Hello all, not sure the best place for this post or what advice i am seeking. Just need to have it all written out.
Requesting constructive advice: '98 Z24, LD9
I have two bad holes in the unibody formed “frame rails” behind both rear wheel wells. I have made templates to bend spare sheet metal to weld in bigger and better than it looks right now. If I want a full range of my arm motion while welding in these patches I also need to drop the rear end, not a big deal.
I am at a stopping point because if I want to weld this I need to realistically drop the gas tank and fuel filter, otherwise I would be welding about 6 inches from the tank and it’s connected plastic and rusty metal lines. Problem is that I am not confident that my tank, or rusty fuel filter connections will be reusable. At this point I would like to upgrade to the newer style of plastic fuel tank.

Is my fuel pump assembly able to just pull out of the metal tank and into a 99&up plastic tank? (my tank has surface rust, may as well swap it while i am dropping the rear end. )

I have tried to scour many topics here regarding the correct diameter of fuel lines that run from the tank up to the engine, and have not found concrete answers. I would really like to replace these myself, assuming i can acquire the appropriate flaring die, or rig something equally safe, if there is a safe alternative to the GM fuel line flare.

The engine has 110K miles and i have owned it for the last 5 years / 50K miles. It has started every day and not needed any repairs. I really want to keep the underside clean so that it can last me 100K more miles.

Any comments or reponses to my questions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!