an eye on your gauge to know when to go and fill up. have funn, i put my 55 on a 79 long bed i had to take about 8 inches out. your truck will sit very high, because of the humps in the front of the frame. the cab mounts you will have to build will be way up there, so i am not sure you will like it when you are done. not exactly the way to build a slammer. you can however, reuse the 80's steering column. use the wiring diagram from 80. it will be great to have working tail lights, stop lights and turn signals. also if the 79 is the same as 80, the power brake booster bolts onto the steering column, brake/clutch pedal bracket and you can re use that as well. if you got anymore questions email me or pm me. good luck
one more thing, if your blazer tank fits btwn the frame rails and is still too big, dont forget that they make different size tanks, see what size you have and then try and find a smaller one i had to pay $50 for mine at a wrecker

[carcrazy1]

Heres what I've done a time or two to solve a gas tank problem Try the boat shops alot of boats use built in steel tanks that work great in rods they look good and are super simple to install most have a universal sending unit that will work with most o.e.m guages and simple hose filler tubes the quality of these tanks is excellent and they dont cost much new... the most common sizes are 12 and 18 gal. but you can order just about any size ya want ...

[carcrazy1]

heres a pic of the tanks I refered to this one aluminum but you can get them in steel ,plastic even stainless the aluminum tanks look really nice polished

[williambartram]

Thanks bulhelmer and carcrazy1 for the info. Since first post I have an idea which I will run by you guys. I have a spectra premium gas tank catalog which has just about every pass car and light truck tank in it. It has pictures and dimensions. My short box frame has very limited space behind the rear end, even with the rear crossmember moved back and spare tire crap removed. The 79 blazer tank I have is 30 gal and measures 28 3/4 x 28 1/8 x 12 3/4 in. The 25 gal tank that bulheimer used is the same except its only 10 3/4 deep. If I used either of these tanks,(if it worked at all) it would be very close to the axle and right out to the rear bumper(not very safe in an crash). There are 2 tanks I found that would fit in the space. One is 78-83 bonneville,century,cutlass,lemans,malibu,regal 18 gal 21 1/2 x 24 x 14 1/8. The other is 55-57 chevy car (either round or square corners),25 1/4 x25 x 8 1/4. I think the send units might have the same resistance as my dash gauge(57 chevy pu) on the old chevy but I dont know. The bonneville/etc tank is cheaper and the sendunit is probably much cheaper but I dont think it will work. Does anybody know the empty/full resistances for these two tanks(cars) and my 57 truck gauge? As for the marine tank option its a cool idea but looks expensive. Would its send unit work with my 57 trucks gauge? Any info.would be much app.

[bullheimer]

i would bet my nooksack the 55 car resistance is the same as the trucks. that would be my first try.