# Car History: When did fuel gauges become available on cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168 "2018-01-11T00:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/1 "2018-01-11T00:53:51Z")
I watched a DVD that was set in the 1930s. The protagonist drove a car loaned to him, and ran out of gas when there was a fuel station closer to where he began his journey. I thought, “maybe the car does not have a fuel gauge.” ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/2 "2018-01-11T01:04:20Z")
A Google search gave me the answer. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/3 "2018-01-11T01:18:24Z")
Don’t know, but early VW Beetles didn’t have a fuel gauge. They used the same technique as my motorcycle used, when you ran out of gas, you switched a valve to a reserve tank which would usually be enough gas to get you to a gas station. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/4 "2018-01-11T02:38:00Z")
“The first dash-mounted gas gauge by Studebaker in 1914.” ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/5 "2018-01-11T13:12:31Z")
That was the first step I took; unfortunately, with search engines, the answers can be all over the place; and confuse the researcher even more. ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/6 "2018-01-11T13:14:16Z")
My bike had one too, but I’ve run out of fuel too often (once) to allow my tank to get that low. ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/7 "2018-01-11T13:19:05Z")
Cool. Chryslers had newfangled gadgets on several cars, I’ll look into the early ones. ---
**Author:** ![Thornback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@Thornback](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Thornback)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/8 "2018-01-11T14:12:50Z")
> [@texases](#): > > “The first dash-mounted gas gauge by Studebaker in 1914.” So if it was “dash mounted” was there earlier cars with a gauge on the tank itself? ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/9 "2018-01-11T14:17:03Z")
The Ford Model A had its gas tank just ahead of the windshield and it had a float type gas gauge sticking out of it. Pretty dangerous by today’s standards! ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/10 "2018-01-11T14:37:03Z")
Whoa! Per some research on the Model T, measuring sticks were used. It sounds like they used more than one method of knowing how much fuel they had. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/11 "2018-01-12T01:44:37Z")
> [@Docnick](#): > > The Ford Model A had its gas tank just ahead of the windshield Did the model A use gravity feed? If so, I wonder if they put the tank there (rather than in back) so it wouldn’t run out of gas when going up steep hills? My dad used to drive a model T on the job when he was a kid, and he told me he would have to back up steep hills. Presumably this is b/c on the T the gas tank was in the back and it used gravity feed for the gas. ---
**Author:** ![wentwest](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wentwest/32/6073_2.png) [@wentwest](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wentwest)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/12 "2018-01-12T02:08:51Z")
The first fuel gauge was put on a car 20 minutes after someone ran out of gas with his incontinent mother-in-law in the back seat. ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/13 "2018-01-12T13:16:24Z")
LOL 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/14 "2018-01-12T13:20:15Z")
This is great, historical information. I drive a stick, but I’ve seen Model Ts in museums, I always wondered how to drive one. ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/15 "2018-01-12T13:57:36Z")
> [@seebear](#): > > This is great, historical information. I drive a stick, but I’ve seen Model Ts in museums, I always wondered how to drive one. very carefully and slowly ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/16 "2018-01-12T14:06:41Z")
All of those levers, and a pedal for reverse; not to mention the crank starter on earlier Model Ts. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/17 "2018-01-12T17:03:45Z")
A buddy in high school had a Model A with a rumble seat. The car did not have a fuel pump, and the fuel was gravity fed from the front mounted tank. ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/18 "2018-01-13T04:14:54Z")
That was one of the features on his Beetle that my dad failed to mention, according to mom. He got a phone call one day possibly using unladylike language when she ran out of gas. Her 1970 Datsun 510 had a fuel gauge so she wasn’t used to the VW’s little quirks. ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/19 "2018-01-13T12:55:08Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > early This could explain why my brother’s '66 Beetle had a gauge that ranged from “F, to R.” Not sure if R was reserve, or what, but my brother said it was for “Refill.” Per an Internet search, it seems that the reserve lever was eliminated before '66, it was on the '50s models. ---
**Author:** ![seebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@seebear](https://community.cartalk.com/u/seebear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168/20 "2018-01-19T00:07:49Z")
Thank you all for the replies. I will take it that the 1914 Studebaker is probably the oldest car we could find with a dash-mounted fuel gauge. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-history-when-did-fuel-gauges-become-available-on-cars/111168.md?page=2)