With the fuel tank pretty much mounted, the next order of business was the filler tube and the rubber hose I would need to connect to the filler neck on the fuel tank. I ended up having to get a new rad hose that was wide enough to accommodate the diameter of the filler tube and neck. I would only use a few inches of this hose for the coupling, but so be it. The next problem that I ran into was the idea that with the tank mounted and the odd twisting of the filler tube, its very construction would not allow me to twist the tube the way I needed to in order to get the three separate components together. I ended up having to unbolt the tank from the frame rails, but the length of tubing that I welded in front of the tank ended up having to be cut free so I could move the tank forward enough in order to allow me to position the filler tube in its spot as well as be able to slide the fuel tank straight back to connect to the rubber hose. The next order of business, especially since the front tube was cut free from in front of the fuel tank, was to start making the front section of trunk floor. To do this I took a couple lengths of legging from a salvaged shop shelf and coupled them together to make the supports for the sheet metal floor. I had to cut two sections of sheet metal to make the floor, which was welded to the first pair of legs, which would be at the front of the fuel tank. I took another pair of legs and cut them to fit at the front of the sheet metal floor. To support this floor section, I drilled two holes at the backs of the fender wells and placed a long 1/4" bolt through each hole from the outside, welding the bolts in place. These bolts would line up with holes on the legs at the back of the floor panel. The front pair of legs were lined up with the internal body structure and holes drilled through to accommodate lag bolts that would hold the front of the panel in place. The panel would be slid on over the two large bolt/studs first, then the front would be lined up and lag bolts applied. Nuts would be applied to the studs to hold the rear of the panel in place. I also had to take a short piece of heater hose and cut it lengthwise to slide around the rear leg at the middle. This is because the rear of the panel rested on top of the fuel tank. The rubber hose acted as a cushion to keep the panel from vibrating against the fuel tank, resulting in excessive noise. With the front floor all done, there was the matter of the rear floor. I already welded the pipe in place for the rear, but after looking at the spacing between the tube and the fuel tank, I decided to cut the tube free and re-weld it closer to the fuel tank. I did this since the front floor was set up to be removed, which would allow the fuel tank to be pulled forward and up and out to remove the tank. With the tube re-welded in place, I measured and cut two pieces of sheet metal and welded those in place, taking care to make cuts to fit one piece of sheet metal around the trunk latch support member. With the sheet metal welded in place, the trunk was pretty much 2/3 done. I still have to figure out what to do with the middle section that spans the fuel tank. On a lighter note, while welding this crap, I needed to be able to quickly cool the metal down for handling. Upon trying to fill a watering pot, I found the pot with a crack in the side. I had another pot that didn't have a nozzle, and the nozzle from the old pot wouldn't fit. So what did I do? I cut the neck from the bad pot, used a heat gun to soften the neck as I pressed it over the neck of the other pot, then removed the neck and applied hot glue inside the rim of the neck, pressing it back over the neck of the other pot. Once the glue was cured, I had a bastard pot with nozzle, ready to go. For the time being, I will leave the middle floor section alone on the trunk and move forward to the engine bay to work on that part of the fuel system. The carburetor and everything associated with it needs to be installed. From there I need to time the distributor and hook that up. Once that's all done, lastly I need to address the fuel sending unit issue, whether I use the old unit or install a universal unit to coincide with the gauge I recently picked up. We're very close to getting Truckstang in operation!
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