Fuel sending unit and new gauges

Will soon buy a new wiring harness for my 62 truck and need to pick out a set of gauges first. Jim at Centech suggested (strongly) that I find a fuel gauge that will work with the existing fuel sender at the tank so I don't need to replace it. Said he knows a guy that almost burned himself to death while trying to replace the fuel sender. I've been looking at all electric gauges like these:

http://www.autometer.com/arctic-white-5-pc-kit-box-w-elec-speedo.html

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cal-220251403/media/instructions/

The second and cheaper one has a universal sending unit. Not sure about the first, need to call them. I suppose it would be best to remove the tank, drain it, coat the inside with sealer and just install the new sending unit.

Anyone here find a new fuel gauge that works with the existing sending unit on a generation 1 Econoline? Or anyone replace a fuel sending unit and have words of advice on doing it?

My advice would be to drop the tank and replace the sending unit while it's out of the truck. Because of the low location of the SU, the tank has to be near empty and it's difficult to get the SU gasket located properly installing it upside down. And if there's any gas left in the tank when you loosen the sending unit, you're going to get it in the face.

You can buy little hand pumps at most hardware stores to pump out the tank, and it's relatively easy to drop the tank if you're handy. That also gives you the chance to look it over and rehab if needed, which it probably does.

Auto-Meter will change the ohms reading in the gauge to be compatible with your stock sending unit, which I believe is 73/10?
You can order the fuel gauge direct from Auto-Meter and get it done in one shot, saving shipping costs.
Dennis Wagner

What Dennis said. You shouldn't have to change the sender, you just have to get the a kit which includes the gauge for old ford/chrysler fuel senders, 73-10 or so ohms, if they make one. Or buy that gauge separately, looks like it's #1316. You'll also want the ford type speedo cable plug VSS for the trans or the appropriate adapter if the kit comes with a VSS. The problem with most "kits" is that they are geared towards Chevy/GM stuff. You may be better off piece mealing the kit together with the right gauges and the Autometer #5292 VSS. It will likely be cheaper that way b/c you won't be buying a fuel gauge, sender and VSS you can't use. And the temp and oil gauges come with the senders anyway. Just be sure not to buy mechanical oil and temp gauges unless you're going to mount them to the doghouse...

That autometer fuel gauge goes from 70 to 10 ohms:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/atm-1316?seid=srese1&cm_mmc=pla-google-_-shopping-_-srese1-_-autometer&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm_SAyveE1wIVh5V-Ch3iHAWuEAQYASABEgIZ_PD_BwE

Think that'd do it?

My truck, according to the PO has a 200 ci engine and transmission from a Mustang. The speedometer currently is off by at least 10 mph at highway speeds. The NAPA auto parts guy said it's probably due to the transmission being different than the stock. Seth, in your reply you said: "You'll also want the ford type speedo cable plug VSS for the trans or the appropriate adapter if the kit comes with a VSS". What does VSS stand for? I do want an electric (not mechanical) speedometer.

If you google Ford fuel sending unit, It'll say 73/10 but Auto-Meter can verify your stock sending unit.
Dennis Wagner

VSS= vehicle speed sensor, the Autometer Part# I posted is the one you need for their electronic speedo, unless you want to use the gps unit. It will mount into the speedo cable port in the transmission in lieu of the speedo cable. If your speedo is off it's b/c you need to replace the speedo drive gear with the correct # of tooth gear for your setup, i.e. rearend ratio, tire size, transmission. There are calculators online to figure that out or get really close. I would err on the side of tire wear, iow I'd get a gear that may be slightly fast with new tires vs one that will read below the actual speed. You'll need that with the new setup or you'll still be off by the same amount b/c you'll still be using that gear with the vss. 73/10 is the resistance of the stock fuel sending unit. They are still available from C & G Ford if you need a new sending unit. Although any problems, other than a break in the resistor wire, on the original sending unit are easy to fix. If you pull the sender for some reason make sure you have a new rubber ring gasket for it, your's will likely not be resilient enough to be reusable. I can vouch for the C&G unit b/c I installed one. It works fine, but my oem unit just lost contact mid stroke and can easily be bent/fixed. Way easier than making autometer's sending unit work right in your tank. And the autometer # I posted is the right fuel gauge to work with your factory fuel sending unit. I'd just assemble the kit and buy it all from autometer directly if I was you. And like, I think, Dennis is saying, you might just call autometer directly and see if they'll give you the same pricing on a custom kit that actually works for your rig. You only need 2 substitutions in the kit and minus a fuel sender, seems reasonable...

Also, I wouldn't recommend "lining" the tank. If you pull the tank, park it on an incline and then pull the fill hose and 95% or more of the gas will drain out. I'd rinse out the tank with some alcohol or even water and examine it inside and out, dry it with air. If it looks questionable take it to an old school radiator shop or someplace that specializes in tank repair. Those coatings can delaminate and be more trouble than they're worth from what I've heard. And if the tank is truly shot, it's probably a good time to upgrade to a 22 gallon 1970 Mustang tank. You can cannibalize your tank for the vent and fill connection to be grafted onto the new tank. Of course you'd need to use 70 mustang sending unit for a 22 gallon tank, but it will still be 73/10 unless it's made for aftermarket gauges. I was amazed at the condition of my tank when I pulled it and cleaned it out. I thought for sure it'd be screwed up but it was fine.

nwguy wrote:That autometer fuel gauge goes from 70 to 10 ohms:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/atm-1316?seid=srese1&cm_mmc=pla-google-_-shopping-_-srese1-_-autometer&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm_SAyveE1wIVh5V-Ch3iHAWuEAQYASABEgIZ_PD_BwE

Think that'd do it?
.

Yes

Btw, if you pull the speedometer cable out of the transmission you will find that gear and it will be a certain color, tan, brn, blue, red ect. Do that and report back. The color signifies the # of teeth. All Ford speedometer drive gears/cable ends are the same from the 60's to at least well into the 80's and even into the 90's on many transmissions. You could get a cheaper oem vss but the signal is probably different. I think autometer uses GM's signal which is, of course, a different pulse width than Fords, so you'd need a signal converter and that makes no $ense. I've been planning on a GM TBI conversion and have looked into getting a vss into a Ford transmission and signal a GM computer. If I can plug my speedo cable into the other end of that autometer unit it may work for me. I'm a little afraid to use gps to signal the computer for engine control. There's a cheap Ford oem vss that will work on any old Ford transmission AODE back that you can drive the oem speedometer cable with it. I want to keep my factory speedometer.

OK, so I bought a new fuel tank off ebay, one of the ones selling for about $200, complete with sending unit. It's made in Taiwan, not mainland China, and has some kind of paint coating on it which I like. I haven't pulled my old tank yet, nor the sending unit. So I don't really understand how the sending unit, gasket and collar go together. I get that the sending unit goes into the tank first, then probably the gasket, then the collar. But the gasket is shaped like a rubber band rather than being a flat ring like I'd expect. Can anyone tell me exactly how the gasket and ring go in? Does anyone use sealant for this? Pics below. I'll be selling my old tank once I do the swap. It didn't have any problems. I just figured for $200 it'd be nice to have a new one.


The tank.


The parts.


The collar with the gasket on it.

Gasket/o-ring goes between the sending unit and the fuel tank.

dennis wagner wrote:Gasket/o-ring goes between the sending unit and the fuel tank.

Weird. How does it do that? It's not flat. It's like a stiff rubber band. Seems like it would get folded, with gaps when it got compressed.

see if you can put the o ring into the groove on the tank,,,,,,then slide in the sending unit,,,,,,then tap the collar around until it locks in,,,,that o ring is about 1/4" thick on Chevys,,,,,,see how yours fits,,,,,

Yeah it goes in that groove then the sender goes on then the lock ring. That looks the same as the original, but maybe it doesn't fit as tight?