Mopar B-Body Gas Tank Install

B-Body Gas Tank Install



By Geoff Stunkard

Face it, we rarely think about our gas tanks. This is one area of our car we will rarely upgrade unless we are required by damage or possible competition requirements.

Still, there are some disadvantages to the 40-year-old technology — silt and debris gathered in the bottom can find its way into your inlet line, even with a filter, and the fuel sloshes around in the cavernous recesses of the OEM equipment. The old tank looks a little ancient when you hang it back up on your street machine project, too.


Neal Powell did the install on his 1968 Coronet 500 convertible himself in his driveway with hand tools, simply putting his car up on jackstands and using a crawler to do the work. As a result, the photos he took were in close quarters. The tank swap is pretty straight-forward — remove the battery cable to prevent possible disasters, unbolt the lines, filler neck, and sending unit wire, and remove the tank strap bolts. By working in low quarters, Neal could get the nearly empty old tank out with a floor jack. With the sending unit fitted to the new tank’s dimensions, it was reinstalled. The factory filler neck was shortened, the sleeve worked between the OEM neck and the new tank’s extension, and the final lines reattached; it was a simple one-afternoon job.

1 To your door: Here is the entire package – tank, filler neck sleeve, fittings, a length of tubing, a new filter and the optional pickup.

2 Still hangin’: From beneath, we can see the old tank, the twin holding straps and the filler neck with cap mounted behind the license plate.

3 Critical hardware: The two nuts shown here hold the tank straps and the tank in place; a little WD40 will go a long way to getting them off. Note that Neal had already installed stainless steel lines for his 470-plus-inch wedge street car.

4 Baffled: we see the baffles installed in the tank when it was being constructed. These are welded in place and prevent fuel from sloshing around inside the big 22-gallon tank.

5 Homemade: Here is Neal’s workspace – a dry driveway, an extra few hours in the afternoon, jackstands and a crawler.

6 Close inspection: Once unbolted, the old tank comes out with no problem; now the sending unit needs to be installed in the new one through this opening. Excellent directions are provided.

7 Just so: This sending unit was trimmed down to about three inches based on the six-inch depth shown in the previous photo. The swinging arm will also be adjusted in length. A reminder — this unit will mount only one way; test fit the gasket and top to align them.

8 Ready for sending: Here is the entire assembly retrofitted for Neal’s tank; it is designed to work with the factory gauge in the dash.

9 Wired: Note the ground wire that will make sure the gauge works properly; the sending unit wire will attach to the top of the center post.

10 Rust not: Cheap insurance against future problems is a rust preventative paint on the bottom of the trunk floor.

11 Line up: Here is the fuel line installed in the lower angled edge of the rear of the tank, above it is the vent line.

12 Nice: Here is the new tank under the car. The final step is installing the sleeve between the tank neck and old filler neck. You will need some patience on that aspect of it since the sleeve is a tight fit but the process is self-explanatory. Not bad for an afternoon’s work. n




The article featured on this page is from the August 2010 issue of Musclecar Enthusiast Magazine.
Click here to read the free digital edition of Musclecar Enthusiast now.
 

Pontiac GTO Wiring Harness

Let There Be Light! Here’s our Judge waiting for a little electrical system upgrade. Being pro-active instead of re-active can literally save your car from electrical fire damage. We’ve all seen it, so don’t be a victim of it. Disconnect the battery before starting the project. Improve your Pontiac’s lighting system and avoid potential fire damage by replacing its harness. Story and photography by Jim McGowan Any Pontiac enthusiast who owns a 40-year-old Poncho is familiar with the many and varied problems that come with that age. No, we’re not talking about a larger belt size, but rather things like dry, cracking and peeling engine compartment wiring. Heat, chemicals and other underhood factors can cause the once supple wires to deteriorate to the point of being dangerous. Many an engine compartment fire has been the result of worn wiring shorting out and flaring up, or old wires becoming hot and causing the shielding to melt or burn, leading to a fire. The original factory wiring was still powering the engine and front lighting of our resident ’70 Judge project car, and we were no longer willing to take a chance on having a catastrophic failure. We have already replaced the engine harness in a previous article (PE, January 2010), and now will tackle the lighting harness. In the old days, replacing the harness would have required either finding a factory replacement, or recreating your own, wire by wire. While the wire-by-wire method might be good for learning electronics and wiring, it’s not a fun or easy task. The forward lamp harness (#13635) that we installed fit precisely, requiring no cutting or soldering. It’s literally a “Plug and Play” installation. Simply remove the old harness and install the new one. But, of course, it’s not quite that simple, so we’ll show you what is required for the replacement in this 1970 model GTO Judge, but most other Ponchos will be similar. No special tools are required, but you’ll be doing some parts disassembly to access the required work areas. It’s a good idea to take digital photos of the disassembly so you have a reference for putting things back together. Pay particular attention to which plugs go to which lights, as they are different, and you’ll be using a small spade connector from the original turn signal socket, which needs to be transferred to the new harness. That is illustrated in the photo sequence. If possible, have a factory assembly manual available for reference. Since you’ll be taking apart some of the front end bright work, it’s a great time to do a little detailing of these parts and the areas behind the front grilles, too. 1 Here’s the new harness ready for installation. The harness contains connections to all four headlights, the turn signals, two ground wires, the dual horns, the side marker lights and the bulkhead connector. There is also a connector to the brake fluid distribution block on the frame rail and another to the horn relay. 2 We begin by removing the front cowl air dam from the core support. We’ll use this top access to get at the grille mounting points and the wiring across the front of the car. 3 Continue disassembly by removing the four bolts securing each of the front grilles and removing them. You’re now reaching down into the area previously covered by the air dam. 4 Here’s the original factory lighting harness. The car was disassembled years ago for paint, and the body shop guys never returned the harness to its proper location in the clips under the core support. 5 In the top center of the photo is one of several harness clips that should be used to secure the new harness. We will use all of these for the reinstallation. 6 Now remove the bezels surrounding all four headlights and then the bulb retaining rings, which are secured with three small screws – don’t lose them. 7 The headlight bulb and wiring can now be pulled forward. Check out which harness plug is used on each light and the location and number of the bulb. If you reinstall them wrong, the main headlight bulbs could end up in the inside position. Take pictures or make a diagram and notes as needed. 8 This side view of the crossmember support shows the original harness as it passes through a curved area in the support; you must use the same routing as the factory due to the length of the harness wiring. 9 Under the front of the driver’s side fender, at the core support, is this small plastic baffle. It is pressure fit into the core support and covers the access hole through which you will pass the wiring harness and all connectors. A slit in the top allows you to remove it and replace it on the new harness. The original harness and ground wire are visible in the rear. 10 After unplugging all the lamp connectors, and disconnecting the ground wire, the original harness is now being removed from the passenger side through the access area in the center core support. We’re working from the passenger side to the driver’s side. 11 Here’s the original harness removed from the front, but still connected at the bulkhead. Do not throw this harness away. There are two connectors you’ll need still in it, plus if you ever need factory connectors in the future, it will come in handy. Leave it connected at the bulkhead for now. 12 Snake all the connectors and new wiring through the access hole in the core support and route them to the correct areas using the same path you used to remove the old harness. Let the plugs hang out of the correct bulb sockets and check your photos to make sure they are right. 13 This is the bulkhead connector. It is to the right of the master cylinder. If your car has a power booster, accessing the connector is more difficult due to space limitations, but you can do it. We marked the wires to the horn relay with tape to make sure everything was properly connected. The tan wire goes to the brake distribution block. 14 The ground wires are fairly easy to disconnect, but trying to route the new wire back in place is tough. Use an alligator clip style wire, snaked through the hole under the fender and down to the headlight bucket. Connect it to the ground wire and pull up through the access hole. You can then connect it. 15 Here’s the alligator connector wire, still attached to the ground wire, which made this almost impossible routing a success. These are available from hardware stores, Harbor Freight, etc. 16 While the underside of the core support is a little grungy, all the factory harness clips were still in place and useable. Our new harness is now suspended as original. 17 Since we started installing all the wiring at the front, the bulkhead plug is not yet wangled through an access area in the driver’s side core support bracket, and then up to the access hole at the top of the panel. This takes a little patience, but will work. 18 The complete harness is now hanging in the support brackets under the core support with all the various plugs connected. It is important to have the wiring up high to prevent damage from road junk or minor collision damage. Make sure to connect the horn wiring! 19 The bulkhead connector has been passed through the access opening and now can be routed across the fender and to the connector area on the firewall. 20 Here you see the pressure fit panel back in place with the harness passing through it. You can also see the ground wire connected to the core support. This connection location is the same for both ground wires. Make sure you have cleaned the metal for a good ground. 21 Here’s the bulkhead connector removed from the firewall. It is secured with one bolt and contains the engine compartment connections on one side and the lighting harness connections on the other. The two plugs slide together to form the complete unit. Install the lighting harness connector as the original and carefully replace it on the firewall. 22 Here you can see the harness in the fender well clips, the bulkhead connector in place and the horn relay wiring connected and under the factory cover. But we’re not done! 23 It’s a perfect time to detail and polish any bright work items you have removed. These parts take a beating during normal driving, but will last for years if cared for. 24 Here’s a tip for reinstalling the headlight retaining rings: Those three little screws are difficult to install by hand. Insert the screwdriver into the screw head and wrap a small piece of masking tape around the screw head and screwdriver shaft. Then you can carefully insert the screw attached to the screwdriver in the hole and start the threads. 25 Before putting everything back together, connect the battery and turn the lights on. When we turned on our headlights, the turn signal bulbs didn’t light. 26 We removed the lenses and checked the bulbs and compared the old and new sockets. The small spade connector shown here must be removed from the old socket and installed into the corresponding slot in the new harness socket. If you don’t do this, your turn signal lights won’t work, either. Ours do now! n

Mopar Battery Cables

Restoration Clinic: Mopar battery cables by Frank Badalson Many new questions and responses have come about as a result of my ’69½ display engine at the Carlisle show this past July. First off were inquiries about the correct positive battery cable; the 1969 model year introduced a new positive battery cable, which is part number 2926754 for the 383 and 440 4-bbl B-body cars. I know, however, that the parts book for ’69 and ’70 calls for part number 2926085 for this same application. As we have discussed before in this column, over-the-counter parts and assembly line parts would often differ, so this is another example of an engineering change made for the assembly line part, while leaving the original part number (which debuted during the 1968 model year) in all the parts books. The article featured on this page is from the January 2010 issue of Mopar Enthusiast Magazine. Click here to read the free digital edition of Mopar Enthusiast now. The “085” cable introduced in ’68 had the part number printed in white ink along the length of the larger red cable; no paper tag for the part number was used. Also, the connection at the starter incorporated two separate wires with a unique shrouded lug end for the primary (thicker) red wire. For the 1969 model year, the assembly line “754” replacement cable had a new siamesed starter lug connection, and the new part number was printed on a baby blue tag and wrapped around the black tape and wires about three inches or so from the starter connection. (See detail photo.) There was no separate 440-6 positive cable beyond this, and this 2926754 cable was also used throughout the 1970 model year in 383/440/440-6 B-body cars. Meanwhile, 2926085 continued as the over-the-counter number found in the parts book during this time. Next, let’s verify the fuel pump applications. The ’69½ cars used a Carter 4434S, Chrysler part number 3004107. This was in fact the same 1968/1969 440-4bbl high-performance (B-body) fuel pump used in conjunction with the vapor separator system. This is an extremely hard to find pump today, and originals are very rare. However if you can find one by the original part number, chances are it will be a good dated 4434S pump for the 1969½ application. Also, ALL ’69½ cars used 5/16-inch fuel supply lines. Next were many inquiries about the engine harness. The engine harness part number for the 383-4bbl and 440-4bbl was 2926391; a modified version of this same “391” harness was used on ALL ’69½ cars. It was modified for two reasons: 1) The coil mounting was relocated for the 440-6 engine; 2) a carb/idle solenoid was added. The 383/440 coil was mounted at the front of the intake, and the standard 4-bbl harness had a dark blue wire connection for this, about five inches long. However, this wire would not reach the new mounting position for the 440-6 coil, and a quick, cheap fix was engineered. First, the original coil wire was crudely snipped off and that open wire was merely taped around with cloth friction tape to disable and insulate it. Then a unique “piggyback” type terminal lug was used to connect the new, much longer (29-inch) blue coil wire at the ballast resistor and then completed the circuit to the coil connection. The special solenoid wire, approximately 54 inches long, also utilized the same piggyback lug end at the ignition terminal of the voltage regulator. This allowed the solenoid to be activated or released with the ignition switch. The solenoid wire was spot taped along with the standard wiring routed along the right valve cover. The wire was then routed around the front of the intake to its connection at the solenoid on the opposite (drivers) side. There was a special nylon plastic clip affixed to the inside of the left valve cover which held this wire in place, with both of these added wires spot-taped to the original harness. Various locations of the spot tape and routing of the wires have been seen on original cars. However, the solenoid wire was consistently found to be routed around the front of the intake. What about the numbers on the front of the valve covers? Personally, I have always thought this was a very redundant type of engineering/assembly process and have wondered about the reasoning for this procedure for some time. Here’s why. The front of the left (driver side) valve cover often had a “5” or “0” which denoted either an automatic or four-speed transmission engine, respectively; these numbers were applied by hand. The front of the right (passenger) cover often had a 3-digit number corresponding to the engineering number assigned for the engine assembly, in this case a 440-6 automatic engine or a 440-6 four speed engine. As a rule, for assembly-line-built, standard-engine-equipped vehicles, the proper engine assembly number is found on the build sheet. Well, we all now know these were specially-built cars and were first built as standard 383 Road Runners or Super Bees. So Lynch Road noted these engine assemblies on the fender tag as well as the build sheet during that part of production. Now here is the rub. Automatic 383’s were “926” engine assemblies and 383” four-speeds were “925” engine assemblies and these numbers (925 or 926) appear on ALL ’69½ FENDER TAGS. However, these are NOT the engine assembly numbers for the special 440-6bbl automatic or four speed engines! Therefore, the 383-codes of “925” or “926” should not be written on the front of the right valve cover. Those numbers were most likely applied during the engine’s original assembly, not during the vehicle’s actual production – so they would not have been used on any 440-6bbl powerplant since they actually denoted the 383 engine. Admittedly, very few original surviving examples of untouched ’69½ cars exist, but I have seen a few. The engine assembly numbers for a ’69½ 440-6 automatic is “950” and that is the correct number which should appear on the right valve cover. And I am assuming the correct number for a 4-speed is “949,” though I have not seen an original 949 marking as yet. In an upcoming issue, we will take a more-illustrated, in-depth look at these unique engines, as their popularity has made them prime candidates for restorations, and restoration errors. See you next month.n Note: Frank Badalson is an acknowledged authority in the Mopar restoration field. You can send him your questions at: Restoration Clinic, Mopar Enthusiast magazine, P.O. Box 482, Sidney, Ohio 45365-0482, or e-mail him at MoEeditor@amosautomotive.com.