POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[pontiac428]

Chevy truck gas tanks were behind seat. Corvairs had same problem with gas tank ruptures as pintos except front instead of rear in accidents. I built mounts and installed a modified 302 and c4 trans with 9” rear in a 71 pinto. It was fast. Went thru rear tires quick.

Did you make the first Pinto Grabber edition?

 

[Provincial]

The Model A Ford had the gas tank in your lap - it was between the hood and the windshield and the instrument panel was mounted to the back of it. My older brother and I (age 14) bought a 1929 Roadster Pickup to drive to school, and I drove it and a 1928 Sport Coupe until I was in my mid-20's. Other than the filler cap being a little hard to reach, it was never a problem.

The only problem I ever heard of a Model A gas tank was reported by a fellow who had pumped gas in the 1930's. It was a hot day and the windshield had been tipped open at the bottom, which was they way cool air was vented in. A lady was sitting in the passenger seat. She lit a cigarette and then flicked the still-burning match out through the gap at the bottom of the windshield, straight through the column of vapor coming out of the open cap and hose nozzle as the tank filled. She died in the explosive fire, and the pump jockey who told me the tale received serious burns.

 

[ChazzC]

Sawed up 4 old bed frames and loaded them in the firepit and lit them up along with last years Christmas trees . Lit the sky up pretty good !

Thought it looked a little too bright to be Wallops (on the same line from me, though)

 

[BGHansen]

Bruce, the engine is either a 279, 302, or 332 Y block based on the Lincoln engine if it is original to the truck. While it is very similar in looks to the Y block car engines It shares almost no internal parts. Definitely not a 402, but can do the job with the gearing they used. Some of those old rigs had a separate brake booster mounted on the frame under the cab. Mike

Thanks for the confirmation! My parents had a 1975 Lincoln Town Car with I believe a 460, and a 1977 Town Car with a 400. Those mills sure seemed to be a lot bigger than the one in my truck. The guy I bought the truck from wasn't the first owner. At least I don't believe he was as he ran a business repairing intaglio printing drums. The front bumper has a vanity plate saying "I love Michigan Potatoes". Who knows what was done to it before I got it! That'd be cool if it was a 292/312; I recall those being what was in a 1955-57 T-Bird.

 

[BGHansen]

68-72 both Chevy and Ford did it. The saddled tanks that followed from Chevy also did a Pinto when t-boned

Yeah, especially with NBC's crash study. They were sued by GM for adding an incendiary device to ensure the fuel ignited for their news story (Google "NBC lawsuit GM saddle gas tanks"). Probably not the first case of "creative journalism" either; NBC publicly apologized for rigging the test, GM then dropped the lawsuit. On the other hand, times were different back then as were the crash requirements. I suspect that fuel-system crash testing at the time did not include side-impact tests.

Vehicle safety tests have come a long way; cars are MUCH safer. I was involved with the validation of the GM P90's (last Olds Cutlass, Chevy Malibu) in around 1996. The government regulations then included a 50-mph bullet car ramming directly into the fuel-fill door. It's really impressive when you get to see it in person! No drips, no leaks, as a result of the impact. All car makers had to meet the same standard; must have been Yugo's were around before 1996!

I'd hazard to guess that older vehicles wouldn't pass that standard. Maybe NBC rigging the test ended up keeping us all safer by showing that the standards should be more stringent, though it was unethical (just the facts ma'am).

 

[matthewsx]

Glad I never smoked!

I smoked back when I had my ‘67 F250. I’m still here….

John

 

[BGHansen]

I smoked back when I had my ‘67 F250. I’m still here….

John

Glad to hear it! I was referring to my F600 dump truck with the gas tank sitting behind me in the cab. What could go wrong with 20+ gallons of gas setting 2 feet from a lit cigarette!

 

[oogenshire]

picked up an old mantis tiller. over winter the underground power lines were re ran and the power company trashed the area between sidewalk and curb too lazy to bother with a shovel more than i have to so tiny tiller it is

 

[matthewsx]

Glad to hear it! I was referring to my F600 dump truck with the gas tank sitting behind me in the cab. What could go wrong with 20+ gallons of gas setting 2 feet from a lit cigarette!

My ‘67 had the same arrangement.

 

[f350ca]

Thanks for all of the tips! Here's what I'm planning to do going forward based on your collective tips:

1) Pull the plugs and squirt in a little ATF. Let that set for a day or two and turn it over by hand.
2) Pull the carburetor and give it a good cleaning on the bench
3) Disconnect the fuel line at the tank and blow the line clean. Run some fresh fuel through it.
4) Pull the tank, dump out what's in it, flush it with fresh fuel to clean out any debris
5) Put it all together and try to prime the fuel line a bit (story below. . .)

Last time I ran the truck it'd been setting for a couple of years. I pulled the air cleaner to open up the top of the carb for access with my "super soaker". Super soaker was a 20 oz. soda bottle with a hole in the cap; gas in the bottle instead of soda. I hit the starter from the driver's seat and squeezed the bottle to shoot gas in the carb. Yeah, not my finest moment. . . I'll have our son out there this time to hit the starter or use my remote starter switch. The starter solenoid is a typical Ford remote mount, easy to access. More FUN to follow!

Bruce


The fuel tank is SUPER EASY to get to. Open a door, tip the seat forward and "Whoomp! There it is". I pulled it before when I welded on the frame from my buckling adventure.
View attachment 485781

When you flood the cylinders cut the ATF half and half with acetone.
Worked for me on a small diesel with stuck rings. Took a couple of goes, would run then they'd stick again and not start.

Greg