Plastic fuel tanks?

[Skid]

Does anyone know of a plastic tank for a 73 c10 swb? Im doing a 5.3 ls swap and the motor I have is a flex fuel capable enging and id like the ability to run e85. Are there any tabks that could be retrofitted easily? THANKS

 

[CSFJ]

I don't think they make a plastic replacement for these tanks due to them hanging out side the frame rails. If you really want to run a non steel tank, you'll probably need to relocate it to inside the frame rails, similar to the blazer and suburban locatons. Not impossible, just going to require some fabrication skills.

 

[Skid]

I don't think they make a plastic replacement for these tanks due to them hanging out side the frame rails. If you really want to run a non steel tank, you'll probably need to relocate it to inside the frame rails, similar to the blazer and suburban locatons. Not impossible, just going to require some fabrication skills.

Hmm, I may ditch the idea then.. The tank i have looks really clean/newish on the outside, if its just as good looking on the inside I'll probably just figure out a way to jam a walbro 255 pump in it and never look back.

 

[77 K20]

They make plastic (polyethylene) gas tanks for these trucks. I remember some made a big deal where they would be safer with a side impact as plastic doesn't spark after that news story about them. MTS makes some. There are probably others also.

http://www.mtscompany.com/chevy-gmc.htm

Here was part of an article from fourwheeler about them:

Worried about strength? This is where MTS Company's tanks excel. Its one-piece tanks are made of high-density cross-linking polyethylene.

This cross-linking process makes them 35 times stronger than non-cross-linked polyethylene. They won't crack, even at 150 degrees below zero, and the plastic offers a memory which enables them to bounce back after an impact. They weigh less than a comparable steel tank, they're UV-stabilized and the walls of MTS tanks are 1/4-inch thick, where most metal tanks are 1/8-inch thick.

 

[87scotty]

You like that e85 stuff i dont think its worth the gain

 

[CSFJ]

You like that e85 stuff i dont think its worth the gain

A lot of the guys making big power seem to love it. Because it burns cooler they can throw massive amounts of timing at it. But, most of them are in it for every spare hp they can get. On a daily driver, I would tend agree there wouldn't be much gain, as the cheaper cost is offset by reduced fuel mileage.

 

[CSFJ]

They make plastic (polyethylene) gas tanks for these trucks. I remember some made a big deal where they would be safer with a side impact as plastic doesn't spark after that news story about them. MTS makes some. There are probably others also.

http://www.mtscompany.com/chevy-gmc.htm

Here was part of an article from fourwheeler about them:

Worried about strength? This is where MTS Company's tanks excel. Its one-piece tanks are made of high-density cross-linking polyethylene.

This cross-linking process makes them 35 times stronger than non-cross-linked polyethylene. They won't crack, even at 150 degrees below zero, and the plastic offers a memory which enables them to bounce back after an impact. They weigh less than a comparable steel tank, they're UV-stabilized and the walls of MTS tanks are 1/4-inch thick, where most metal tanks are 1/8-inch thick.

This is good info to have. I haven't bought new tanks for my project yet, and these sound like a good way to go. I did a little looking around a while back, and the only replacements I found were steel. Nice to have more options.

 

[87scotty]

E85 is dirty to heard alot of trucks messin up when runnin flex fuel

 

[Skid]

Id be mainly doing it for resale cool factor value.

 

[da_raabi]

They make plastic (polyethylene) gas tanks for these trucks. I remember some made a big deal where they would be safer with a side impact as plastic doesn't spark after that news story about them. MTS makes some. There are probably others also.

http://www.mtscompany.com/chevy-gmc.htm

Here was part of an article from fourwheeler about them:

Worried about strength? This is where MTS Company's tanks excel. Its one-piece tanks are made of high-density cross-linking polyethylene.

This cross-linking process makes them 35 times stronger than non-cross-linked polyethylene. They won't crack, even at 150 degrees below zero, and the plastic offers a memory which enables them to bounce back after an impact. They weigh less than a comparable steel tank, they're UV-stabilized and the walls of MTS tanks are 1/4-inch thick, where most metal tanks are 1/8-inch thick.

Hmm... No pricing on their site. I bet its one of those "if you have to ask..." situations. Would it be worth it for $400 per tank? I think not. I'd be curious what they charge though.

Especially when a 20 gallon steelie is $65 on rockauto.

 

[77 K20]

I didn't know what the going rate for steel tanks was. Did a quick search and looks like $163 for both the 16 gallon and the 20 gallon.

http://www.carparts.com/results/?Ntt=MTS%20-%20Fuel%20Tank&

 

[da_raabi]

Well that's not tooo bad. I'm curious if that 34 gallon p/n 2034 would work in our trucks. That would be sweet. Thats 68 friggen gallons between two of them! Now THAT I could see being a worthwhile upgrade! Let me see... at 7mpg that would get me 476 miles down the road. Not bad.

http://www.carparts.com/details/MTS/Fuel_Tank/MTS2034.html

 

[77 K20]

I didn't see that one. Wow- that would be nice especially for my dad who drives long distances pulling his 5th wheel with his '79 K15.
But how would there be enough room for it?

 

[theblindchicken]

It's probably a bit longer and fills in any and all gaps that the stock steels don't.

 

[da_raabi]

I found that tank on ebay with someone who actually took a picture of it. It's from the '88-'96 trucks and absolutely will not fit our trucks. It's all kinds of the wrong shape. Apparently the parts houses are using the wrong stock image.

Figures...