Quality of Ebay gas tank and sender?

I was going to clean and seal the tank from my Satellite project, but with these prices, it isn't worth it. So now the question is, are these Ebay parts any good? Anyone with experiences with them?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19-GAL-Fue...adRunning-Satellite-w-o-EEC/382776473568

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Fuel-S...arger-Coronet-Satellite-GTX/362240224623

I have not read where very many people say the aftermarket senders are accurate like the original. The one I bought years ago worked ok but it was off some.

Yeah, I have heard the same thing. Frankly, I was just hoping that the tank and sender weren't junk. I guess accuracy is too much to hope for.

Canadian "spectra" tanks had a good rep & there was something about counterfeit ones. See if you can pull up prior threads on this regarding where to get a good sender cuz there are the worst of the worst for getting one that reads accurate. If you sender still reads good I would reuse it & just get a new spectra tank.

it also seems the reproduction lock rings and gaskets are thinner than the OEM items, thus causing leaks. re-use your original lock ring at least.

My OE sender is shot, replacing it is a must. I think I could save the OE tank, but for $90 for a replacement, it is not worth the trouble. The Spectra tank is over twice as much as the Ebay one. Could it be that much better? And using the original lock ring would be a good idea.

The Ebay sender actually looks better than the Spectra. It has a brass float vs plastic on the Spectra. And the filter looks to be better constructed as well. But that is just looks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Fuel-S...arger-Coronet-Satellite-GTX/362240224623

https://www.amazon.com/Spectra-Prem...&vehicleName=1968+Plymouth+Satellite

A buddy of mine bought some tanks for a Ford PU off ebay and they started leaking after 6 months....

I've only had one experience with aftermarket and those were spectra tank and sending unit for 1988 Diplomat AHB. Tank was fine for several years (sold car several years later), sending unit didn't work accurately from day one.

If possible, I would either source a NOS sending unit or have your original restored.

There has been quite a lot of discussion here about aftermarket sending units. You have to bend the arm to agree with the correct resistances for the gas gauge.

The problem my bud found out the hard way is the cheaper tanks are bare steel and not tinned or galvanized on the inside so they rust up pretty quickly. They don’t hold up to any fuel, much less this ethanol crap gas we have now. The good Spectra tanks are supposed to be galvanized on the inside but I think there are some Spectra tanks that are called that but I don’t think they are made by them. We ended up buying a stainless steel unit from a Vans on eBay ( $217) for the same as a real Spectra tank. I got a SS sending unit from tanks inc with brass float that I will test for accuracy soon. I’m still waiting on the restored filler neck or I could tek you more. I was told that these new repop filler necks have a cheap coating that the gas can actually remove over time. Car is a 68 charger.

That cheaper gas tank isn't even close on it's out side finish. It is painted not galvanized. The reason a Spectra tank is twice as much is because it is twice as nice and correct. Sending units? I have bought and replaced several. None of them read right if you have an original gauge.

I can see the low cost appeal of the tank listed on ebay but I would go with the Spectra name brand. 5% will knock another $8 off the Spectra from Rock Auto. The aftermarket sending units- in my experience send the gauge visibly up and down as fuel sloshes and are not accurate and true to full, half and 1/4 measuring.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/plymouth,1969,satellite,6.3l+383cid+v8,1240939,fuel+&+air,fuel+tank,6268

Searched the Spectra P# on ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spectra-Premium-Fuel-Tank-Components-CR9C/382644119799?epid=4009006899&hash=item59175de8f7:g:qVsAAOSw87lb-UXz

This project is not a restoration. Just want to get it up and running without a gas can in the trunk. The tank from Rockauto or Ebay will be about $175. For that much, I will try to clean and seal the original. There is one listed on Ebay for $130. Wonder if it is a real Spectra? No reviews, so............No love here for the cheap Ebay tank, so it's out.

I have read quite a few posts about how bad the senders are. The best I can hope for here is to get one that I can adjust to let me know that the level is low and then hope that it lasts for a while. Overall accuracy is not necessary, but it would be nice to know when the fuel level is in the 1/4 range.

Thanks guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5UlD3-L_rU

Uncle Tony gives his take.

He wasn't thrilled with the pick-up and sender, but he seemed to like the pizza.

i bought a stainless tank for my charger from van's. it looks like a nice, quality piece. when i get my old tank off [that has been full of gas when parked since around 2006] i will observe the condition of the modified C body sending unit. [done in 2000] i re-tubed it with 3/8" line, and fiddled with the sender until it read correctly with the gauge.
if it's trashed, i'll pickup a good OEM sender and modify it again. the nice thing about the charger tank, is the side filler neck allows you to fine tune the pickup to the tank, as well as allowing you to see the results of any changes you may make.

I gave up trying to get a decent aftermarket job (4 units, 2 vendors, refunds given, no return of part wanted) and shipped my 5/16" sender out to these guys:

http://www.tristarrradiator.com/

The problems with the aftermarket ones seem to all be with the rheostats, and all of them were of slightly different construction. One would show full right after fill up, then drop almost immediately to empty (before I got out of the gas station), one showed empty with a half tank left in it, one would only show a little over half a tank when full and the other seemed to move the needle to a random location and go from there every time you started the car. I'll swap out the showing empty at a half tank one for the rebuilt job when I get it.

I should note that none of these were Spectra. 2 OER and 2 unbranded from Vans Auto.

I'm having it converted to 3/8" with a 5/16" return. I have heard good reports about this place, and the guy is knowledgeable and responsive. I'm expecting it back for installation this weekend. I'll post back here.

The sender was working fine, I just needed a 3/8" pickup to feed my new setup.

I'll post to this thread once I have the reworked one installed.

probably not what you would want to do but I added a 3/8 bung to the bottom of my new tank & kept the OE 5/16 sender cuz it was accurate but I needed more flow & with senders being the worst of the worst as noted so I had to go this route (I needed a new tank so the timing was good). The shop (silver?) soldered in the bung which people said would not stay sealed but it did.

Thanks Robert. I cleaned my tank with some muriatic acid and it looked good inside with no leaks so I am going to re-use it. I ordered the Ebay 3/8" sender/pick-up. For $38 or so, I'll adjust the sender as best I can and if it pukes, I may see if your trial works out and if so, send this to them. I also plan to extend the inlet as suggested above.

Dave it stayed leak free for quite a few months till I sold it.

Too bad you are not closer to Jersey as I have my 69 rr tank at my brother's. Car had low miles (69k) when I took it apart and the tank has been stored inside for the last 20 years. It was drained of fuel and put in storage. I think it has the original sending unit in it still as well.

What about the 5/16 inch sending unit available from Mopar? The part number is 3420844 and is made in Mexico. Do these units have the same issues as the OER, Spectra, and other inexpensive repros? I purchased it a few years ago and will be installing it soon as I have just received a new Spectra tank to put in my 71 Barracuda. An OER filter was purchased separately. It does not fit on the inlet tube as snug as I would like. I think it can be adjusted.

My other option is to have the original unit sent out to be rebuilt by Tri Star Radiator...will be emailing them some pictures today. I will be following this thread and looking forward to learning of the results from BcudaChris's sending unit rebuild.

David

at least ohm it (E/F) & compare to what people have posted regarding this on correct reading senders.

For those that are interested, these are the readings from my Mopar sending unit: At full stop "Empty", I got 78.7 ohms. At full stop "Full", I got 10.8 ohms. I got a reading of 28 ohms at what I estimated to be the midway point between the two stops.

The service manual specifications are 73 (+ or - 12) ohms at "Empty" and 9.6 (+ or - 1) ohms at "Full".

Just installed Spectra tank and Van's Auto sending unit on 68 b-body. Fuel gauge is accurate and resistance values matched the service manual.

Awesome man!

How does it read throughout the range? Unfortunately my 2nd Vans the resistance of the rheostat does not seem to be linear through the travel. I didn't check it except at full, empty and mid-travel before I installed it (Vans tested it similarly before shipping, 1st unit was DOA). The top half tank reads OK, but then quickly drops to empty, at which point it takes only 7 gallons (6 gallon tank).

I sent my original to tri starr for a rebuild and am waiting anxiously for it.

Please let us know how it does after a few fillups.