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Fuel Pump Access hatch

Dropping the tank will give you access to the underside to perform the mods. You will be able to access bolts and do a nicer job.
I didn't watch the original video in the thread. So I don't know how he did it all, but I would want to flange and reinforce the perimeter of the hole latch and hinge. Only way to do it right is to have access to the bottom.
 
A hand powered nibbler could do it,but you'll probably have blisters by the time your done..those electric shears may not work well on the "ridges" either--I have one ,and am going to try using it to cut a metal swimming pool's sheet metal ,but the metal is rippled like a lays potato chip,I wont be surprised if the blade just breaks,the stuff is pretty thich too,maybe 16 ga,like your truck floor..

You could use a circular saw with a metal cutting abrasive blade,set it so it'll only go deep enough to cut only thru the floor,but if the tank & sending unit are right up against the floor,it could be a disaster..

I'd say its best to remove the tank first,then cut the floor..

One day at my friends shop an older guy had his Crown Vic towed in,it stalled and refused to start..after we got it up on the lift we took a fuel sample after finding the fuel filter was full of ice!...
It was loaded with water..

My friend called him to tell him what we found,and said he'd be wise to get a new fuel pump ,seeing we had to drop the tank to clean out the ice & water..the guy said "I'll be right down in 5 minutes"..

He came and said "Here's the money for the fuel pump--I think I know why it stalled now--but DON'T tell my wife this !"..

"I opened the trunk the other day,and found the spare tire well was FULL of water...so I got my electric drill and drilled a bunch of drain holes to let the water out"..:blush:

Yup...we took the tank down,and saw about 6 holes ,1/2" around,drilled right thru the gas tank,and sending unit!...:crazy:

He had to cough up another $125 for a gas tank & sending unit ,on top of the new fuel pump!..:grin:
 
I used a 7.25" metal blade in a Dewalt cordless skill saw. I had over an 1" of clearance, also had the blade set to just over metal thickness of floor.
 
Less than a cutoff wheel. Lots of hot metal chunks, not many sparks.
 
Here is how I cut mine. I just made a "picture frame" bracket to go underneath. And then used the piece I cut out to cover the hole. My truck is just a trail beater mostly, but for those of you that still have carpet, I would imagine it would all tuck away nicely.

20200408_201355.jpg

20200408_194549.jpg
 
Yep that’s almost exactly how I did mine. Was telling @TJ1978 to make the hole a tad bigger for ease of attaching the lines
 
I used to always use a combination of cutoff wheel and Sawzall to cut fenders and body work. I got tired of the sparks and noise and grabbed my snips from my HVAC bag, its how I do it now. You need offset head snips, not the straight ones everyone has. The metal is not as thick as you might think. The offset head snips have the proper shape to cut a panel without having to bend the pieces all crazy. Cuts right through, no noise, no sparks.
https://www.amazon.com/MIDWEST-cort...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001419077746&psc=1
 
If you are talking about a pickup, here is the thread I did when the late great Baitfish2 cut an access hole in his truck in the swamp and put in a new pump. I didn't show the measurements, but you do get to see the sparks and the clearance between the tank and lines and the bed.
For some reasons my captions are no longer with the pictures, at least on my computer. When I posted them, they were with the pics. Now you have to read them first and then see the pics.
But he used a cutoff wheel and drilled the corners. Given his remarkable ability to screw things up, it all came out really well. Except for breaking the clip on the sending unit float, but I fixed that.

https://ck5.com/forums/threads/fuel-line-connector-question-success-with-pics.312538/

Enjoy.
 
Seems like a popular mod. Never understood it myself. I'm going to spend a few hours Messing around with my tank and slicing up my trucks body. Only so it saves me some time IF my pump has went out?
The time messing with this to create the mod is the same time I would spend actually fixing the problem if it happens.

Fuel pumps shouldn't go out that often that you need to make a mod like this. I have owned my TBI 454 for twenty years and replaced the pump one time.

One could argue that would be super easy if your pump takes a crap on the trail.
At the same time. What are the chances of that vs some other mechanical breakage?
Can you truly be prepared for it all? No.
I suppose you can create better odds for yourself.

Just seems like this is one of those. Ohh. Look at that. I need that. Might as well.

To me it's the same kind of thing of packing a cherry picker for a trail ride in case my engine blows up. Ok extreme example but you get my drift.
Just thinking out loud. Take it or leave it.
 
Couple of things:
First, if you went to the link I posted and tried clicking on the link in it to see how this whole thing came about, it was a dead link.
But, this is due to the addressing change that occurred a couple of years ago. I have just gone back and changed it to the correct format so the link is good now.
Second, if you do read that link, you will see that the truck was not drive able due to a bad pump, was several miles out in the swamp and would have required a ton of work to pull it out through the deep water and mud. So changing the pump was the easy way out.
And the mud under the truck was wet and fairly deep, and there were huge sloppy deposits loosely hanging under the truck waiting to fall on anyone who attempted to remove the bed. There was never an idea of putting in a door before it was needed.

At some point I mentioned putting a door in my Ford, but I probably did not say that it was due to the fact that that pump was erratic and I was needing a way to test it for a bad connection without taking the bed off two or three times per day.

Most of the times when you see someone putting in a door, its to replace the pump. And given the quality of fuel pumps for these age trucks, its not unlikely that the new one will not last. So the idea of a door is reasonable.

The ones who want to put in a door, "just in case", are probably the same ones who run a winch on the front of their trucks or carry a spare axle or two.
Personally, I agree a cherry picker is over the top, yeah I saw it when I typed it, and I have never carried a spare axle in my life. Never broke one either. But I'm down with a winch, and if I needed to replace a pump, I would go with a door over pulling the body even though I have done just that to replace some wiring and all the rear brake lines. I put a new pump in at the same time.
But its not a mod I personally would do just in case.
Given the mods done here regularly, its such a small mod, its almost unnoticable.
 
HankScorpio said:
I used to always use a combination of cutoff wheel and Sawzall to cut fenders and body work. I got tired of the sparks and noise and grabbed my snips from my HVAC bag, its how I do it now. You need offset head snips, not the straight ones everyone has. The metal is not as thick as you might think. The offset head snips have the proper shape to cut a panel without having to bend the pieces all crazy. Cuts right through, no noise, no sparks.
https://www.amazon.com/MIDWEST-cort...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001419077746&psc=1
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking would be safe and hopefully easier.

Just drill a starter hole and snip away?

I’m going to replace the sender and fuel lines
 
Fordum said:
Couple of things:
First, if you went to the link I posted and tried clicking on the link in it to see how this whole thing came about, it was a dead link.
But, this is due to the addressing change that occurred a couple of years ago. I have just gone back and changed it to the correct format so the link is good now.
Second, if you do read that link, you will see that the truck was not drive able due to a bad pump, was several miles out in the swamp and would have required a ton of work to pull it out through the deep water and mud. So changing the pump was the easy way out.
And the mud under the truck was wet and fairly deep, and there were huge sloppy deposits loosely hanging under the truck waiting to fall on anyone who attempted to remove the bed. There was never an idea of putting in a door before it was needed.

At some point I mentioned putting a door in my Ford, but I probably did not say that it was due to the fact that that pump was erratic and I was needing a way to test it for a bad connection without taking the bed off two or three times per day.

Most of the times when you see someone putting in a door, its to replace the pump. And given the quality of fuel pumps for these age trucks, its not unlikely that the new one will not last. So the idea of a door is reasonable.

The ones who want to put in a door, "just in case", are probably the same ones who run a winch on the front of their trucks or carry a spare axle or two.
Personally, I agree a cherry picker is over the top, yeah I saw it when I typed it, and I have never carried a spare axle in my life. Never broke one either. But I'm down with a winch, and if I needed to replace a pump, I would go with a door over pulling the body even though I have done just that to replace some wiring and all the rear brake lines. I put a new pump in at the same time.
But its not a mod I personally would do just in case.
Given the mods done here regularly, its such a small mod, its almost unnoticable.
Click to expand...
My thoughts weren't directed at you. Just the general thought I have every time this comes up.
Personally I have never found dropping a tank to be that bad of a job. So I never really considered it a mod I would think about. No judgement on the ones that do, I was just putting it out there for the world to see.
 
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