Tanks a lot.
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
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Tanks a lot.
I'm trying to find a useable washer/overflow tank for my '85. I've got a couple more yards to hit with old iron but I'm not holding my breath. Is there an aftermarket retailer selling them? I found several for 1987-97, but not the bullnose trucks.
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Angier, NC
Not seeing the 87-97 tanks I cant say "why will it not fit"?
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
Last edited by FuzzFace2; Mar 10, 2026 at 07:18 PM.
Thread Starter
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 343
Likes: 188
Not seeing the 87-97 tanks I cant say "why will it not fit"?
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
I'm not above field expedient repairs, but this is more a toy, albeit a big one, more than a working unit I need to get back in service.I tried NPD and Ebay. Ebay said the one I found wouldn't fit and the photo showed a different tank than what I have. The two yards I haven't checked yet are both under water in the area I need to look. We've been getting hammered with rain. Last week I dumped 4 inches of water out and more storms are coming tonight.
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,983
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From: Angier, NC
As I said I think the 2 tanks are swapped front to rear and has a different bracket bolted to the inner fender.
That might be why they say will not fit but once installed who would know it was for 87-97 trucks?
Look it over the next time you see one.
Sometimes you need to do what you got to do and no one would be the wiser it was not for that truck.
Look at the dual fuel tanks on my flare side. It was never an option and never had a rear 19 gallon tank.
Look at the metal ribbed floor from a style side bed in place of the wood bed the flare sides had.
Custom bumpers front & rear. No bumper bolts showing and driving / fog lights in the front bumper.
Truck looks factory and no one knows they were not from the factory till I point it out to people.
Dave ----
That might be why they say will not fit but once installed who would know it was for 87-97 trucks?
Look it over the next time you see one.
Sometimes you need to do what you got to do and no one would be the wiser it was not for that truck.
Look at the dual fuel tanks on my flare side. It was never an option and never had a rear 19 gallon tank.
Look at the metal ribbed floor from a style side bed in place of the wood bed the flare sides had.
Custom bumpers front & rear. No bumper bolts showing and driving / fog lights in the front bumper.
Truck looks factory and no one knows they were not from the factory till I point it out to people.
Dave ----
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,691
Likes: 1,173
From: Tolland, CT
Not seeing the 87-97 tanks I cant say "why will it not fit"?
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
I was able to save one of 2 I had to install in my truck but I think the washer part may leak as it is empty and I dont use it.
I also want to say it was posted you can use the newer type but you need the mounting bracket and maybe the tanks are swapped?
Dave ----
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 343
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I could make my own tank if need be. The one on my truck has a large jagged hole in the top. I think someone tried to remove the cap and it was so brittle it snapped off. On mine, I suspect when I try to put a hose on it, the tube it goes to will snap off.
When I got my license, the car I drove didn't even have a washer system. It was a 1961 Plymouth Valiant and my sister complained about how dirty the windshield got at times so I carried a squeegee and spray bottle of water. Sitting at a light, I'd reach out, spray some water on the glass then use the squeegee to clear it. Sometimes I'd spray heavy and just use the wipers. Back then you did what you needed to do.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,691
Likes: 1,173
From: Tolland, CT
Have you checked LMC truck to see if they have one ? NPD is another place to check.
My first car was a 61 Impala in 1971, it was a cousins car.
My first car was a 61 Impala in 1971, it was a cousins car.
Last edited by Max Capacity; Mar 11, 2026 at 02:13 PM.
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Tuned
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I found later, 1987 to 96, parts but not the older. The transmission is my first priority right now. Parts to clean up the new unit are starting to come in. Once I get the truck driving regularly, I'll get more serious about the cleaning up.
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FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Angier, NC
I also know DOT will not pull me over and give me a fine for a low washer fluid tank like they do on CDL trucks - anything to make a buck.
That 61 MOPAR did not have the rubber bulb on the floor for the washer?
I know by mid 60's Dodge vans had that type washer system as we had 2 - 65 D100 and a 68 D100 is what I first got to drive in the mid 70's
No it was not that cool as it had a camper top so you could stand up inside and was a different color than the van.
Dave ----
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,691
Likes: 1,173
From: Tolland, CT
car-part.com may have a tank.
https://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
Looking through some of the junkyard sites, I found a 86 302EFI like mine with a different top that had a large snap cover that was a bottom feed tank, like mine. So look around. Prices seem to be $20-50.
Looking more, I found one that is reversed, with the coolant on the firewall side, that one both tanks had big snap on caps.
I have to stop looking, I'm finding trucks in the junkyards that look better then mine...
https://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
Looking through some of the junkyard sites, I found a 86 302EFI like mine with a different top that had a large snap cover that was a bottom feed tank, like mine. So look around. Prices seem to be $20-50.
Looking more, I found one that is reversed, with the coolant on the firewall side, that one both tanks had big snap on caps.
I have to stop looking, I'm finding trucks in the junkyards that look better then mine...
Last edited by Max Capacity; Mar 11, 2026 at 02:25 PM.
Thread Starter
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
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I have not checked where the leak is, not high on my list ATM as I dont use the truck where I would need it.
I also know DOT will not pull me over and give me a fine for a low washer fluid tank like they do on CDL trucks - anything to make a buck.
That 61 MOPAR did not have the rubber bulb on the floor for the washer?
I know by mid 60's Dodge vans had that type washer system as we had 2 - 65 D100 and a 68 D100 is what I first got to drive in the mid 70's
No it was not that cool as it had a camper top so you could stand up inside and was a different color than the van.
Dave ----
I also know DOT will not pull me over and give me a fine for a low washer fluid tank like they do on CDL trucks - anything to make a buck.
That 61 MOPAR did not have the rubber bulb on the floor for the washer?
I know by mid 60's Dodge vans had that type washer system as we had 2 - 65 D100 and a 68 D100 is what I first got to drive in the mid 70's
No it was not that cool as it had a camper top so you could stand up inside and was a different color than the van.
Dave ----
I think the foot pump came out a couple of years later but this was a VERY basic car. The only option it had was a heater. Try driving in Indiana with one in the winter.
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Angier, NC
Vans had heaters but it was like shoveling you know what against the tide because of the large cargo area connected to the people area 
I remember 1 year before I could drive and was in boy scouts we had winter games and dad gave us a ride and the truck did not have heat at that time.
It was a vary cold long day
We lived in CT at the time so it got cold.
Dave ----
I remember 1 year before I could drive and was in boy scouts we had winter games and dad gave us a ride and the truck did not have heat at that time.
It was a vary cold long day
We lived in CT at the time so it got cold.
Dave ----
Thread Starter
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 343
Likes: 188
Vans had heaters but it was like shoveling you know what against the tide because of the large cargo area connected to the people area
I remember 1 year before I could drive and was in boy scouts we had winter games and dad gave us a ride and the truck did not have heat at that time.
It was a vary cold long day
We lived in CT at the time so it got cold.
Dave ----
I remember 1 year before I could drive and was in boy scouts we had winter games and dad gave us a ride and the truck did not have heat at that time.
It was a vary cold long day
We lived in CT at the time so it got cold.
Dave ----
I remember finding out what that cable across the back of the front seat on cars from the 1950's and earlier were for. My Grandfathers Studebaker had a small heater, mostly to clear the windshield. Blankets were hung across the back of the seat and if you got cold, you pulled one over yourself. On long trips, once you get settled and warmed up, it was actually fairly comfortable.
On vans, I've always built a wall behind the front seats and coered it with plastic to warm the seating area but not the cargo area.
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 343
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Keep in mind, vans are sold with maximum space inside. Plus, a lot of the early vans, Ford, Dodge and GM, had the engine between the front seats. The engines were later moved forward a bit so there was a space between the front seats. Unless you had a Corvair van. I'm not sure how the heat on those worked.