Can the fuel tank on a 1954 be dropped without having the car entirely in the air AND without removing the filler tube? The filler tube seems to drop first onto the top of the driver-side leaf springs as the tank comes down, but MAYBE if the car was in the air instead of up on low jackstands...?

My plan at this point is simply to get the jackstands higher and see what luck I have, but I've even wondered about removing the filler tube using any means necessary.

Does anyone here have any first-hand experience with this puzzle?

 

On my 53, I just put the rear wheels on ramps. I don't believe I needed to jack it up any further.

I could be wrong. I might have followed up by jacking it up higher and putting jackstands under the axle. But, after removing the straps, it dropped right out.

 

Thanks for the reply.

On your 53 does the filler tube connect to the tank with a short rubber/hose section?

In that case, disconnecting the filler tube from the tank would make it oh so easy.

In my case (1954), the filler tube extends horizontally away from the tank about a foot and then up toward the fuel door for about a foot. The tank and tube are fixed together. They could even be welded together - I'll go try to figure out what exactly they did.

I'll also try getting it higher on jackstands and see what happens.

 

The tank and tube are a solid piece on mine. It just needs to be up in the air a little ways - I do remember having to twist it this way and that to snake it out, but the quarter panel on that side is crunched, so there may be more interference than is normal.