I cannot find anywhere how many gallons the gas tank on my 69 bird holds, anyone know?

Thanks,

Bob

Although the 69s have a different filler neck, I suspect they are the same size as the 68s which is 18.5 gallons. You can find it in the owners manual under the specifications/capacities and if you ordered the PHS documentation they sent me a package called AMA Specifications - Passenger Car for my '68 that has it also.

But as many have found, as far as filling the car up, you'll only be able to get about 15 gallons in there upon refill... this is normal, so don't worry about that.

Brett - 67 Drop Top 455!

Chris,
I recall this subject some time ago and understand that several 1st Gen enthusiasts have experienced the 15 gal max capacity so I have to agree. Somehow there must be some explanation for it.

That said, I drove my '68 daily for many years and never noticed that restriction. So, I recalled some old gasoline credit card receipts I still have. I found several fill-ups in 1981 & 82 of between 16.3 to 17.4 gallons.

The tank is still the factory original.

Again, I don't doubt others have found a restriction but I just cannot understand why.

Jim

Ask Bjorn, he recently went through all this. It seems the design of the tank either only allows you to pick up 15 gallons before the pickup can't "reah" anymore gas or there is about a 3 gallon air pocket in the tank.

Either way, after his first fill up, the most gas he can ADD to the tank is 15 gallons.

Drew

the tank "holds" 18 gals....
Yes Drew, that is why I first thought I had gotten a cheap repro tank in , I knew former owner put in a new tank...and I knew the tank was supposed to hold 18 gal, but I ran out twice while my gauge wasnt working , and both times I could only fill in 15 , and just over 15 gals.....so I thought I had a size wrong tank, ordered a new , installed and to my surprise found it was the same dimensions , and can only fill up w 15 -15 plus if "empty"...I hear talk about 'air bubble', but also that pick up tube may not be all the way down...?

I wouldnt count on getting 18 gals worth of driving out of it even if you put in 18 gals after tank has been out...
You can test your own 'capacity' by driving it to empty (just have a couple of gals w you in some container!), then filling it up...

My 18 gal. tank holds 22 gal.

I guess they have "bigger" gas in TX?

Brett - 67 Drop Top 455!

The gal. are more compact so you can get more in.

yep....bigger gallons in Texas, they fit in the hats...lol
that will tell you something about Garys gallons...(somewhat smaller..), or somebody is siphoning his tank ....
that reminds me of a good joke we played on a guy...
he wanted to check his mileage on a new car he bought...we added a couple of quarts of gas ea day into his tank...he was elated about his mileage! then we started siphoning some out for a month...He just couldnt figure out what the heck was going on....we finally had to tell him.

Brett, did you know yellow engines burn less gas!!!!

Jim,

You have gas receipts from 1982!!!! Most days I'm lucky if I can find my checkbook.

My 68 with a factory tank will only hold about 16 gallons, both times that I have ran it dry. Just thought it was of my car.
Scott

Has anyone ever drained a tank after it was "empty" to see how much was left? I am very sure my '69 takes 15.5 gallons after you run out of gas

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Jim,You have gas receipts from 1982!!!! </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I knew I would need them some day and I was right; to prove my '68 holds more than 15 gallons. Actually, I have almost every service and parts receipt on my Firebird since I bought it in May, '69.

I have a couple possible explanations for the different capacities: 1. The fuel sending unit has been replaced and the new one does not reach the fuel in the bottom of the tank. 2. The pumps and environmental filler nozzles at the gas stations shut off before the tank gets full. 3. I heard of people putting bricks in their toilet tanks to save water. Maybe they thought it might help save gas in their car tanks. When you hit a bump do you hear a loud thud? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Bottom line: The factory tank and sending unit will allow a 18.5 gallon fill-up. For some reason some cars don't allow it.

Jim, maybe the gas station scammed you and charged you for extra gas!

Gary , I know I shouldnt have painted my engine pontiac blue!
Maybe I could have saved on gas...

Bjron, that yellow still lives under the blue paint! it should still be doing it's job! LOL

Yes, everything's bigger in Tx. There's a standard unit of measure difference. 1 unit in Tx = 1.5 Northern units. Doesn't matter what you're measuring. LOL

The tanks were angled so that they would only hold 15 gallons even though they are 18 galon tanks. It was done to compete in the race circuits because you had to have a certain size tank but holding less gallons equated to less weight is what Ive read.