Two choices to address the rusty gas tank problem, clean/restore the original tank, or find a new replacement tank. Reading up on cleaning/restoring a tank led me to a lot of reviews with mixed results. The tank coatings are expensive and only effective if/when the tank is extremely clean on the inside and it takes a lot of steps using chemicals to clean and hours of labor to get it that way if you can at all. There are many reports of the coating failing after a short period of time due to contamination and then you are right back to square one, a contaminated tank and clogged fuel system and you're out the time and money you put into the coating. Not a very promising option in my opinion.
Second choice, finding a new condition replacement tank for a 65 year old truck. Sounds a bit like finding a "needle in the haystack" right off the bat. Well, looking around for a bit it became obvious that an exact repro tank is NOT available from anyone for a '53 B series Dodge. At least I couldn't find one. However I was able to find something that is supposed to be close and can be modified to work on the "B" series trucks. TanksInc. makes a repro tank for '39 thru '47 Dodge trucks that sounds like a possibility.
TANKS Inc. gas tanks for street rods, muscle cars, custom cars and trucks
So, I decided to give this a try and install a brand new CLEAN tank in my '53. I ordered the 39DP-T tank from Tanksinc. When it arrived and I unpacked it I was immediately impressed with it. This tank is very well made with heavy gauge steel. It is designed to replace the original '39 thru '47 Dodge tank but has some modern upgrades such as a built-in sump for an electric in-tank fuel pump in case you plan to go EFI at some point. Nice!
But, as they said, it must be modified to fit my '53. So I started by getting the tank under the truck and into position so that I could see and measure what needed to be done to bolt it in. Below is their instructions to use this tank on a "B" series truck.
Modifications for the 39-47 Dodge Truck tank to work in the 1948-53 Dodge trucks
From Tanks, Inc.
The 1939-47 Dodge tank is shorter than the 1948-53 Dodge Truck tanks. Also, the neck is at a slightly different angle. The newer trucks used a tank that was 3.5 inches longer than the 39-47 Tanks, Therefore, it requires a bracket at the end of the tank, to the rear, to be constructed to support that end of the shorter tank.
A similar bracket was used in the 39-47 Dodge trucks, that had a longer wheelbase than the 116” of the half ton trucks. Example is the 120” and 133” trucks.
To use the shorter tank in the B Series trucks. It requires a triangle shaped bracket, one side bolted to the frame side (two bolts) and the bottom of frame (one bolt), and the bottom of the triangle would be bolted to the holes in the flange of the gas tank.
As for the front end, the bolt holes on the tank flange line up perfectly with the cross member mounting holes, just the same as the 39-47 trucks, and the angled filler neck lines up with the hole in cab floor. However, it is a slightly different angle and some simple modifications must be made.
The hole in floor should be enlarged about 1 inch on left side to allow connection to filler tube. That tube is longer and has a crook in it that should be removed. (inlet on side of cab is lower on the body)
So, simply cutting off the bottom 5 inches of the steel filler neck and using a longer rubber hose connection will allow good fit. Use about 10” of hose instead of the 5 inches. Tank fits well on the top, and on both sides there is clearance, basically the same as the 39-47 Dodge trucks.
Now, I'm not one to needlessly chop/cut up my classic vehicles to install a part (gas tank in this case) just because someone else said that's how you have to do it. So I've highlighted the text in RED above that I have found to be inaccurate. I now have the tank nicely installed and have NOT cut one iota of original steel on my truck. Everything I've done is 100% reversible and can be put back to factory stock should I ever happen to find a good original tank.
I'll post some photos of the mods/install later on, but, enough for tonight.