Anybody made a gas tank?

[RolledItAgain]

Has anybody made there own gas tanks? I am thinking about it but was looking for some help or to be talked out of it. I have a few questions

What guage metal?
Steel (stainless or CR?)
What level sensor?
How to baffle inside? (best way)
Problems to watch for?
Pics?

This project seems to be easy but I know I'm missing something because I don't know anybody who has done it.
Thanks for the input
Matt

 

[wildbill]

;D ;D ;D Back in 73 when gas was hard to get in Ca. I made a lot of tanks for pu trucks. We used 14 ga. A-36 mild steel (hot roll) and they worked fine a few still going that I now of. The long ones would put baffel in center. And you can get the plastic stuff that you pore into the tank and coat the inside so it wont leak or rust. Good luck and have fun. ;D ;D ;D Bill %)

 

[Scott M]

here's a prior threadhttp://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50100&highligh

w/ alot of info on buying/making tanks.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50100&highlight=made+gas+tank

 

[watfab]

http://www.broncoholics.com/support/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1792

He just built a Killer tank .....

Wade

 

[Fishmanndotcom]

i built my tank out of a beer keg. i went to a party and 'borrowed' the shell laying on the floor. went home and basically just added and couple of ports for the fuel and a filler neck from an old VW (it was laying around) i will get some pics when i get home

-cutts-

 

[RolledItAgain]

So if I was to have a vendor of mine make these: What would you want?

Thick steel or optional skid plate?
AN fittings or clamp on?
I am thinking about having it mount with the adjustable rails for body lifts

What else?

I will try to push for the magic price of UNDER $300. I may be able to keep the price down if we have the qty up.
I am still in the very early stages on this and will let you all know if it will happen as I get closer.

Thanks for the input
Matt

 

[psbronco]

Gas Tank

I just finished building one, I used
14ga steel
bulkhead AN fittings for fuel hookups
Sunpro universial sending unit -summit part #SUN-CP7583, its a 240-33 ohm so I also bought an AutoMeter gauge to match
Kreem tank liner to stop any rust and fill very small pin holes
I the second pic is the baffle I put in, its like an end with wings with the corners cut and bottom out for fuel to pass by.
I think I have about $220 in to it plus A LOT of time. I made this one because I moved my rear axle backwards about 6.5 inches and I wanted a bigger tank that would fit. It holds about 20 gal.

 

[71corpus]

I made that 24 gallon tank with the plans and measurements mentioned earlier.works great and and I plan on making another one for the 71. sheet metal was free out of the dumpster thrown away.maybe a backsplash for restroom urinal or somthing. 2- 2lb spools of ss mig wire( $55.). som of the ss tubing and plug fitting( $35). send unit from jc whitney something like 10-78ohms or something ($16). Qt of pro-seal from an aircraft repair station near a airport($60)-this is to seal up fuel tanks maybe not needed but I trust this stuff.

 

[71corpus]

on the next one Ill go with steel insted of ss because all the ss tubing is too hard to get. I was only lucky to get it on the first one. the other ss stuff isnt cheep either. use 16 gauge steel. make a pattern out of poster board and tape together to see how you like it,and use to cut out the steel one. the short filler piece can be out of an exhaust fitting. check out the vent tube size. think it may be too small on the plans. after you made it, fill with water. drain it. mix up some pro-seal and seal up all the welded for peace of mind.

 

[ManTruck]

I have the plans for the tank in AutoCad format if that helps.

 

[71corpus]

the plans are on # 3 reply by scott m then on #27 by pahoughton.

 

[bigmuddy]

NWMP tank

Anybody ever tried modifying a used one? I got a 23 gal NWMP tank and have since put on a body lift and would like to take advantage of the extra space. I was wondering how I could clean it out so it would be safe to weld on? and then modify?

 

[Jason TN]

Im no welder, but the people Ive seen welding on used fuel tanks piped the exhaust from a car into the empty tank while welding. Guess the exhaust is suppost to keep the gases from exploding.

Id suggest getting a 2nd opinion on this as I was just a watching and guessing at the reason.

 

[wildbill]

Im no welder, but the people Ive seen welding on used fuel tanks piped the exhaust from a car into the empty tank while welding. Guess the exhaust is suppost to keep the gases from exploding.

Id suggest getting a 2nd opinion on this as I was just a watching and guessing at the reason.

I would not try this I got my first welding job after a welder did this. Take it to were you can have it steamed for a min. of 3 hr. then you can weld on it or gut it up. But dont do it cheap and end up broken good luck. Bill %)

 

[INPHOBIC]

Anybody ever tried modifying a used one? I got a 23 gal NWMP tank and have since put on a body lift and would like to take advantage of the extra space. I was wondering how I could clean it out so it would be safe to weld on? and then modify?

yup That's what I did to mine. Well actually I moved the axle back too so I cut 4" off the front of the tank. Also fixed the horrible pick up tube that they have in those tanks. no wonder I would run out of gas going up hill!
I just washed mine out with water. It's not so much the gas as the gas fumes. I just washed itout a couple of times and it didn't explode ;D
I have done several gas tanks and I am getting ready to fabricate another one for a jeep. hope to have it done in the next couple of weeks.
jake

 

[watfab]

Another trick for welding on gas tanks is to put dry ice inside of it when you go to do the welding. The dry ice takes one of the key components of fire, oxygen, from the mix and allows you to weld on the tank. IMPORTANT You still need to have it vented. This is a repair that you don't want to try late at night in you garage all by yourself Get a buddy to stand by and watch things while you do the welding and sure doesn’t hurt to have a fire extingusher handy.... (I speak from experience)
We used to repair the sport bike gas tanks after the hot shots got a bit racey and laid them over. Something about a gas tank sliding on pavment make holes in them.

Wade

 

[RolledItAgain]

Excellent advise here guys.

For those that built their tanks; what did you do for baffling in the tank?

 

[eds66bronco]

Edit: looks like the links no longer work-sorry, i'll see what i can dig up



here is the link to the pdf files...

pahoughton wrote:
Ed's plans are now avalable on my web site as 2 pdf files:

http://users.adelphia.net/~pahought...to/Gastank1.pdf

http://users.adelphia.net/~pahought...to/Gastank2.pdf

i have not gotten to this project yet but had a few notes.. wasn't sure where the filler vent needed to be located. filler neck may also need to move up a bit to not hit the frame. hope these plans are useful.

 

[bigmuddy]

gas tank

anybody else have trouble getting the links to work? I couldn't get it to work for me.

 

[71corpus]

the link on reply #18 doesnt work for me either.
check the link on reply #3, then from there the link on reply #27. that one does work for me.