59 Edsel gas tank replacement

wbedwards

wbedwards

Senior Member
I wanted to post this to help anyone who may need to replace their tank and there is no new one available for the Edsel that I know of.
I've had my Edsel Ranger 4dr. since Jan. 17th and it is my first attempt at restoring an older car. I learned real quick when looking for parts that a lot of the businesses that cater to old cars are offering parts for cars that were more popular than the Edsel but fortunately a good many Ford parts will swap over.
A parts supplier out of Louisiana suggested www.autocityclassic.com would have a tank that could be converted to work in the Edsel. They have a tank for the 61-64 Galaxie that is bigger but has the filler neck in the center like the Edsel. You will have to order a sending unit for the Galaxie also as the Edsel one will not work.
My tank had already had a liner put it it before I bought the car and if I had know how bad a shape the tank was in I would never have tried to get the old one repaired.
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The old tank had a vent on the left side and the supply line hooked up with a solid steel line and coupling on the lower right side. The filler neck was 2" od and several inches longer than the new one.
The new tank was not vented but it had an indentation for one in the same spot as the old. The new sending unit has a supply line hook up for a rubber hose incorporated in it and mounts in the upper rear of the tank. The new filler neck is also 2.18 inches in diameter and takes a larger cap.
http://www.autocityclassic.com/1959-1964/61-64-galaxie-tank-ts22/
 
The difference in the length and diameter of the filler necks bothered me more than any thing else. I bought a couple of rubber hoses and adapters thinking the easy way out but decided to cut the old filler neck off and braze it to the new tank.
I first fitted the new tank in place under the car with a padded floor jack to make sure it would go. I had to shim the back of the tank just behind the filler neck a good bit to get the angle right. I used rubber strips for the thick shims and old nylon truck straps for the rest so there was no metal on metal. I marked the filler neck with a sharpie right where it goes through the floor of the car. I then dropped the new tank and cut the filler neck off at this mark. Then I raised the new tank back in the car and marked where the old filler neck should fit into the new one. I had already cut the old filler neck off at the tank (which was too long).
 
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Then I cut the vent out of the old tank to see how it was made. It was just a long L shaped steel tube with a hose nipple on one end and was terminated on the other end in the back of the tank up against the top. This was just soldered in with lead solder. I fashioned a new tube out of a piece of copper tubing I had left laying around, drilled a hole in the new tank where it was on the old, cleaned off the paint and soldered the new tube in making sure it was angled to the top.
Then I hammered the very end of the new filler tube around a heavy 2" pipe to make the mechanical fit as tight as I could, cleaned paint from both ends, fluxed and brazed in the old filler neck. I probably could have soldered it in, but felt the brazing would hold better.
 
Then came the fitting in the car. This was not easy as the new tank hit the trunck floor just behind the differential. As I said, I had to shim the tank just behind the filler neck a good bit and all around the outside edges so there was no metal to metal. It was a tight fit and the old straps worked but were very hard to get started. I just snugged them up on some more of the nylon strap I had so they wouldn't rub metal to metal.
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I chose to make a fitting out of brass plumbing parts to retain the old line just as it was. I soldered a plumbing fitting that coupled to the old line to a hose barb on the other end. Then put a short fuel hose with two clamps to the fitting on the new sending unit. The vent tube was just a short hose to the vent line that runs into the trunk and all the way back to the filler opening.
The sending unit wiring just barely reached and there was no ground wire so I ran one from the trunk to the edge of the tank.
I've finally gotten to drive the car and there were no leaks. My wife went along and mumbled something about were we going to catch on fire. =[
I'm not sure the fuel gauge is reading right but that will be another Saturday to figure out.

I know it was a long post, but maybe will help someone else to do it.

wbedwards
 
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Looks like it all worked out. The gauge should be close enough to be accurate. Since NOS Edsel gauges are hard to find, I found NOS temperature and fuel gauges from a '62 and changed the facings on them to the original Edsels. Done that trick for years with others.
 
as the old saying goes necessity is the mother of invention nice job glad it worked out as for the gauge as mentioned if its a problem change it out I did this on my wagon when I converted to 12 volt swapped out amp gauge for a modern volt gauge just mounted behind original looked factory
 
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