If you've ever owned an old truck with a gas tank in the cab behind the seat, you know how much fun they are. For one, there's the constant smell of gas; two, the lack of storage space; and three, just the idea of driving around with upwards of 20 gallons of fuel immediately behind your kidneys isn't too thrilling. On top of all of that, there's usually some amount of junk and/or gunk in the old tank that's been plaguing the rest of your fuel system from your pump to the carb. We've all tried to get by with band-aid "fixes" thinking it'll go away; I myself have carried an air tank around with me before to backflush the fuel line when the crud got to be too much. Yeah, I'm not proud of that one, but let's all learn our lesson now!
There's a plethora of products you can buy to assemble a fuel system nowadays, so how do you pick what you really need? Sure, there are those super-duper hi-flow race pumps and fuel cells, but that's overkill for anything practical and street driven. Aeromotive makes some of those high-zoot products, but they've now brought the technology of all the best race pumps and filters and scaled them down into something you and I can use on our trucks. In fact, Aeromotive put it like this, "It's rocket science brought down to earth." From design to testing and finally production, they do it all in house, including building and running a company drag car. All their pumps and filters are made with CNC precision and tested before leaving their building in Lenexa, Kansas. Aeromotive's new H/O Series fuel system is made to be used with a carburetor and provides everything between the gas tank and carb. Its pump has a built-in regulator set at 7 psi-which is where it should be for most systems today-and the billet inline filter has a 100-micron, cleanable, stainless steel element inside so you can stop buying those ugly canisters at the parts store. All this comes black-anodized, a new color choice, so it'll blend into any vehicle's surrounding and not stick out like a sore thumb. The H/O kit also includes AN fittings, braided stainless hose, pump relays, solderless terminals, and wire ties. They also offer a post-pump with a 10-micron paper filter just to be on the safe side.
Well, we have a truck, an engine, and the Aeromotive H/O kit, so now we just need a gas tank. Classic Performance Parts (CPP) has a 26-gallon monster tank to mount under the '57-60 F-100's bed. Their tanks are made from aluminum, fully baffled, TIG welded, and made in the USA. They come ready to be used with fuel injection or carburetors, and they can also be ordered with the filler on the top or side depending on your needs. CPP can even custom-make a tank if you need one. They do require a little reorganizing of the stock rear crossmember, but it can be done without using a welder, and it'll get that smelly old tank out from behind the seat.
So if you've been thinking about updating the fuel system in your truck, follow along, and get on the horn to get some help today!
