so, I looking at 51PanelMans' red panel and I noticed the fuel tank in mounted under the floor?? How much different is the panel frame from an F1 frame??

I was wondering if I could use a fuel tank from the panel on my F1.. No real particular reason but to free up some cab space.. I know the filler is on the wrong side but that could be changed and I would use the original filler location on my 52 and just run a pipe through the floor?

did I make sense ? Would it easily fit?

bob

 

The frames are the same. Hmmmmmm? That's a good question and it would be great to find out if that would work. I would venture to say though that panel gas tanks are getting hard to find - yes/no?

 

You can place the fuel tank on either side of the F1 Frame - it has all the stampongs for left or right hand drive - all you need are the tank straps and the fillneck.

 

The local junk yard has a few panels in it. I didn't want to crawl around on the ground if I didn't need to..

thanks Julie, that's one piece of the puzzle...same frames

 

The local junk yard has a few panels in it. I didn't want to crawl around on the ground if I didn't need to..

thanks Julie, that's one piece of the puzzle...same frames

 

The Panel tanks are similar to later model Pickup tanks.

 

The panel frames are slightly different.

The panels have only two running board brackets one each side as opposed to the three on the pickups and they are the same as the flatbed trucks which are slightly longer than the pickups. The mounting hold in the brackets are located differently too. The panels use the same running boards as the flatbeds with a notch cut out in the rear corners to accommodate the panels body.

I have a F-1 pickup chassis under my panel. The chassis had a dual exhaust system and I had to reroute the driver's side to go around the panel gas tank. If the junk yard near you has a couple of panels it would be a good bet that they're eaten out on the bottom. The panel tank I had was in bad shape so I modified a truck from a IH diesel truck to fit.

 

My Panel tank was a mess also. A buddy of mine made me a nice replica,SS, in exchange for my painting services. There is a photo in my gallery but I have not got the photo post thing down too good.

 

My 48 Panel frame extension were just set between the frame and the underside of the body - when I lifted the body they fell out.
My 52 Panel frame extensions were tack welded in place
All the holes for various brackets look the same.

 

So Bob/Dick,

Can you put the panel tanks in a pick-up? I always wanted a second gas tank, and I was thinking of trying a 53-55 tank but it won't fit. (I had both a 55 behind th erunning board and a 56 tank behind the seat in my 55 and it sure was nice for long trips - 37 gallons!)

Does the third running board support preclude installation of the tank? My exhaust is out on the running boards so that's not a problem.

 

I can't think of a reason you couldn't mount a panel tank in a pickup but I thought there was, I'll probably remember it when I go to bed tonight and forget to post it tomorrow. Obviously, you'd have to route the filler tube some how. I would think it woudl come out in the running board because the fill tube comes under the frame. There is a rubber hose that connects the tank filler tube to the outer filler tube. There also a vent port on top of the tank because the filler tube is in the middle of the tank. The vent also has a tube that is welded into the side of the outer filler tube. It's not like the pickups' filler tube.

 

Maybe I could get a straight filler neck and run it up to the bed?

 

Pictures of the original fuel tank and components from a Panel. Note the filler neck and vent tubes positions.







Brackets.




Filler neck.


Mounting a fuel tank from a Panel into a truck is possible. The frames are virtually the same. You shouldn't have any clearance issues for the tank and brackets. You will likely need to reposition the filler tube on the tank.

A fuel tank from a Ford Explorer is almost the same dimensions and size.

norvillebob, if you can get the Panel fuel tanks in good condition, I'd go for it. Make sure to get the brackets as well. The Panel fuel tanks are good resellers. Not that many of them left and since the fuel tanks were exposed to weather, unlike hidden inside the truck cab, some rust out.

I've sold the one pictured above with the brackets for $300 or $350.

 

I just finished installing a 1970 Mustang tank in my F1, as documented in this article. You do lose the ability to mount a spare tire underneath the rear of the truck, but with all the room I gained behind the seat, I can carry a small 12V air compressor and a tire plug kit. I can't tell you the last time I actually used a spare tire, but I plug tires regularly.

-DV

 

I am going to look into installing a tank from a 1970 mustang. Thanks for pointing out the article.