Fuel Neck Hole Repair

The fuel tank that I manufactured years ago for this truck was mounted between the frame where the spare tire would go. As I posted earlier, I have replace that tank with a custom kit from LMC Truck. In this post I will show how I repaired the inside of the bed where I had previously cut a hole for that filler neck. A new tank filler will be cut in the bed later this weekend in a different part of the bed. I am not going to repair the neck hole in the side of the bed at this time. Maybe some day when the truck is repainted, but for now I will find a chrome or black plug to fit that hole.

Here you can see the hole that I am working with. I was able to find a piece of black steal scrap from my local metal supply. It is a lot more than I need for this project, but because it was scrap it only cost $2.50.

I measured the width of the hole at 3" and cut a 3" piece off the end. I then used a piece of wire to duplicate the ripples in the bed. I will use this wire jig on the bench.

Using a vice, torch and a pair of channel lock pliers, I heated and bent the metal to the shape of the jig.

Here it is.

It aligned pretty good. So far so good.

Using a torch, I rough cut the shape of the hole. When I got close, I went back to the bench grinder and cleaned it up until it fit.

I ground the bed for welding.

Ready to weld.

The bolt was welded in place to use a a handle to hold the plug in the hold and it also gave me a place to attach my ground.

I ground down the welds and will later use some filler to smooth it out. But this will not be done until I am ready to spray in the bed liner.

I shot it with some primer so the bare metal does not rust.