Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:36 am by WEW51L110
My ‘51 L and your ‘54 R are basically the same, as far as I know, relative to the gas tank. When my truck was rebuilt, I had the original gas tank cleaned and resealed. It is currently supplying gas to my small block Chevy 383 stroker motor with a 750 cfm carb. The engine is 10.0:1 compression ratio and I must use premium gas. I took the tank to the place that cleaned it and delivered it back to the paint and body guy who did all the work on my truck. Unless he did something to enlarge the pick-up that he didn’t tell me about, I’m assuming it is the same as original. The fuel level sending unit was updated to 12 volts, however.
I will say this. The rebuild took place 10 years ago and since then my tank has developed a leak in the top of it. When I fill up, if I put too much in a puddle forms under the truck until the gas leaks below the hole it’s coming out of. I suspect the old tank has been corroded away over the years by rust from the outside and/or corrosive gasoline from the inside because we had to seal up a bunch of pin holes in the top of the tank in the locations where the mounting brackets cross the tank. At this writing I’m considering a replacement tank. I just have been too lazy to act on it, plus the trouble and expense of finding a replacement that will fit. My research of what is commercially available led my to a company called “Tanks”. They offer a couple of sizes that could potentially be used either in the original location or between the rear frame rails. The original tank for a ‘56 Ford F-100 is dimensionally close, but I suspect it is about a 1/2” too big height wise. The location of the filler tube may also be wrong.
If you clean and pressure test your original tank and it checks out to be good, I see no reason you couldn’t use it. The only time that the size of the pick-up tube might be an issue is if you’re doing a lot of wide-open-throttle runs.
L110 owner since 1974, finally rebuilt 2014.
Don;t you just love computers and "autocorrect" ? 