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I am interested to learn if anyone has cut the trunk pan to access the gas tank sending unit? There is a slight hump in the pan now where the unit appears to be located and we thought (My cousin is a welder) we would cut that area out and make a hatch out of it and some left over material. We have removed the tank as I could not get my arm up there to replace the wiring. Any idea or pictures would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Barry

I did it on my 56 and Ross documented it on a 51-4 model. Ross posted a thread on site sometime around August 2012 from the date on some photos I collected. If someone remembers the title or you want to search and see how he did that one it might give you some ideas. Dimensions are there too but obviously would be different on your 49. I am thinking about doing it to the 47 when the gas tank is reinstalled and those dimensions would be closer to yours. If you do yours maybe you could share your dimensions and any observations.

"Ross posted a thread on site sometime around August 2012"

This one.

Ozstatman, thanks for the link that was very helpful. Since the tank is out we are not concerned with cutting and welding. We fix the trunk body mounts since we are there. There is a little cancer in the spare tire wheel well that will be patched and painted with the rest of the trunk.

HH56, I will take lots of pictures and post them but don't hold your breath. My cousin is a busy guy and I hope we can get back at it soon. I need to finish the wiring and get the old girl back on the road. You have been a big help! Thanks,
B.

A few months since I've updated this post. Just got my gas tank back from the shop after more than 3 months! Its a long story and doesn't really pertain to cutting a hole in the trunk pan.

Estimated the location based on the small hump in the pan before it was cut. It appears it was there to give a gap between the sending unit and bottom of the pan. We were off a little, but that could also be my car as there is evidence that it was rear ended on at least 1 occasion. A piece of 18 gauge floor pan steel was used along with the piece that was cut out to make a larger cover.

Once the tank was installed the sending unit was tested with the gauge and then it was installed. After the wiring was completed. The cover was drilled, sealant used and it was secured in place.

Here as some photos from start to finish might possibly have to take another post to get them all in.

Thanks for waiting.
Barry

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Some more pictures

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And finally the last two!

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Very good!I cut a hole in 2 of my cars, both 1949's. It worked great. Put a hatch door over them. Sure is a lot easier than dropping the tank.
Thanks,
Mike

I rewired my '48 including the gas tank wire. No big deal to drop the tank, took 5 minutes to lower the tank, couple of minutes ti remove the old wire and install the new wire with boot, then reinstalled the tank. Of course the tank was very low in gas, perhaps two gallons. I considered adding an access door but decided not to bother with it as I do not expect to go back there again. All told it took 1/2 hour to do the job.

Agree with above. Tanks are easy to drop as long as they are close to empty. A floor jack and a block of wood makes the job easy.