Long winded '69 style filler neck in a '68 post
 

In the approximately 10 years that my tank has been installed I have had to wrestle with getting the filler cap off and on because about one-third of it was below the bumper opening and the bumper itself was only about a half inch from it. I had to rotate it and then rock it back at the top, slip it out and reverse the procedure to put it back on. This was AFTER forcing in the neck up as far as I could get it using a bumper jack and a block of wood back when I originally installed it.
Last week my fuel sending unit crapped out and while the tank was out I wanted to re-examine this issue. I happened to lie it down at the base of what is about a 45-degree embankment away from my garage because it still had two or three gallons of gas in it.

What I discovered is this - If you brace the front end of the tank up 14 to16 inches or so and get the filler neck almost parallel to the floor you can easily brace your knee or probably even your palm against the top of the tank right above where the filler tube enters it and pull the tube up with firm, even pressure, it will easily move the 1 to 2 inches you need for proper alignment with the '68 bumper opening and never need the much harder to move neck to bend.
You'll never get that bent by hand to match the original 68 neck.
If you lay it flat on the floor you'll be wrestling with the tank trying to keep it down as you put upward pressure on the neck. The angle apparently focuses or concentrates the force better?
It moved so easily that I'm just thankful that I didn't yank on it. It probably would have caved the front of my tank in. The amount of actual tank sheet metal movement needed is very slight to get 1-1/2 inches of movement at the end of the tube. Totally undetectable.
It really surprised me that it moved. I was just probing.
Can't attach a picture right now for some reason.

Ah, here it is. Didn't think to take a before pic but it was at least 1/3 below the opening.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...06aa51bd1a.jpg

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

was this yours before Greg?

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...5&d=1645592163

Oh man ... that's got to be easier at the gas station :)

I hope it stays dry around the solder area !

good tweek .........

Lol, exactly! I thought there was a pic somewhere!
Scott, me too! Only 1/4 tank so far and dry but we'll see by the weekend when l fill it.

You know, what Scott brings up is a very valid point that I don't want to overlook. If you do decide to try this way I would advise you take a very close look with a bright light around the solder area to make sure that you didn't introduce any hairline cracks in the solder.. If you do it would be pretty easy to fix while you have the tank out or at least a lot easier than using a torch and removing the entire neck to swap over.
Good call.

Well I finally installed my fuel tank. And although the original filler tube was soldered into the Spectra tank, the tube was laying across the rear crossmember and was very low in the opening when the tank straps were tightened. hmmm. Removed the tank and stared at it for awhile then remembered that Greg was able to move the tube easily.
So following what you wrote above I was able to push the tube up a bit. And it was easy.Very smooth. And I remembered not to push it to far.

So I reinstalled the tank. It was a bit easier the second time around since I had some sort of an idea what I was doing. The filler tube sat right in the middle of the opening, Connected the hoses and was pulling on the sending unit ground wire and it...broke. Insert Sailor language here.

Removed the tank, removed sending unit, soldered wire back on and reinstalled all the above. And all is well...

So thank you Greg for the tip, and Data... what can I say.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...9&d=1650331058

Hey, glad it worked for you! Did you check for cracks in the solder joint? I "wiped" a hot iron across mine just for peace of mind.

Didn't see any cracks. Keep my fingers crossed. :rolleyes:

I don't want to laugh .... but I did the EXACT same thing with my sender wire .. I bet we used the exact same brand too ... the wire came right out, barely pulled on it.

Excellent thread; need to replace the fuel tank in my '68 'vert.

Check the parts stores. Advance had mine but it's been awhile. Maybe O'Reilly's.

Ok, Ames says they're back-ordered. I'll check Advance, AutoZone, and O'Reilly's. Thanks.

I checked Summit, Advance, Autozone, O'Reilly's, eBay, and Ames. Only thing I can find are tanks without filler necks, a JC Whitney tank (no thanks), and a Holley Sniper tank (said to be factory configuration).

Here's a link to the Holley Sniper tank - https://www.ebay.com/p/7037541117?ii...nc#UserReviews - listed for a Chevelle, not a GTO or Lemans.

Who else should I check with?

Tanks!

Scott

I looked at RockAuto and take a look at the picture I attached. Good Luck, Marc

That's just why I'm thinking that I should go ahead and order all the stuff I need for my present project now even though I won't need it for some time. Supply issues. Might be smart to get it while it's available.

I had checked RockAuto too but I only looked in 1968 Lemans and they didn't have a Spectra Premium with a filler neck, so I went to ThePartsPlace and ordered one for $200.

I just checked out 1969 Lemans and they have the Spectra Premium with the filler neck for $151. Also looks like they have the same tank from other vendors for as low as $110. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...fuel+tank,6268

The '69 is the one I used. The neck has to be adjusted up an inch or two for the '68 bumper opening.

Just got off the phone with The Parts Place. They charged my credit card yesterday (or have an authorization) but they don't know how much shipping will be. They don't know whether they have these parts in stock. They don't know when my order will be processed. They don't know when it will be shipped. So I canceled my order and ordered from RockAuto.