Andrew D the Jolly Roger Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Working on a partly scratchbuilt GMC tow truck, subject shown here. Where would the fuel tank be exactly, and are there photos to show the arrangement that might have been used? In the second photo, right side, you can see the fuel door is the cap just behind the driver's door handle. Thus, I'm assuming the fuel tank would not be behind the rear suspension as usual in a pickup. Apologies if this is considered common knowledge; I usually do aircraft.....thus I defer to y'all, the experts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 The cabs with the filler in that location, I believe thru '72, had the tank behind the seat...IN the cab. The tank is installed on-edge, as below. The hole in it is for the sending unit that drives the gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew D the Jolly Roger Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 IN the cab??? Holy smokes.... Glad I asked; thanks so much, I appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 15 minutes ago, Andrew D the Jolly Roger said: IN the cab??? Holy smokes.... Yeah...could be kinda thrilling if you got punched in the side... The next year, GM mounted the tank outboard of the frame rail behind the cab, and later still, inboard of the frame rail behind the cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew D the Jolly Roger Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 Jeez, I'm glad I asked.....I almost messed this up badly. Thanks again!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchook Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Yup, right behind the seat & the gas cap is behind the drivers side door handle. I built this version years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 While the in cab fuel tank was common at that time I think most of the rigs with specialized beds also would mount saddle tanks that held more fuel on either one side or both depending. Ya the old "Fuel tank in the cab" did more to stop smoking and prevent lug cancer than anything else. Think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew D the Jolly Roger Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 I was wondering about a sort of saddle tank arrangement, yes. mchook, I saw that, terrific work, I was glad to see I wasn't the only one who liked the GMC version. I tracked five different tow units used in the series, and that one for some reason is my favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 5 hours ago, Andrew D the Jolly Roger said: I was wondering about a sort of saddle tank arrangement, yes. Engineering an auxiliary tank arrangement isn't difficult, and they are common on this series of truck. The pinched bedside on your wercker photo would tend to preclude mounting tanks outboard of the frame rails, but there's plenty of room under those trucks to mount tanks inboard of the rails, between the rail and the driveshaft. That's where the OEM tank is in my '89 GMC. The auxiliary filler would be in the side of the wrecker bed in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.