1972 A-body fuel tank sending unit questions

Hello who makes the most accurate reproduction 5/16 or 3/8 fuel tank sending units ?. Ive been told and also have read posts on how they read a full tank when they are actually 3/4s full or even less i dont want a cheap Chinese unit want a good one for a all new fuel system. Thanks Moparts for the free post.

there has been some extensive posts here regarding this, as it has been one of the worst parts we've ever dealt with. someone will chime in with one of those good recommendations.

Yea, ditto what Ralph said. I've installed 5-6 of them, various sources, they all suck unfortunately. I have yet to find a proper reproduction that's accurate or even close.

Very interested in hearing what the good/bad is on these as I am also about to embark on this journey.
Thanks to the OP for posting.

The pickup is too high and at wrong angle to the bottom of the tank.

Ratio on the float arm is wonky. Too short and pivot point is changed. So it's like your full, 15/16 full, 7/8 full 3/4 full then rapidly empty.

I swear it leaves 3 gallons of gas unusable.

I'd be happy if when dead on E that there is 2 or 3 gallons left, enough for me to get to a gas stn. on my last one I kept the OE 5/16 unit that worked good & kept it for the gauge & soldered in a bung in the tank bottom for the feed. it was a new tank going in so it was a good plan that worked out good.

I swear I could make one from scratch that would work better

I thought that Dixie Resto parts, a Moparts member and parts dealer had several NOS sending units. His prices were reasonable too.

Tried a few, yet to find one that works.

Fortunately, I have a rallye dash with the 150mph speedo and trip meter....I rely on the trip meter to guesstimate when I'll need pull in for gas.

i talked to them and they said that the deal fell thru or somthing like that.i bought a new one from specter(sp)what a joke.if youve ever taken one apart they appear to be very simple.it seems that someone with a little electromatical knowledge(not me! ) could make a good one and clean up.

PLEASE! do ill take one in 1/2 inch.HEK ill buy a brand new one and send it to ya if you want to try.if it dont work nobody can say we didnt try.

No. No.

When you are empty out of gas and on "E" there's about 3 gallon that you can't touch. When you fill up it will only take about 13-14 gallons. With the stock pickup it will take 16-17 gallons.

Comparison:

Alright, sounds like I need to bump my number up a couple of gallons.

Not sure why no one seems to be able to test fit and adjust the pickup to get to the bottom of the tank?

Seems a simple enough that they even show in the FSM where to bend the line to do this.

But hey, were mostly guys here and who bothers to read the instructions anyway.

I bought the 1/2" A-body unit from Year One and it is great. No issues. I did find that my vent was plugged with crap when I had the tank out so I drilled the hole out slightly and pushed a little dent out of it and it works great. I recommend greasing the rubber seals for the sending unit and the filler tube.

Hey Steve, That picture looks familiar. :
The upper one is from a 1967 Barracuda. Was that style used other years too?
The lower one is a repop.
Differences include:
the pick-up tube as everyone can see.
the float arm, which is obviously much shorter and pivots lower.
the resistance winding which is hard to see.
The original is exposed, the wire wrapped linearly on a dog biscuit shaped non conductive board. The copper arm is attached to the pivot.
The repop resistance winding and arm is enclosed.

The difficulties in making a good repop or fixing an original shouldn't be major. From my attempt at frankensteining its important to ensue the sheet metal seal doesn't get distorted. The other challenge is hunting down the resistance wire and making a little stamping fixture for the copper arm. Tere are probably folks who have been dealing with one off instrument repairs for really antique cars that have already been down this road.

We have A-body units from 67-76. We made them in 3/8" also.