think i've got rust or junk in the tank (the car sat for years before i got it). it's starving for fuel after about 1000 ft of full throttle. i'v checked all the normal stuff, like filter, float height, and installed a HV pump, but no change.
so i figure the pick-up strainer must be munged up.

Sounds to me like a good place to check. A buddy of mine had the same problem on a '65 Impala a couple of years ago.... the "sock" on the sending unit was as hard as a brick from the car setting for years b-4 he got it w/ old gas still in the tank. He put a new tank and sending unit in, fixed the problem.

One of the easier jobs to do. Remove neg batt cable, unplug harness by rear bumper, undo ground wire, drain tank, remove 2 bolts and drop.

One of the easier jobs to do. Remove neg batt cable, unplug harness by rear bumper, undo ground wire, drain tank, remove 2 bolts and drop.

nice, thats what i wanted to hear.

I did mine last year. As DN said, no big deal. There will probably be 4 hoses that'll need to be disconnected from the front of the tank. Undo the large screws that hold up the front of the tank. I like to have a floor jack with a towel on it under the tank at this point if there's some fuel in it. When you get it lowered out of there be careful removing the sending unit unless you plan to replace that too. I removed my sock altogether and opted for a good quality inline filter mounted to the framerail. This allows me to change it as I wish without having to ever drop the tank again. :thumbsup:

Replace those 4 small hoses, they'll be drier than my wallet!

I like to use a floor jack to help lower the tank, it'll be near impossible to get all the gas out and what little is left will slosh around making it hard to hang onto the tank. I did it so many times on my '69 that I had it down to about a half hour job :)

when i dropped my tank on my 70, i ended up breaking the 2 bolts off, but hey! its a rust bucket!

I did this myself on my 71 when I was having the gas tank vatted at the radiator shop to get 36 years worth of gunk out of the tank. Biggest things I can think of is do this when the fuel tank is almost empty and use a floor jack when lowering it/reinstalling it. Otherwise all I did was undo the two straps via the two bolts holding them up and then undid the sending unit wire and let her down. It's also a good idea at this time to replace the entire pick up tube assembly which includes the pressed on sock.

did mine in my 71 malibu 400 and getting it out was the easy part...it's putting it back in laying on the ground trying to get the new straps to wrap around the tank that was the hardest part. mine had same problem you're having and it was the fuel tank even though it looked new from the outside it was all rusty inside after car sat for a few years. after i got my fuel tank out i found out what my real problem was...the fuel sending unit screen had rotted off the end of the sending unit and was laying in fuel tank getting sucked into my lines and fuel pump. just make sure you blow out you fuel lines after you take tank out and before you put new one in and like others have said replace the four rubber hoses on lines on front of tank. good luck...:D

Four rubber hoses? I just changed the sending unit on my '70, and it only has two lines. I've never heard of four lines.

thanks guys! sounds like an easy one.

Four rubber hoses? I just changed the sending unit on my '70, and it only has two lines. I've never heard of four lines.

If your car has the charcoal cannister on it, the gas tank has like a 3/8 hose connection on both front upper corners of the tank and then another one in the center of the tank. These connect to the silver looking deal that sits behind the rear seat and has to do with collecting fumes from the tank along with the charcoal cannister up front. Only the one off the sending unit is for fuel draw.

At least this is what I think they mean.