436'd skylark

Hi, are you available to hear about a problem I am having and maybe answer a question?
I found this forum after googling " Chevy duel fuel tanks", and you seem to know something about them.
I have an old 74 chevy Custom Deluxe that I paid $500 for a couple months ago. It's ugly but has been running great. The guy I bought it from said it has a 350 engine.

Late Friday afternoon I took it to a muffler shop and had a new muffler and pipes put on it. I had checked the gas before I got there and had three quarters of a tank. When I got home I noticed that the gas gauge was way over to the right and had stopped working. I thought maybe with all the welding they had done that a wire had been fried or something. Too late to call then, I had to wait till yesterday, and they said to bring it back in today so they could check it. In the mean time I filled it all the way up with gas hoping that might help. It didn't.

The guy could not find anything wrong and asked me which gas tank I had been using. I said "huh?" , not even knowing there were two tanks! He showed me a lever under the front seat and moved it back and forth. I didn't look too closely at it but asked him if putting it to the left was for the tank on the left side and to the right side was for the right tank and he said yes.

I did not touch the lever at all, but went to the gas station and filled up the other tank. Can't believe I never noticed that other gas cap before! I still did not touch the lever and started driving home. The gas gauge still did not work.

About half way home the truck died and I had to pull over. Would not start and I immediately thought of the fuel pump. After a little bit I pumped it a few times and it started, so I drove off only to have it die again several blocks away. Got it going again for a ways and it died again. Finally had to have my son help me tow it home with my GMC Jimmy.
When I got it home I looked closer at the lever. If you are sitting in the seat and looking down, the left side says "main tank" and the right side says "left tank"! Now that is confusing! I called the muffler guy right away and asked him which side the lever had been on before he moved it. He thought it had been to the left. I had always put the gas in on the left (drivers) side.

I think the right side gas tank had old bad gas in it. It did kind of smell like varnish or something when I was pumping the new gas into it. I think that has now damaged the fuel pump. BUT- how would that gas have gotten into the fuel pump if I had not moved the lever?
Maybe the muffler guy had left the lever on the other side from where it had been before. There is no way that they will admit any fault, I'm sure.

I now have a dilemma. The fuel pump should be easy enough to replace. But what about the gas? Would both tanks be contaminated now and have to be drained? What about the lever? I don't know which side it was on before the problems, to get back to the good gas if it is not dirty, because of that confusing writing on the lever.

To me, when the lever says "left side", that would mean the drivers side, but that is on the right, pointing to the passengers side.
The thought of dumping two tanks of gas is enough to make me cry (even one) and I have no idea how to do it, or where.

I'm sorry this is so long, and confusing. I just don't want to buy a new fuel pump and ruin it with more bad gas.

When the truck kept dying I did move the lever back and forth, and for the few times it did start, I think it was pointing to the right which says "left side". Just writing that makes me want to scream.

I thank you so much for reading this if you have lasted this far. If you can give me any advice I would be so grateful! I just wish that guy had never told me about that other tank!
Thanks again,
Cheryl

happy birthday 436

happy birthday.

that's a steal! i paid $700 for oil pan to harness with 100,000 miles.

Yea if you put in it gear to drive it accerlates and gets stuck but if you throw it into neutral itll idle back down

I was actually supposed to get my uncles jacked up blazer for my first vechile it was blue with that nice fo wood pannel it was loud and awesome!

ya idk ive been havin issues with my bronco apparently its become a toyota and the throttle stickin but if it throw it into neutral it idles back down so my buddy told me to check the throttle cable so we'll see

not much been doin body work to the bronco...i really miss my chevy im not gonna lie = (

hey wats up

hi there hows it going/ wondering if u can help me out with a problem?

happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!