Fuel Tank Relocation

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Squareback

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Hey guys, I'm looking to get rid of the saddle tanks on my 79 SWB and relocate to the rear between the frame rails. I've seen some threads on this and it looks like a bunch of work to relocate using a Blazer tank. I'm not really liking the idea of using a bed mount fuel cell at all as an alternative. My question is, is there a 20-25 gallon capacity tank conversion kit that requires only the spare tire bracket be removed/ relocated, that is a fairly simple drill and bolt application? If so, does anybody have any experience using it and what are your thoughts on quality etc.? I'm not opposed to having the fuel filler come through the bottom of the bed, as this truck will just be a cruiser. It's hauling days are pretty much over at this point, with the exception of some camping chairs and a beer cooler...
 

80BrownK10

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Hey guys, I'm looking to get rid of the saddle tanks on my 79 SWB and relocate to the rear between the frame rails. I've seen some threads on this and it looks like a bunch of work to relocate using a Blazer tank. I'm not really liking the idea of using a bed mount fuel cell at all as an alternative. My question is, is there a 20-25 gallon capacity tank conversion kit that requires only the spare tire bracket be removed/ relocated, that is a fairly simple drill and bolt application? If so, does anybody have any experience using it and what are your thoughts on quality etc.? I'm not opposed to having the fuel filler come through the bottom of the bed, as this truck will just be a cruiser. It's hauling days are pretty much over at this point, with the exception of some camping chairs and a beer cooler...
Just a question, why get rid of the saddle tanks? Do you have two rusty tanks and a bad valve and just want to go to one bigger tank? I was just wondering why not just leave the original tanks?
 

Squareback

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Just a question, why get rid of the saddle tanks? Do you have two rusty tanks and a bad valve and just want to go to one bigger tank? I was just wondering why not just leave the original tanks?

Safety mostly, but weight distribution is a bonus.
 

eskimomann209

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If you fill only the passenger side up that’s 133 pounds. You being on the driver side should offset that. If you’re more than 133lbs, every 8 pounds over that you weigh is one gallon.
so add the difference to the driver side to Properly distribute the weight.
 

Frankenchevy

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My buddy did a tank conversion on his action line c10 with a flush tank filler. I’ll ask him what he used this weekend if no one else has responded by then.

Side note, I believe the safety aspect of saddle tanks has been somewhat debunked.
 

80BrownK10

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My buddy did a tank conversion on his action line c10 with a flush tank filler. I’ll ask him what he used this weekend if no one else has responded by then.

Side note, I believe the safety aspect of saddle tanks has been somewhat debunked.
Thats what I was getting at.

If you out it in the rear and are creamed your going to leak fuel too??
 

Keith Seymore

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I'm a little sensitive to this issue, so I apologize in advance, but here is a brief analysis I drafted up on another forum:

Quote:

If your motivation in moving the tank is because of safety I think you are wasting your time.

It sounds like you may have done some reading, and so you may have already seen this thread, but I would ask you to read it again:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=388675&highlight=saddle

My editorial comments are documented there, although perhaps not as eloquently as I would have liked.

Secondly, your comments re-piqued my curiosity about this topic, so I did some (hopefully detatched and unemotional) research:

I wondered "...how many deaths were there, really, as a result of this?". So I did a quick internet search.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has documented what they believe to be 1800 fire related fatalities in '73 - '91 C/K and R/V trucks, from 1973 through calendar year 2000.

First off, in looking at the data, from what I can tell they don't distinguish between pickup, Blazer and Suburban - the later two which would not have side saddle type tanks - so the actual number will be somewhat smaller than the 1800.

Secondly, if you read through the data, it does not distinguish between "fire" as the cause of death vs "fire as a result of side saddle tanks" as a cause of death. Many of the fatalities occurred as a result of single vehicle accidents where the truck struck a tree or a pole or a bridge abutment. One could assume that in those cases the vehicle was moving forward, likely longitudinally (and perhaps at a moderately high rate of speed), and the fact that the tank was mounted on the side of the vehicle would be moot. (That is, these were not situations where the victim vehicle was T boned in the side - specifically the side that the tank was on - resulting in fire). This would also reduce NHTSA's number of fatalities directly attributable to side saddle tanks.

Lastly, in reviewing their data, in some cases there were two, three or even four people involved some of the vehicle incidents. So - the number of vehicles impacted (ie, specific crash events) was something less than 1800, like 1200 or so.

However, for the purposes of this discussion, let's do some math and use their number of 1800:

NHTSA estimates there were roughly 10 million of these vehicles produced (Note: I think that's low, 15 plus model years many of which were more than 1 million per year - but again we'll use their number). If we assume each of those vehicles traveled 50,000 miles in their lifetime (again, I am choosing a low number on purpose, as mine has nearly 200,000 miles) then the number of miles traveled in these types of vehicles would be 500,000,000,000 - hopefully that's 5 with 11 zeros behind it, or 500 billion miles.

I am relating it to miles traveled because that's the factor that causes you to be "exposed" to something bad happening. Said differently, there's really no danger when the vehicle is just sitting in the driveway. 500 billion miles - that's a lot of "exposure".

Your odds of dying in a fiery death, then, according to NHTSA would be that number divided by 1800 or 1 in 277,000,000. One in 277 million.

Just to give this number some perspective, I did a quick check on some other comparable statistics: your odds of winning the lottery, according to one website, are one in 120 million. Your odds of being killed on a commercial airline flight are one in 19 million. Your odds of being struck by lightning, the standard of measure in this type of thing, are one in 750,000. If you prefer a "straight up" numbers-to-numbers comparison, I found that there are roughly 12,000 deaths attributed to "slip and fall" incidents each year.

So basically you are twice as likely to win the lottery, 14 times more likely to die in a plane crash and 370 times more likely to be hit by lightning than to be killed in one of these trucks as a result of fire, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

End quote
 
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80BrownK10

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I'm a little sensitive to this issue, so I apologize in advance, but here is a brief analysis I drafted up on another forum:

Quote:

If your motivation in moving the tank is because of safety I think you are wasting your time.

It sounds like you may have done some reading, and so you may have already seen this thread, but I would ask you to read it again:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=388675&highlight=saddle

My editorial comments are documented there, although perhaps not as eloquently as I would have liked.

Secondly, your comments re-piqued my curiosity about this topic, so I did some (hopefully detatched and unemotional) research:

I wondered "...how many deaths were there, really, as a result of this?". So I did a quick internet search.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has documented what they believe to be 1800 fire related fatalities in '73 - '91 C/K and R/V trucks, from 1973 through calendar year 2000.

First off, in looking at the data, from what I can tell they don't distinguish between pickup, Blazer and Suburban - the later two which would not have side saddle type tanks - so the actual number will be somewhat smaller than the 1800.

Secondly, if you read through the data, it does not distinguish between "fire" as the cause of death vs "fire as a result of side saddle tanks" as a cause of death. Many of the fatalities occurred as a result of single vehicle accidents where the truck struck a tree or a pole or a bridge abutment. One could assume that in those cases the vehicle was moving forward, likely longitudinally (and perhaps at a moderately high rate of speed), and the fact that the tank was mounted on the side of the vehicle would be moot. (That is, these were not situations where the victim vehicle was T boned in the side - specifically the side that the tank was on - resulting in fire). This would also reduce NHTSA's number of fatalities directly attributable to side saddle tanks.

Lastly, in reviewing their data, in some cases there were two, three or even four people involved some of the vehicle incidents. So - the number of vehicles impacted (ie, specific crash events) was something less than 1800, like 1200 or so.

However, for the purposes of this discussion, let's do some math and use their number of 1800:

NHTSA estimates there were roughly 10 million of these vehicles produced (Note: I think that's low, 15 plus model years many of which were more than 1 million per year - but again we'll use their number). If we assume each of those vehicles traveled 50,000 miles in their lifetime (again, I am choosing a low number on purpose, as mine has nearly 200,000 miles) then the number of miles traveled in these types of vehicles would be 500,000,000,000 - hopefully that's 5 with 11 zeros behind it, or 500 billion miles.

I am relating it to miles traveled because that's the factor that causes you to be "exposed" to something bad happening. Said differently, there's really no danger when the vehicle is just sitting in the driveway. 500 billion miles - that's a lot of "exposure".

Your odds of dying in a fiery death, then, according to NHTSA would be that number divided by 1800 or 1 in 277,000,000. One in 277 million.

Just to give this number some perspective, I did a quick check on some other comparable statistics: your odds of winning the lottery, according to one website, are one in 120 million. Your odds of being killed on a commercial airline flight are one in 19 million. Your odds of being struck by lightning, the standard of measure in this type of thing, are one in 750,000. If you prefer a "straight up" numbers-to-numbers comparison, I found that there are roughly 12,000 deaths attributed to "slip and fall" incidents each year.

So basically you are twice as likely to win the lottery, 14 times more likely to die in a plane crash and 370 times more likely to be hit by lightning than to be killed in one of these trucks as a result of fire, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

End quote
These are the type numbers that people need to realize the size of the risk. Now imagine if you put a number like 200k for each truck.
 

Keith Seymore

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These are the type numbers that people need to realize the size of the risk. Now imagine if you put a number like 200k for each truck.

My daughter astutely noted that, in view of the 12,000 slip and fall deaths per year, you are safer riding in a squarebody than you are walking.

K
 

roundhouse

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Your odds of getting rear ended are much higher than a T bone side collision
When you are driving , there is ALWAYS someone behind you ,100% of the time . And half of em are texting while driving

At an intersection , I always always always look both ways before I go across , no matter what the traffic signal color is .
Especially if I’m one of the first three or four vehicles , that’s the ones a red light runner is going to hit ,
Just look both ways before you cross the street

And the tank from a ford ranger will fit inside the frame trails
If you want to do that
 

77 K20

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I've thought about a tank relocation just because of some of the terrain I go over I scrape the transfer case/transmission crossmember. I have the factory thin skid plates on both tanks but am worried about crushing them.

But so far no damage to the tanks.

And someday if my bed keeps rusting out I'd like to go this route:

You must be registered for see images attach


Then there would be no protection at all for the side of the tank. I'd really want to move to a Suburban tank or maybe put one in the bed at this point... but I sleep in the bed of the truck on some of my trips.
 

Squareback

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Thanks for all of your thoughts, input and time on this question guys. I'm still researching and just thinking the process through. Great information and input. I'm weighing out the possibilities now, because my truck is pretty well stripped down at the moment, and if I'm going to make a change, now would be the time to do it. The saddle bags would definitely give me more capacity, but the thought of them being outside of the frame rails is what raised the question with me, plus I'm already missing a tank AND one of the previous owners removed the side filler door and welded in, very poorly, a piece of sheet metal to cover the opening. So, with that said, I'm looking at some additional body work and part sourcing to make it right. Not sure why they removed the drivers side tank and removed the filler door, but it is what it is. This is, after all, a project truck. So these things are what got my wheels turning and weighing the options available. Thanks again for all of the time and consideration that you guys have given. I appreciate it!
 

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