My new gas tank is finally finished, installed, and plumbered in. Ran new 3/8" steel lines too while I was at it. My buddy Bruce the Master Welder and Fabricator knocked the tank together for me to my specs. It came out about 26" wide, 16" deep, and 11" tall. It should hold roughly 18 gallons if it were filled completely. Bruce put a pair of baffles in to keep the sloshing down, and the inlet fitting sticks down into the tank about an inch leaving me a small air space. I found a new sender on E-Bay so I actually have a working gas gauge now too. I still don't know how the filler neck will be plumbered in until after we make the custom flat bed, so for now it's a 90* galvanized fitting with a vent as a gas cap. Not real elegant but it works. It will need a coat of paint yet, and I'm not all that happy about the way the fuel line is routed at the tank itself. Still some tweaking left to do, but at least it's in and functioning. There will be some extra metal added when the flatbed frame is built to help protect the tank where it hangs below the frame, but it's heavy gauge steel so it should withstand a pretty good shot as it is. It's nice to have one more thing crossed off the never ending list.

 

Looks nice - even nicer in that everything works! Why did you decide to build your own gas tank? I think I must have looked at a 100 different tank designs - most were under $200. Is that valve a "rollover vent"? I've had some lively debates with my mechanic friends on whether they are necessary - I put one in just in case it helped vent the gas on filling up.

Ben in Austin

 

The decision was pure economics. This is a shoestring project. The steel was scrap, thus free. I trade with Bruce for the labor and whatnot constantly. I think I have at most $75 in materials between the sender, wire, fuel line, and fittings. The most expensive component was the gas to fill it up. The other BIG pluses? I didn't have to compromise on what I wanted. I also didn't have to move any structural frame member to get the tank to fit.

 

Looks good but but based on your measurments it will hold 19.8 gals. A gal is 231 sq in.

 

The bottom of the filler extends about an inch into the tank making some space unfillable. Plus I always estimate volume a little on the low side just cuz.

 

Yea, running out of fuel sucks.