Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

[Garry E.]

Has anyone had a good (or bad) experience with the "Imported" gas tank sending units for a '57 that are currently available from Paragon or Corvette Central.....? Are there units by any other companies that are considered more "reliable"....?Garry Eastwood #38705

[Dan D.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Yes, I have, and not good. I don't know about Paragon, but I bought a CC unit last year. Original senders use a wirewound resistor for the measuring element. The CC unit from 3 or 4 years ago is almost identical to the original, and mounted in, connected up, and works fine. Bought another one last year from CC - totally different. The resistor is now some type of a carbon or composite material that looks very weak and I am not sure it would hold up. However, the real problem is the gas line coming out of the sender is 1" too short and will not reach the existing steel line used in 57. Only way to make this work would be to cut it and use a rubber hose, which I am unwilling to do. So I returned it and found one by doing a Google search. Company is called "Tanks and Pans", and I bought judging by the photo on their web site, which looked like the original style, and indeed is. More expensive than CC, but it bolts up and has an identical wirewound element to the original. When I returned the one to CC, I wrote up exactly what was wrong with it, but don't know if they did anything about it. I got credit for it but never got a response back.

It seems that while our suppliers usually try to improve their products based on feedback from us, their customers, they also sometimes go backwards, which they have done here. So if I were you, research before you buy and make sure it is of the older original style, or you will not be happy with it.

-Dan-

[Garry E.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Dan.... thanks for the comments..... I stopped buying from CC a couple of years ago due to "authenticity issues"...... I'll check out your other source.... Garry Eastwood #38705

[Steven B.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

http://www.tanks-to-pans.com/site/823208/page/515285

Steve

[Garry E.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Dan/Steve....I took your advice and bought a unit from "Tanks-to-Pans"..... thanks....Garry

[Dan D.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Garry, Let us know how it works out when you get it.

-Dan-

[Scott K.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

... Bought another one last year from CC - totally different. The resistor is now some type of a carbon or composite material that looks very weak and I am not sure it would hold up. However, the real problem is the gas line coming out of the sender is 1" too short and will not reach the existing steel line used in 57. Only way to make this work would be to cut it and use a rubber hose, which I am unwilling to do.

I apologize for no one getting back to you on this issue. We just pulled a sending unit from stock and measured it against a NOS unit. The sample unit matched up, including the tubing length. We have used different vendors over the past few years for these, but we have noted improvements in the past two years, particularly concerning the rheostat.

[Scott K.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

... Bought another one last year from CC - totally different. The resistor is now some type of a carbon or composite material that looks very weak and I am not sure it would hold up. However, the real problem is the gas line coming out of the sender is 1" too short and will not reach the existing steel line used in 57. Only way to make this work would be to cut it and use a rubber hose, which I am unwilling to do.

I apologize for no one getting back to you on this issue. We just pulled a sending unit from stock and measured it against a NOS unit. The sample unit matched up, including the tubing length. We have used different vendors over the past few years for these, but we have noted improvements in the past two years, particularly concerning the rheostat.

[Garry E.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Garry, Let us know how it works out when you get it.

-Dan-

I put in the sending unit the other day that I bought from "Tanks-to-Pans".... the steel connection to the original fuel line was the correct length and there were no other issues regarding the fit of the unit.... It appears to be functioning correctly. However, the amount of gas in the tank is rather low at this time..... I will get a better read on how well the unit works at the time of the next "fill up"......so far, I'm pleased with the unit

Garry

[Dan D.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Glad its working for you Garry. What I did is hook up the sender outside of the tank and moved the float up and down while monitoring the gauge. It appeared to track it very well.

-Dan-

[Ed H.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Gary,
I too used a CC fuel sending unit in my 57. I also had a problem in the grounding. When ever you would engage the turn signal, right or left, the fuel gauge would react to the pulse of the turn light. I solved the problem by placing a dedicated ground wire from the top of the frame to one of the screws on the sending unit. Went away.

[Garry E.]

Re: Replacement gas tank sending units for a '57

Dan/Steve/Ed.....

After gassing up the '57 the other day, it appears that the new sending unit from "Tanks and Pans" is working properly..... again, everything fit properly and there was no "drama" in the installation..... I didn't run a separate ground wire like Ed did (thanks for the suggestion....), but it appears on my car that it's not needed..... thanks for all the input/ideas...

Garry Eastwood #38705