"Real" gas gauge in my 35

kevinshea

kevinshea

Senior Member
The 35 hydrostatic gas gauge just doesn't work! and I have run out of gas at least twice. .. damn ethanol gas just disappears! and I have to fill from a can just to be sure that I have enough to get to the gas station... LMAO!

So I plan to install a new electric aftermarket device with matching ohm gage (likely set either underdash or in the glove box( I want to retain as much original look as possible.. ). I;ve looked into just about everything from trying to drill a pick up tube along side a new install in the same tank location, to removing the 35 and replacing with a 36 tank. I've come down to just drilling a new hole in the 35 tank and installing a separate device.

Has anyone done this? and If I drill, what can I do to prevent metal shavings in the tank (grease the drill bit? use magnet to pull shavings from the bottom of the tank? ). I do have an easily replaceable inline filter in the frame under the front seat.

Any suggestions on what device might be best... my plan is to continue to use the existing pick up and only use the new device for fill level
 
You can install the 36 electric gauge.That's what I did on a 35 tudor and roadster I built yrs ago. I used the 36 electric gauge.In France I fitted a 36 elec fuel gauge unit in place of the hydrostatic unit for a friend when I was living in France. Bought the elec unit on Ebay USA.Those elec fuel gauge units are getting tough to find nowadays and was a little tricky to adaapt to the 35 housing.
Here is a pic of it converted
PS,That is an original French gauge.Notice it says HUILE (French for oil,on left) and ESSENCE (French for gas on the right). On the gas gauge it has a "P" for Plein which mean Full in French.On the oil press gauge it is noted in bars ,not lbs.
 

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Sounds silly but my favorite 1936 gauge is my odometer. LOL I top off at or about every 100 miles on my "gauge." The Drake tank won't accept the Ford sender and I have been unable to adjust the Drake sender to be trustworthy.
 
if you want to retain the 'red' look in the gauge, just slip a red strip of paper behind the glass fuel tube at your preferred amount of fuel. use a hidden electric gauge under the dash.
 
34fordy said:
Sounds silly but my favorite 1936 gauge is my odometer. LOL I top off at or about every 100 miles on my "gauge." The Drake tank won't accept the Ford sender and I have been unable to adjust the Drake sender to be trustworthy.
Click to expand...

now that we've ventured into the "do we really need an accurate fuel gauge" arena. i'll suggest that if one's speedometer sports a trip-odometer. by filling up at each gas stop, and resetting the trip-odometer to zero, and knowing one's MPG they can determine, approximately and at all times, how far to empty they choose to go before thinking about getting gas. which is, and not coincidentally, exactly how we use a traditional gas gauge.

i've got one old car that's so primitive that a gas gauge was not provided by the manufacturer, but instead provided an idiot light. unfortunately, it's use has failed me once too often. and found myself too far away from the nearest gas station given the amount of gas in the tank when the light comes on....soooo, unless i choose to use a stick every so often, i prefer to use trip-odometer method as described above.

and the advantage of using it, as opposed to the odometer, is the avoidance of noting down or remembering the odometer number at every fill up.
 
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deuce lover said:
You can install the 36 electric gauge.That's what I did on a 35 tudor and roadster I built yrs ago. I used the 36 electric gauge.In France I fitted a 36 elec fuel gauge unit in place of the hydrostatic unit for a friend when I was living in France. Bought the elec unit on Ebay USA.
Here is a pic of it converted
Click to expand...
587743
 
Regarding the odometer idea... that is what I have been doing and IF the ethanol doesn't evaporate, that would be fine.. but if the car sits in my garage for 7 days, I have no idea what the current reading is... certainly if I am driving any miles to speak of, I fill up and watch my miles, guessing 10 MPG. And that means that I fill up the tank before each long trip... My wife wants me to carry a 2.5gal tank in the car as a "back up"
 
I actually have the 36 sensor and dash gage, but the issue is the pickup... on a 36 the pickup is center front and low on the tank. Thanks why I was told many years ago to use the 36 tank... headslap!

I guess I could try to drill out the 36 sensor to receive a 9"+ pickup.
 
[
and the advantage of using it, as opposed to the odometer, is the avoidance of noting down or remembering the odometer number at every fill up.[/QUOTE]

When you "top off" at every 100, 100,200,300 etc you do not need to remember any figure. Very seldom do I get more than 30 miles from home.
 
Hydrostatic fuel gauges do function but the entire system has to be in good working order (the gauge head, the airline + fittings, and the fuel sending unit) and they are not maintenance free as the very caustic red fluid which must be used will slowly evaporate with time. New airline kits with plugs and ferrules can be sourced but issues w/the gauge head or sending unit require a repair shop.

One issue that many of these systems experience is the over-tightening of the airline nuts which forces the tapered plugs too deep into their receptacle which can/will result in splitting the brass and introduce an air leak (we can usually repair this type of issue).

I would read the below instruction sheet and see if you don't have an issue related to calibration that would allow you to use the gauge you currently have (calibration can only be completed in the vehicle) as opposed to trying to go the route of adding in an electric fuel gauge which introduces many variables to address including whether your vehicle is 6v+ or 12v- at this time.

lInstructions.jpg.fad998c2501d13e0aecee288cb3647f7.jpg
 

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yup .. been there too! pulled my hair out (but it grew back). Much to much frustration with the whole gas thing... I was buying leaded AVGAS awhile back (like 93 octane) but it didn't evaporate,, it cost like 4.50 at the time... I am guessing that given my evaporation issue that it may work out that I am currently paying 4.50.
 
I got the tank sending unit from Bob Drake and an old used '47 ( I think) Ford gauge and had a mechanic recalibrate OHMS to get close and lots of trial and error. Also had to get a whole new gas tank itself also from Drake. Lots of time to match up the different components, all 6 volt + and looks very "authentic"
 
I drove 100,000 miles without a working fuel gauge in my 35 roadster. I’d reset the odometer every fill up and look for a gas station at 150 miles. Now I’m getting older I have to make sure my gauges work as I won’t remember if I’ve driven 50 miles or 150 miles ��
 
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