Just curious as to how you fellas (and ladies) feel about the gas tanks behind the seats on our trucks....ive got two tanks, one under the bed and one behind the seat. the one behind the seat has been disconnected becuase the previous owner was, in my opinion, justifiably nervous about roasting his ***.

Thoughts?

 

back in 72 when my truck rolled off the line, it had two tanks. but when i got it, the under bed tank has rusted out so i only had the cab tank. well one thing led to another and i had a roll over in the truck and gas spilled out during the whole ordeal in the cab. i got rid of it then and went to just the under bed tank. had to get a new tank whice wasnt hard to find. oreillys auto parts has them in stock at there wharehouses and the sending unit and tank straps i got from a junkyard. i was lucky the plumbing was just capped off so that made things easy. i would say that i wasnt real nervous about roasting as you said but just cautious. so i got rid of it and gained a bunch of cab room. i added custom seats for more leg room. im 6'3 with a 3 speed so the extra room was a must. and i added a stereo system. speakers fit perfect. so there are some gains to just getting rid of the cab tank. if your trying to keep it true to the roots then i would keep the tank but if you want a custom truck, then do what you have to do. make it what you want it.

 

i LOVE it. i think it is in a good spot. very hard to get hit by another car, if you go off roading you will never hit it (my jeep buddies 15 gallon tanks now only hold about 12), the filler for the under the bed tank does not work well with the newer gas pumps they trun off on me all the time. if you have is sealed properly no gas will leak out into the cab, or atlest not very fast. and it is so much fun the first time people ride in the back seat (i have a crew cab) and ask what is that sloshing around and i tell them its the gas tank. i really dont like my under the bed tank because it hands down so low and is much more voneralble in my mind. but i keep both for long road trips.

but i have never looked at different numbers for these trucks to see how many times that tank goes up in flames....

 

I have seen plenty of posts on this in the past with all sorts of alternate locations and every single one of them had a big safety issue. Some of the past recommendations were...

Outside the frame rail (Side impact issue)
Inside the frame rail (limited space, heat issue with exhaust)
In place of spare tire (Rear impact issue)
In the bed (Side impact, rollover, cargo issues)

Point is, Ford found the best place was to put it in the cab. The one thing that I have yet to read is someone actually posting that they witnessed a bumpside going up in flames because it was in the cab. (Forgive me if i missed it.) The only issue that would make me want to move it is hearing the sloshing of gas in the tank.

 

I agree. Same with the Three-on-the-tree that I won't part with even though I have a 5.0L with EFI sitting in front of it. Hopefully all will run well together when I do get to finally put it on the street.

Hearing the sloshing gets aggrivating when you realize you are about to get robbed, once again, by OPEC at your next fill-up.

 

My '72 had the cab tank with 2 saddle tanks. A few yrs ago I yanked all 3 and bought a tank that would fit between the rear frame rails. It only holds 15 gal, but that is all I wanted as I don't drive it much, so the gas doesn't get old. I also hung a skid plate (1/4" alum under it.

 

Outside the left frame rail, mounted in front of the left rear wheel...directly behind the bedside: Mid/late 1970's GMC & Chevrolet Fleetside pickups.

In a T-bone collision, the tanks were famous for splitting open, ppl were burned to death.

GM was sued by 1000's of ppl. It cost GM millions of dollars to settle all the claims.
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1967/72 F100/350 Styleside pickups:

Optional underbed "mid-ship" auxillary tank mounted inside the left frame rail.

Exception: 1969/72 F100/350 Stylesides with the optional behind the seat tool box (also doubled as a gun safe).

When this toolbox was factory installed, the only tank available was the auxillary tank, which was a mandatory option when the tool box was ordered.
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1973/77: Two auxillary tanks were available, mid-ship & aft axle. Both were located inside the left frame rail.

After midyear 1977, only the auxillary tanks were available, as the in-cab tank was no longer offered-outlawed by the NHTSA.
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The first time Ford offered factory installed dual exhausts on any pickup was on the Lightning models.

All previous F100/350's came with a single exhaust system only.

With V8's, the left side of the Y (inlet) pipe was routed over to the right side in front of the muffler, away from the left side midship and/or aft axle auxillary tanks.
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btw: Ford didn't offer saddle tanks on any F100/350, except on Cab & Chassis models and only if cylindrical fuel tanks were specified.
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"Modded" trucks having the fuel tank mounted at the rear under the bed, in front of the rear axle.

The usual tanks that are used are from various 1965/73 Mustangs.

These galvanized steel tanks are constructed with an upper and lower section spot welded together, forming a lip that protrudes outward from the tank 1/2" to 3/4" around the circumference.

This was the same method Pinto fuel tanks were constructed.

The 1971/75 Pinto fuel tank fiasco:

When rear ended, the Pinto's fuel tank was pushed forward, the lip of the tank hit the rear end, splitting it wide open.

1000's of ppl died...burned to death. The 10's of 1000's of lawsuits that resulted cost Ford billions of dollars.

Somethng to consider before installing a Mustang or any other fuel tank in that location. A location no automaker in their right mind would consider...especially after 1975.

 

bill i only ask you this because you are the person, if anyone, would know. (and i trust you the most)

why did NHTSA outlaw the in cab fuel tank? (i will google it but if i dont get back before you read this and have the answer, thanks)

 

if you remove the in-cab tank will the seat recline more? or stay in its normal position. i have 2 other tanks under the bed so i would love to have some room to put more junk! the mcdonalds bags and cigarette butts on the passenger floor are not enough! haha

 

i dont think so, when i had my 2 dr and the back seat in my crew both hit the rear of the cab and did not touch the gas tank, now if you have different seat then stock it might but that tank is really tucked in back there

 

All I remember is they said it was unsafe to have a gas tank inside the cab.

 

Dittos on Brady, the top of the seat hits the back wall of the cab, not the gas tank.

I agree that a gas tank 4-6 ft behind the cab has a more comfortable feeling than behind the seat, but after 50 years of them being there, there is no know hazzard issues that I am aware of. IMHO



John

 

I leave my tank at home and have it Email the fuel as needed. safer that way.

 

Take a look at your in-cab tank,you will probably find that it looks nearly new,since it isnt subject to weather....Chevy/GMC used incab tanks from 67-72,Dodge used incab tanks,too. Ive had probably 10 trucks with incab tanks,over the years,and none of them ever gave me any problems,while some of these trucks had auxiliary fuel tanks that leaked or were otherwise problematic.......

 

Great to see guys beating the drum for in-cab tanks. And on the subject of fuel, We are seeing prices down as low as $1.98 per gallon. What about you guys?