Disaster - Major Fuel Tank Issue

[Charged440]

I recently spoke to Spectra and the only tank they sell for a 69 charger has the fuel injection pump in it, they no longer sell the plain jane one and I could not find a plain Spectra brand one anywhere. Rock auto, 521 etc.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I would look at running one of those tanks with the sender, but Tanks Inc don't do a tank for ECS with 4 vents. If I was to convert to non ECS, what would I need to do to make it work?

Not much... You can leave the hoses open, plug the hoses, eliminate the hoses... If you want to you can plug three and attach one to the vent nipple on the tank... All those hoses do is route fuel vapor to the carbon canister under the hood... Most cars that stuff has been striped off of years ago.. Not that it hurts anything, it's actually good in that it reduces fuel smell... But it takes up space, doesn't look good & weights a few pounds.. On modern cars they have sensors to detect a leak but on old cars they just don't do much..

 

[Sparky Anderson]

Dave6T4 is absolutely correct, I also bought a tank and sender From Rock Auto, for around the same price, money well spent. In addition I have repaired the original tank using an Eastwood kit to reseal the inside of tank just for a backup now.

 

[Krooser]

I'll second that. My A100 tank had more holes in it than a tea bag.

I had a GF like that ...

 

[Chargerjase]

New tank is on order. As soon as it comes in I will document the changeover in this thread. Decided to go with the Tanks Inc tank and sender as suggested by @1 Wild R/T

I tried to find stock components to go back in but its very difficult to get them. Spectra have discontinued their ECS tank and finding a decent sending unit is nearly impossible. I thought I found one for $400 but it was sold. I could have used a non ECS tank, but in the end decided to use the Tanks Inc sender as well. Looking forward to an accurate gas gauge reading lol.

 

[Don67Satellite]

My tank arrived a couple days ago. Hopefully I can find the free time to get to it in the next month.

 

[Chargerjase]

I have a 10 day wait until it arrives here, then I will install it. Let's see who gets theirs in first. You have a head start on me lol

 

[scossette]

Tanks Inc. IMO is the way to go! I just went through this with my 69 GTX. I did a lot of research and that's who I went with, but I also converted it to their in-tank fuel pump - love it! New tank, sender, fuel pump from Tanks Inc, new stainless steel straps and die cut top tank pad from Classis Industries. Also replaced the fuel filler grommet from Amazon.

 

[Don67Satellite]

I have a 10 day wait until it arrives here, then I will install it. Let's see who gets theirs in first. You have a head start on me lol

I'm betting on you. I work horrid hours and 6 days per week for the next few.

Also I finally opened the box last night to see all the goodies, and somehow they shipped me a Reed Switch sender instead of the floatless one.

Contacted Mike @ Tanks Inc this morning, sent him a photo of the incorrect item this evening, and he is sending out the floatless unit tomorrow.

Extremely good customer service. Definitely would recommend Tanks Inc.

 

[Chargerjase]

So far I have been impressed with Tanks. I am looking forward to receiving the goods in my hot little hand.
Sorry to hear about your work woes, good luck getting it in and running. Let us know when you do.

 

[Chargerjase]

In preparation for my new tank, I removed the old one with a crack in it. Its such a shame as the original tank is in amazingly good condition. Oh well, its done 54 years, that's probably enough.

First I cut the old hoses off near the tank. This is an ECS car, so has the 4 nipples on the side. Those are the original hoses folks with the KV logo printed on them and also wearing the original undercoat.

Then I disconnected the sending unit wire and the pickup hose that connects to the sending unit. I started working on the J bolts for the straps. They are a little tiresome but only due to road grime and some of the original spray on undercoat being in the threads. No rust at all.

I chocked the tank with my hydraulic jack and a old piece of scaffolding plank to support it while I lowered it down. I siphoned as much gas as I could from the tank, but there is still a bit in there, so I wanted to be careful not to cover myself in gas. Especially since I removed the filler tube so I could lower it down.

Success. Did not get covered in gas and the tank is safely on the ground in a controlled manner.

I really am shocked what great condition this car is in. You have to love those California cars for their lack of rust. Check this out.

Unfortunately the trunk pan has to be replaced as it is rusty from the top due to the trunk seal failing. That is a shame. When you look at what it could have been, the underside says it all.

The next job was to bend up some tubing for the vent and drain back line. I want to use the original ECS tube in the trunk for this rather than vent it like they did in the other 49 States. That presents a challenge, because the the tubing should run uphill to the trunk vent tube, but my new Tanks Inc tank has its vent tube near the top. That does not leave a lot of wiggle room to route the tubes through the frame rail in the factory location, whilst keeping that slight uphill slope. I have done as good a job as I could with it, so time will tell if I actually have it right. So long as it can vent, I don't see too much of an issue.

Once satisfied, I fitted them and also rattle canned the underside of the trunk where the old tank sat. This is a temporary repair until I replace the trunk pan (which will not be now).

In this shot, it looks like they are falling the wrong way. It is more the camera angle that does that.

Then I crimped on the hoses to the ECS tube and blocked off the two I won't be using.

That's about all I can do now for prep work until my new tank arrives. Hopefully by next weekend it will be here. More to come on that.

I took a look at the problem area. Its a bit hard to see here, but I think it was a combination of a brand new seal and a weak point in the steel ring that caused all of the problems.

 

[Chargerjase]

Update;
So I finally received my tank and sending unit from Tanks Inc. I want to say a big thank you to @HALIFAXHOPS for sending my stuff over to Germany and @1 Wild R/T for putting me onto this method in the first place. Two great forum members.

I unwrapped this beauty and started work

Measured the pickup and cut to length. Ends should be 1/4" from bottom and cut at a 45 degree angle as per manufacturers instructions.

Here is a shot of the baffle with the pickup behind. This was a test fit.

Then I tested the sending unit. This is a float inside a tube with an output of 73-10 ohm

I installed the pickup and sending unit using the supplied hardware and gaskets. I used some Permatex gasket dressing for some extra insurance against leaks.

Then I plumbed everything up. As I have an ECS car, I took advantage of the original system. I connected the two vent tubes together using the Y piece that was supplied. They then went to the original vent tube. The return line was connected to the return line from the trunk canister and the pick up connected as normal to the original 5/16" fuel line to the fuel filter.

 

[Chargerjase]

I installed the tank into the car. Before doing all of this, I cleaned up the straps and original hardware. I reused the original tank mat as it was in near new condition. 54 years old and in amazing shape.

Once the tank was nice and snug, I connected the rubber fuel lines to the hard lines.

As you can see, I grounded one end of the sending unit to a tube clamp that I installed for the vent tubes, then used an original grounding strap to ensure a good connection.

Next job was to install the fuel tank seal and gas filler tube. A small amount of lube and hey presto, she slid straight in.

I 1/2 filled her with gas and took her for a test drive. Checking for leaks and any potential venting issues. All was good, so I put the rest of the gas in the tank. For the first time since I have owned the car, my tank is full and it is actually showing full on the gauge.

1/2 fuel also indicated correctly. I think we have a winner here.

 

[Don67Satellite]

Congratulations, I knew you'd beat me! My tank is still sitting on the floor here.

 

[Chargerjase]

Congratulations, I knew you'd beat me! My tank is still sitting on the floor here.

Thanks Don. I think you will be very happy with your tank. Good luck with yours when you get to it.

 

[kiwigtx]

I installed the tank into the car. Before doing all of this, I cleaned up the straps and original hardware. I reused the original tank mat as it was in near new condition. 54 years old and in amazing shape.

View attachment 1657246

View attachment 1657243

Once the tank was nice and snug, I connected the rubber fuel lines to the hard lines.View attachment 1657250

As you can see, I grounded one end of the sending unit to a tube clamp that I installed for the vent tubes, then used an original grounding strap to ensure a good connection.

Next job was to install the fuel tank seal and gas filler tube. A small amount of lube and hey presto, she slid straight in.

View attachment 1657241

I 1/2 filled her with gas and took her for a test drive. Checking for leaks and any potential venting issues. All was good, so I put the rest of the gas in the tank. For the first time since I have owned the car, my tank is full and it is actually showing full on the gauge.

View attachment 1657244

1/2 fuel also indicated correctly. I think we have a winner here.

Nice job....lots of care and attention makes a the job look much better.

 

[Kern Dog]

You can leave the hoses open, plug the hoses, eliminate the hoses... If you want to you can plug three and attach one to the vent nipple on the tank... All those hoses do is route fuel vapor to the carbon canister under the hood... Most cars that stuff has been striped off of years ago.. Not that it hurts anything, it's actually good in that it reduces fuel smell... But it takes up space, doesn't look good & weights a few pounds.. On modern cars they have sensors to detect a leak but on old cars they just don't do much..

My '70 Charger has 4 lines from the tank to some galvanized tube behind the RR tire....

Then a vent line goes forward to the engine bay. It has been so long, I don't recall what it used to have up front. I ended up repurposing the vent line to serve as a return line for the fuel regulator.

 

[Chargerjase]

Hey KD, it looks like this. I used one of the high tubes for venting and the low one as a return if fuel makes it that far when it expands. I have the same tube in my trunk. The tube that goes up front ends up at the valve cover breather which stores any fumes in the crankcase. Hope that helps.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Greg, your Charger is an original California car with evaporative emissions... The line going forward would have connected to the valve cover breather with three nipples.....

 

[Kern Dog]

I used to have three nipples but thanks to Kaiser, I'm back to only two.
Back on point though...
Both my cars have CA emission tubes in the trunk.

I'm going to pull both and just make a cover for the hole.
Dead weight....