I bought a '77F250 in the spring. 460 dual tanks and a history of sitting for a long time. The fuel gauge did not work on the rear tank. The carb was totally gunked up and required a rebuild. Then the fuel pump went. It is the type with a canister filter on it and the filter was just packed with rust and more gunk. So I figured that I need to get the tanks looked after. There is a place near me that will clean the tank and and recoat it with some kind of plastic polywhatever for $125. That was option one. Option two just buy a new tank and put it in. Option two, 19 gallon tank was listing at $230. Option three buy a bigger tank ( 460 remember).
So I started doing some research here and checking with some local suppliers like NAPA. Option three not so cheap, list price over $400.

I find one supplier who has the 38 gallon tank listed at $116? I call and confirm the the pricing as they also have the 19 gallon stock rear tank for $229? Who can argue with the system, the computer says list $116 but I get it for $97, SOLD...
I think it was a new product for them and they had it priced wrong but I'm OK with that.

So now I start doing a little more research,... the tank is made in Canada, gotta be good eh?

Actually they make most tanks check the link...

http://www.spectrapremium.com/spectra.html

or go to the eCatalog...
http://ecat.spectrapremium.com/apps/...roduct_catalog

They also make an install kit for the 38 gallon tank, oem sending unit and straps.

As it turns out I bought the F26B tank which has a hole in the top to send fuel vapour to a charcoal canister. For some reason this is called a rollover valve. From what I can tell here on FTE the tank with the hole in the top was used in 78-79 and maybe some 77 F150's but is not the correct tank for my application. The other difference is that the overflow/vent tube is mounted on the opposite side of the filler tube. I need the F26A tank, which for some reason is not listed by my supplier. Do I care? ...Not so much after all I paid $97, I can live with the differences

As it turns out the hole was very useful. If anyone is interested I took some pictures of the installation, particularily of the modifications required to the sending unit. I read here that the mod kit did not give full range readings but rather sat lower in the tank so it would read full for the top half of the tank. See the 38 gallon tank album in my gallery.

Thought it might be helpful to the next guy taking this on.

Here is one shot from the "tank Cam" set up I used to figure out the float set up. I fed a string through that darn hole in the top of the tank to move the float until I had it set right. Camera is looking in from the filler spout.



Things to note while doing this,...

- if you have dual tanks, you need to plug the fuel line when you remove the rear tank. You can run on the Aux/side tank but when you shut the truck off you remove power from the tank selector valve and it defaults to the none existing rear tank. All residual fuel in the line will drain out the uncapped line at the rear of the truck. I have a couple of nice stains in my asphalt drive way to prove this.

- the new sending unit (which cost more than the tank !) uses a 5/16 fuel line/tubing. Be prepared for this as trying to overtighten a hose clamp to make a 3/8 hose seal on a smaller tube is not fun once the tank is in place

- install the filler hose and overflow/vent hoses on the tank BEFORE you mount the tank into place. No way to get your hands into the space to tighten the clamps once the tank is installed. Yes, I learned the hard way.

- check for clearance on your exhaust , you may have to re-route depending on your set up. The tank is big and hangs a lot lower than the stock one.

- although I didn't take any pictures, I had to trim an inch or so of the rear corners of my trailler hitch as they were touching the tank when I tried to bolt it back into place. No big deal as the cuts did not impact structural integrity of the hitch


About half way through my first tank and the guage is working fine. I can now carry over 200 litres of fuel, uhm ....when I can afford to fill both tanks. Well worth the effort and extra work.

Frank

 

from the pic it looks like your pickup filter os NOT touching the bottom of your tank sooooo even though you have a larger tank you connot pull the bottom third of the fuel from the tank. Or did you extend the tube after the pic was taken/

 

if the overflow vent tube was on the wrong side, how to you make it fit

tks

 

I just did this but used the right tank, And yes the pick up tube needs to be cut extended. I used what they sent to splice in the middle but did not like how it felt so I got a gasoline proof JB weld and its now prefect.

 

How do they describe the gasoline-proof JB Weld? I know from bitter experience that leaving ordinary JB Weld submerged in gas (around here 10% ethanol) will turn the JB Weld to flaky mush. I had better luck using sandpaper on the pickup tube plating to roughen it up and soldering the extension into place. By the way, if you double the length of the float arm your gas gauge will read more accurately.

 

Now that I think about it it was not Jb weld. I believe it was another type. I'll have to check . Good to know about float arm , Ill pull mine back out and check it since I have not put gas in it yet

 

I bought the F26B 38-gallon tank last month, and actually ended up with two. The first one was dented in shipping, so another was sent, arriving dented as well. It really doesn't matter, it's on the top side on both tanks, and won't show. Plus, I am going to cut a 4 inch round hole in the top right where that vent hole is to install a Tanks Inc fuel pump, so I can work the dent out using that access.

David

 

Hi Just reading through your post I know ita a few years old now, but did you go ahead and install the Tanks Inc internal fuel pump? I am thinking of doing similar and want to ensure there is enough room between the top of the tank and the underside of the bed?