Gas tank removal -39 pickup

Randy1944

Randy1944

Senior Member
Looks like I will need to remove my gas tank on my 1939 Pickup. Does it remove up thru bed or drop down? Any items to consider? IE: fuel gauge sending unit, overflow? Thanks
 
Drain the tank and you may have to move the tail pipe over to the side a little. Remove the fill neck and remove the bolts securing the tank to the frame. remove the gas line from the tank. Push the tank over to the driver's side and the passenger side of the tank should drop down and the tank will drop out the bottom.
 
Fritz

Is it better to slightly raise the rear end of the truck up, or just leave the height alone.
I've got the tank drained, the three bolts removed and the filler neck removed.
The tank is free, but doesn't seem to be able to tilt the passenger side down in order to remove it after sliding it to the driver's side.
I'm certain that this is not the original tank. I don't know where it came from, but it is "new" in appearance.

Mike
 
Mine came out the way your describing but there was still slight interference with the bottom of the frame rail. Using a thin flat bar between the mounting edge of the tank and the bottom flange of the frame I was able the pry the frame edge over enough to drop the tank. Take your time. Dont forget the wire for the sending unit.
 
The sending unit wire is on top of the tank. So, the tank has to come out, at least partially in order to access it.

I try again when I get an assistant to help.
 
41 Ford PU said:
The sending unit wire is on top of the tank. So, the tank has to come out, at least partially in order to access it.

I try again when I get an assistant to help.
Click to expand...

There is an access plate in the bed.
I've attached two photos. One just barely depicts the plate in the bed (lower edge of photo) and the other shows the clearance in the wood beneath the metal bed.
 

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41 Ford PU said:
Fritz

Is it better to slightly raise the rear end of the truck up, or just leave the height alone.
I've got the tank drained, the three bolts removed and the filler neck removed.
The tank is free, but doesn't seem to be able to tilt the passenger side down in order to remove it after sliding it to the driver's side.
I'm certain that this is not the original tank. I don't know where it came from, but it is "new" in appearance.

Mike
Click to expand...

There is no need to raise the truck other than to possibly make it easier for you to work on.
If you have Drake tank you may be better off lifting the bed up a bit. His tanks are wider that the original and as such can't be installed nor removed without the "lift".
 
Kube has the answers. I’ll just add that I used a new steel tank from Tanks Inc and it fit very well. I did it all with the pickup on the ground.
 
Thanks to Kube and Fritz.
I probably have a Drake tank, but I'll see on Monday.

Unfortunately whoever the previous owner was had the truck re-done and must have put the tank in before putting the bed on. There is no access hole in the wood deck.

Mike
 
41 Ford PU said:
Thanks to Kube and Fritz.
I probably have a Drake tank, but I'll see on Monday.

Unfortunately whoever the previous owner was had the truck re-done and must have put the tank in before putting the bed on. There is no access hole in the wood deck.

Mike
Click to expand...

Lifting the bed is easy. That's what I'd do to avoid frustration.
 
41 Ford PU said:
Kube: "Lifting the bed is easy"

So, how do I go about lifting the bed?

Mike
Click to expand...
Loosen the bed to frame bolts. I assume you have fenders attached so you'll need to take the fenders loose from the running boards. Don't forget to take the filler neck off also.
 
The filler neck is already off.

That is what I was afraid of. When I was looking at things yesterday
I saw the bolts holding the fenders to the running boards.
That would mean a minimum of 8 bolts, or 10 if I loosen the
front of the bed. I was hoping to not have to do all of that, but
will if necessary.

Such a simple issue made complicated.

Mike
 
Why not find the sending unit wire and cut it and later and splice it back together? I'm sure you can do this in a place where you can hide the splice. A lot easier than lifting the bed to get at the wire.
 
TJ

The issue is getting the tank out of the truck.
When I filled it up a couple of weeks ago it started
to leak out on the passenger side. I didn't see it,
a co-worker did. So, either I have a bad tank, or
something else is going on. The tank looks to be
a new one.

Mike
 
After trying some simple things today, I've come to the conclusion
that I'll have to loosen some bolts (10 I think) and slightly raise the box.
I read in a different thread from back in 2011 type era, that the issue is with
the lower half of the Drake tanks.

One of the posters back then said that before he put in a new Drake
he had to ball peen a section just below the filler neck about 1/4" and
sanded the passenger side down by about 1/8" in order to put it
in by way of the underside on his '41 pickup.

But, inorder to get this tank out, I'll have to raise the box a slight bit.
Then I can see what is leaking, repair it, repair the Drake tank and re-install it.

Mike
 
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