Malibu wagon sending unit?

[Reddzedd]

Hey guys, just ordered a wagon fuel tank and, even though I haven't seen it yet, I can imagine the sending unit itself is also pretty crusty. It would also help if I had a working fuel gauge too...
From what I can gather, the wagon's fuel tank is deeper than the sedan/coupe/el camino variants. After some searching, I'm not finding any leads on where I could buy one of these. I've seen a few mentions of astrovan TBI units, but I'm not looking at in-tank pumps, as I'm sticking with a carburetor.
Does anyone still make these? Or is there an aftermarket alternative that doesn't require too much modification?

 

[Ribbedroof]

IMO, if you don't want to use the Astro unit, buy a coupe/sedan sending unit and extend the pickup tube and float arm.

NOS senders, when they turn up, bring stupid money. Nothing special about them aside from the depth difference.

 

[Reddzedd]

IMO, if you don't want to use the Astro unit, buy a coupe/sedan sending unit and extend the pickup tube and float arm.

NOS senders, when they turn up, bring stupid money. Nothing special about them aside from the depth difference.

Is there any extra modification required for the Astro sending unit?

 

[ssn696]

To orient the fuel lines the right way, you have to remove the sender alignment tang or cut a new slit in the tank retainer ring.

You'll also need to cap the vent pipe or add a fitting to your fuel filler pipe.

BUILD THREAD - Turning Back Time

It was time to shift the safety upgrades to the rear axle as well. I pulled the original wagon axle and put in the 3.73 Auburn posi 7.5" axle I rescued from the blue wagon in 1996 when I parted it out. I also had kept the used set of the Hotchkis rear control arms and frame braces. Along the...

gbodyforum.com

 

[Reddzedd]

Since I'm intending to use this in a carbureted engine, do I still have to do anything with the fuel pump in the sending unit?

 

[ssn696]

Since I'm intending to use this in a carbureted engine, do I still have to do anything with the fuel pump in the sending unit?

Stop here. This solution was based on my wrong assumption that you are converting to EFI and needed the pump in the tank.

If you are staying carbureted, start with an 80s square-body pickup or perhaps small-tank Suburban sender. You will have to modify it so that the pickup 'sock' sits on the bottom of the tank.

 

[Mighty]

Reddzedd, out of curiosity where did you get your tank?

 

[mlb602]

94 Astro Van sending unit and pump work great for my LS swap. Let me know if you have questions.

 

[Local Hero]

I went through this several years ago. I tried getting a universal sender from a race-type fuel cell to work... unsuccessfully. I ended up finding a NOS unit online and yeah, I ended up paying stupid money for it. But in the long run it was better than trying to get a sedan unit to work along with my fuel cell experiment.