Gas tank fitting

Someone has added a second source of fuel-out or -in to the tank for some reason, since theres nothing there as-stock. If you have your rear window glass removed as recommended, pull the gauge sending unit out and with an explosion-proof flashlight, look inside to see whats been done. If the thing is loose, I'd remove it and either fix the threads or plug the hole, as fuel leaks that close to the header is serious business!

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Originally posted by jack deryke:
Someone has added a second source of fuel-out or -in to the tank for some reason, since theres nothing there as-stock. If you have your rear window glass removed as recommended, pull the gauge sending unit out and with an explosion-proof flashlight, look inside to see whats been done. If the thing is loose, I'd remove it and either fix the threads or plug the hole, as fuel leaks that close to the header is serious business!

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I agree. Where do all the hoses go to and from the gas tank? Obviously, my setup is pretty screwed up. I checked out the techinal info book and see the fuel tank drawing with a hose from the sending unit to the fuel pump. My car doesn't have a place to attach a hose to the sending unit. Instead, they made a hole and stuck a mickey mouse fitting with a tube into the tank which goes to the fuel pump. Not stock, there shouldn't be a hole there. It works but the fitting doesn't screw tightly into the hole. I'd like to fix this because of the obvious danger. Does anyone have a clear drawing or diagram showing the entire fuel tank, cannister assemby and hoses? Also, is there an alternative to the sending unit available?

There are only two (2) hoses goimg anywhere from the gas tank. Depending on the year of your Pantera, the fuel-out line is either from a welded boss on the edge of the tank-top, using a banjo bolt ('71-early '73s), or from a line built into the sending unit (late '73-up). The fuel-out line goes directly to the fuel pump. There's also a breather hose that attaches to a bubble-thingy on the tank-top (or to an anti-roll-over valve if its a late car) & goes to the charcoal cannister on the rt side of the engine bay. Problem with bulkhead fittings attached directly to the tank top is, the metal is extemely thin & may fatigue-crack with time. As yet there is NOT another useable sender except the early and late Pantera types (at $400 each!) but Marino Perna of Pantera East just announced that his company may be fabricating replacements for the late type sender with larger fuel-out lines for higher horsepower engines, at a much lower cost.

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Originally posted by jack deryke:
There are only two (2) hoses goimg anywhere from the gas tank. Depending on the year of your Pantera, the fuel-out line is either from a welded boss on the edge of the tank-top, using a banjo bolt ('71-early '73s), or from a line built into the sending unit (late '73-up). The fuel-out line goes directly to the fuel pump. There's also a breather hose that attaches to a bubble-thingy on the tank-top (or to an anti-roll-over valve if its a late car) & goes to the charcoal cannister on the rt side of the engine bay. Problem with bulkhead fittings attached directly to the tank top is, the metal is extemely thin & may fatigue-crack with time. As yet there is NOT another useable sender except the early and late Pantera types (at $400 each!) but Marino Perna of Pantera East just announced that his company may be fabricating replacements for the late type sender with larger fuel-out lines for higher horsepower engines, at a much lower cost.

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I'm going to remove the existing sending unit. It does not have any kind of fuel pick, only the three leads. That's why someone drilled a new hole with a tube for the pickup. No one has a fitting that will seal in the hole. It was soldered together and to fabricate another would be tough. I'm going to remove the sending unit to figure out what's up. The gas gauge doesn't work anyway. I heard the quarter window comes out. Where do you push it out and how hard. I'd hate to break it.

1/4 window removal - very easy. I had my doubts about this, too, until I did it. Lift deck lid, one hand outside window, one hand inside window, peel/flex rubber on the inside of the gasket so you know it is loose all the way around on the inside edge. It will be tight, just make sure it is not glued or whatever. At the top corner of the window, closest to the cabin, on the inside of the window see if you can fold the corner of the gasket away from the body frame and while holding gasket back push that corner of the window outwards. It should move without massive grunting or groaning. Once it gets started, it is just a matter of slowly pushing, folding the inside rubber back as much as you can, and pushing some more. I was surprised how easy it was. You will make sure to keep one hand on the outside to catch the thing, okay? Clean up any rust and things when you get it out, gently pull/pry the metal chrome out of the slot in the gasket, remove the glass from the gasket, armor all or whatever the rubber,put the metal back in the rubber, reinstall the gasket and window cleaning will be easier. Electrical work on the other side, once you remove the engine cover side piece, becomes MUCH easier, also. Relax, you'll do fine. Larry

As far as plugging the hacked hole in your tank, obviously the RIGHT way to fix it is to remove it & have it welded or brazed. For a TEMPORARY fix, (after all the extra lines & fittings are removed, of course), wire-brush the area around the hole in the tank until its clean & shiny, then lay a washer that is larger than the hole on top. Finally, mix up a quantity of BONDO and liberally cover the washer including the hole thru the washer. Get plenty around the edges of the washer, too. Garden-variety Bondo when cured is totally fuel-proof and will certainly fix your tank until the next engine rebuild, when you can pull the tank & have it professionally fixed. My tank has such a hole, that I Bondo-ed in 1999.... What likely happened is, rust perforated the stock fuel-out pipe located inside the welded boss on the rear top of the tank, Or, the stock line inside still has the unservice-able nylon "sock" on it, and its plugged with 32 yrs of varnish. If this is true, you may be able to make this pipeus eable again, by reaching in thru the fuel gauge sender hole with a long rod and tearing the sock off the end of the fuel-out pipe. Don't make any sparks while doing this, obviously, and its best done after totally draining the tank. The drain plug is usually extremely tight requiring an air-impacxt wrench- be careful not to crack the thin metal around the drainplug, or just siphon all the gas out.