Oversize tank options

[Jeff76]

Searched for another thread on this, but very surprisingly did not find what I was looking for..

I have a '76 stocker that I am preparing for my 16 year old son to drive. Its pretty reliable at this point, but I am adding some safety and reliability things to it at this point. Cage, 3 pt belts, etc. don't expect to see any serious wheeling or anything, mostly driving to school, etc.

It currently has dual tanks, stock 302 and (new) mechanical fuel pump. I would like to swap the duals out for an oversize aftermarket tank, and I'm looking for some advice. Here are some thoughts concerns:

- like the types that bolt in and can accommodate a future body lift
- want to keep the stock fuel lines and mechanical fuel pump if possible
- want it to have an accurate fuel sender that works with the stock gauge

Is this feasible with any of the vendor tanks? Any tank particularly suited to this application? Anything I should be cognizant of when purchasing / installing?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[ENDLIFE]

If you want to conserve cost consider a fuel tank from Aero, but you may have to work some magic on the mounts when you do your body lift. However, I use the tank from BC Broncos, it will easily accommodate a future body lift, and can be used for carb or injection applications.

 

[Jeff76]

Does the BC broncos tank work with the original mechanical pump? How well does the sender work with the original gauge?

 

[allenfahey]

How well does the sender work with the original gauge?

It's never right and I don't trust it. I don't really drive it much on the road though. I fill it up prior to every trail ride.

 

[allenfahey]

One more thing.... whatever tank you get make sure to rinse it out real good. There was alot of debris in my tank from the manufacturing.

 

[blubuckaroo]

I ordered the Aero tank for the body lift I had planned and used spacers between the mounts and the frame till I put the body lift in. The BC tank hangs down really low without a body lift. The adjustable brackets make the tank narrower so its lower to hold the same 23 gallons as the other tanks.

 

[ENDLIFE]

The difference between the two is not really that much, I was fighting between what tank to buy, but it came down to cost and functionality.

 

[crab]

I have 23gal tanks in both my bronco's now, but have owned several bronco's with the stock tanks. To be honest, I liked the stock dual tanks especially when only feeding a 302. The sending units/fuel gauge never seems to be exact with aftermarket set ups. It's reassuring to just reach down and switch tanks when it starts to sputter and either tank holds enough fuel to get you to the station. Just be sure to keep one full. You can modify the stock mounts if you need to lift the tank. Why do you want to go to a single tank?

 

[DirtDonk]

x2 on the rinsing. We vacuum every tank before assembling the pieces, but even then we still recommend a good rinsing out.
We also check to verify that every sending unit is not only the proper range for our vintage Ford gauges, but that they also are at least closely adjusted to the proper range. Since there are many inconsistencies in the senders from the aftermarket, and they can go beyond their rated range, we try to adjust the stops for proper full and empty ohm readings before they go into a tank or a kit.

The NWMP tank is 23 gal for no body lift and 20 gal for the body lift version and is held on by a standard strap and J-hook arrangement.
Our #9700 is 23 gallons and good for stock or up to 2" body lifts with no mods. For a 3" body lift you can add a half inch or so spacer to the feet and it should fit.
The BCB tank and WH Sherman are 23 gal and are the adjustable ones.
The Aero is also 23 gallons, but uses rigid frame mounts. Very nice, but like buckaroo said, if you're thinking of a body lift later, but want to do the tank now, get one with the mounts welded on for the body lift height you will eventually go with, and use spacers until you get your lift.

With the Aero then, you would have to decide up front how much body lift you're intending to install and stick to that. Whether 1, 2, or 3 inches, each one would have it's own unique (and fully welded-on) mount locations.
To accomplish the same thing with the NWMP, you either get the smaller 20 and just leave it, or get the 23 and add spacers later (basically just increasing the size of the stand-offs).
Or just go with an adjustable and move it to whatever the desired height is at the time.

All tanks specifically made for an EB should come with a sending unit that is "compatible" with Ford gauges (73-10 ohms approx.) so will work with the stock gauge. As was said though, by "work with" I mean that they share a compatible "range". But how your gauge reads exactly will depend a lot on the condition of the particular EB's electrical system. Some work better than others and "your results may vary"

As said, we at least verify and adjust the range of every sending unit we ship. But none of that will guarantee it's going to read exactly as you expect with your particular system. It's all up to the individual to hook it up and compare readings at full and empty and, if it's slightly off, make adjustments of your own until it reads how you want.
Differences in IVR output, overall resistance in the components, and condition of the gauge all conspire to skew the readings.

The other consistency issue that you'll hear come up in discussion is that most aftermarket sending units are linear, and the tanks and gauges are not. So while they may read correctly at the top and bottom of the scale, they don't always move at a predictable rate between the two. To some this is no big deal. Never really bothered me. But to some it can be very annoying.

Chuck at BC has discussed here the "linear" aftermarket vs "non-linear" factory sending units. He is or was having some custom made to better match the gauge's expectations and the shape of the tanks, but I don't know if that's happened yet or not.

With regard to reusing the vents, yes, most (if not all) the tanks come with at least a nod to the factory Bronco EVAP system. And they all have the usual fill-vent next to the filler neck hole.
As far as the EVAP and fuel feed fittings go, they are not all in the same place, and most (again, if not all) are in completely different places than the factory ones are/were. So at the least, you're very likely to have to re-route some of the fuel system lines on your truck. Very simple to do usually, but worth mentioning in this discussion.
The closest to stock with regard to the location of the fittings is the NWMP type.

That help?

Paul

 

[Jeff76]

Thanks guys.

Last question about the stock mechanical fuel pump? Is it capable of pulling fuel from this larger tank? Any issues with that?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[bronconut73]

Thanks guys.

Last question about the stock mechanical fuel pump? Is it capable of pulling fuel from this larger tank? Any issues with that?

Thanks

Jeff

Yes.........

 

[blubuckaroo]

If you're going to use the car for daily transportation, why not replace both tanks with the larger aftermarket ones? The extra capacity really adds to the range of the car. Aero makes both the main and aux tanks with a lot more capacity than stock.