Man Bites Bear...News at 11...

...or whatever time you read this post!

Hello Gray Ghost Fans!

Just a quick update to my last post about the gas tank.  Following my game plan outlined last time, I used the rubber gasket supplied with the gas tank as a template for the mounting holes on the "universal" sending unit.  I held them in place with some small screws and used a fine tip marker to show where I needed to grind away some of the material.  It looked like this:

and this:

That's how much it takes to make the whole thing unworkable.  In other words, not much.  Seeing how it was off, I think it is a manufacturing tolerance issue.  Somebody needs some ISO training...just saying!

Originally, my thought was to drill out the areas, but I quickly realized that wouldn't work.  So, with a rat tail file in hand, I set to work.  All in all, it wasn't too bad and I was inside!  Once I got the marked areas filed down, I took it outside to the tank and did a quick (upside down) trial fitting and found out that I had made it fit.  My proof looked like this:

Then I trimmed the cork gasket using the file and it was time to actually install it!

Of course, it took some fiddling around with the clocking of the rheostat and mounting bracket both in relation to the holes and sides of the gas tank.  After a couple of tries, it fit!!!  Holy Guacamole, installed, it looks like this:

The brass screw/nut at the top of the sending unit is the attachment point for the wire that goes to the gas gauge.  The ground wire is visible at the 1:00 position and will attach to the cab brace when I install the tank into the truck.  The whole reason that I went down this path is visible at the 5:30 position...the gas pickup tube that comes out of the top of the tank.  From here, I'll have to bend some steel fuel line to go over and down the side of the tank and out the bottom of the cab.  But that is for another day.

So, Bob's your uncle!  I got there, but not without a bunch of fiddling and fussing.  I'm guessing that if I ever had to do it again, it would be a little easier.  I am learning this as I go along.  So, I guess I won't be too hard on myself.  Of course, I still don't know if it works.  And I won't know until I install it, hook it to the gauge and actually put some gas into the tank!  That is likely months off, so for now, it's a win.

See you next time!