Technical Help: My neighbors are complaining

I have a '57 Chevy sedan. Fuel tank filler is hidden inside left rear 'tail fin' behind a piece of stainless trim that is hinged.

Splashback whilst filling the tank with the new style of nozzles at the gas station can be an issue. Another problem is that on hard acceleration, fuel can tend to splash back up the fill tube if tank is full.

I found this the other night. Thinking about adding it when I replace my gas tank later this year.......



Gas tank filler hose with valve......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Chevy-Gas-Tank-Filler-Hose-W-Valve-Belair-Sedan-Hardtop-Wagon-Nomad-New/272773052424?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=41375&meid=ae70e1abb9524888ba5207444d0f4786&pid=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&sd=372018071184

The charcoal canister idea is something I may look into, as well. Have been thinking about doing that with my '57 and with my youngest son's Camaro to eliminate the gasoline smell in his garage and ours as well. The beauty of the charcoal canister is that it is one of the few 'emissions' things that really does not hurt performance and mileage. And it can be installed without EGR and the other 'emissions' items which do in fact hurt performance and mileage. I am thinking that I can install a non-vented gas cap and simply take a 3/8" hose from the small vent tube that is built up high into the gas filler tube on my '57 and run it to a charcoal canister hidden high up under the rear fender and simply vent the other side of the canister to the atmosphere (also venting the tank). Still thinking about that. Don't want to overcomplicate this, but need to allow air into tank and also vent fumes out through the charcoal canister, right?

Anyone here ever done this? If so, I'd really appreciate hearing how you did it.

Best regards,

Harry

 

Some people have different sensitivities- my sister is very sensitive to noise. She really thinks that leaf blowers and motorcycles should be banned, and is planning to move because the guy across from her is a part time landscaper and uses his leaf blower frequently. You cannot convince her that other people have rights also, and she is a lawyer. Bit of a hypocrite as she also hires the neighbor to do her lawn work.

 

I live in the country and have the best neighbors . I am the neighborhood fabricator, lawn mower repairman. Minor accident repairman so they don't have to report to their insurance company.
My neighbors watch our house and cat when we are out of town . Cut my grass when my mower tears up and I have an acre to mow.
Move to the country and you will be rid of annoying neighbors. I just make sure I don't make noise in my garage after 9 pm and before 7 am.

 

Ann, sorry to hear about your neighbors.I had the same problem. So I bought a cabin on a mountain top and I can work on my old cars and paint them with no problems with the neighbors. Good luck with your problem. Bruce.

 

My shop at the top of the hill. Bruce.

 

The motorcycle's are now fitted with the same emission controls as the cars these days only a little smaller.I had two customers with fuel vapor smells when they parked in their garages.No leaks,turns out it was the vapors from the tank vent.I added charcoal canisters to the vent port and simply let them breath thru the charcoal , end of problem. No other connections where needed.The canisters where small and had nice brackets.One was from a Ducatti and I can't recall what the other was from.The canisters where free from my local dealer as a lot of bikers have this stuff removed when they go to performance exhaust and tune.Bob

 

Unfortunately for me I couldn't convince the wife to move out to the country. We got lucky when we moved out of the city into our neighborhood. There are quite a few people in the neighborhood that have muscle cars, a hot rod or two, and from the looks of it the neighbors just got an 80's 911 turbo

 

Just thinking, it might be inconvenient time wise but why not just start gassing up after you leave for work in the morning rather than before going home at night for a while and see if that stops the fumes around the truck in the garage area? Or do the I drove so many miles, I probably used X gallons so if I put in Y gallons that will bring it up to a bit over 3/4 tank and not slosh over.
I'd still do the charcoal filter thing though.

 

I purposely bought my house since it is a bit remote in the development. One adjacent neighbor, the house itself is 200' away. I can do what I want, picture is from 2014 with my Ford under a car cover in the driveway.

 

Gas stinks.
Any non sealed fuel system gives off plenty of vapors. This happening in an under dwelling garage will cause all kinds of issues.

In my new fangled plastic gas cans, I drilled 3/16" hole for a vent. 5 gallons of fuel in the can and that little vent is more than enough to stink up 3000 of shop. Bad enough to give you a head ache. And it stinks until the fuel is gone, or the vent hole gets plugged.

A fuel spill stinks stronger, but for a shorter time by quickly releasing the vapors. It evaporates and dissipates and is gone.

 

I really like the fuel aroma additive idea. I also have a better sense of what you're dealing with, both your interests/needs and (sorry) hers. Although I haven't had to deal with neighbor issues for quite some time I did have some in the past. One neighbor called and accused me of running a "chop shop" flipping stolen cars, another simply admitted he hated me since I had talents he didn't have and vowed to make it miserable as often as he could. Imagine this though, nearly a decade later he paid me to paint his 36 Ford I so badly wanted to give him a double Singlefinger salute (excuse the bold type, shameless plug), but I was professional and did a fine job for him. That was in the 80s and it still looks good today.

Sadly the breed exists that would never be pleased and they're as prejudiced and hateful to "us" as you can imagine. Some want them all scrapped from lowly little Dodge Darts to Duesenbergs. Last example, in the garage where my talents were groomed the local police came by and tried to have us scrap a 36 Buick. It was in the garage for the most part but was outdoors when routine work was done on the daily drivers. The cop revealed to us that a neighbor found the car "offensive" and they had property ordinances about things like noise and weeds, etc. Dear ol Dad, never shy or without a quick response,"I didn't know that but since you mention it, there's a guy across the street that carries a bowling bag out to his car. It scares me since someone hit me with a bowling ball as a kid. I find golf offensive too so old Joe better not let me see his clubs. Why is that camper sitting in that driveway 2 doors down? It never moves (it was January). I hate seeing that." "What are you trying to say sir? You want those things gone?" "Smart man, you'll make detective some day." and walked off leaving the cop in the driveway. That visit and a variance request gave us the only 3 1/2 car garage in the neighborhood. Sometimes you win afterall...

 

when I was a pup the neighbors were going at it all the time... we stayed out of it...
but you mentioned they hated the smell... well... one of our's poured sardine juice down the other's car's defroster.... THAT STUNK !

 

That's what I was getting around to. Ignition timing or lack thereof and a mistuned carburetor can cause the exhaust to be pretty gnarly and burn the eyes.

Keep in mind the latest generations of nutcase from the lab have absolutely no technical knowledge or mechanical aptitude of any sort whatsoever. If they see an old car (more than 5 years say) they assume it is "destroying the planet" and they feel victimized. It doesn't matter if it's in perfect tune - it is "old" and therefore should be illegal, period. Also keep in mind there is now virtue in being a "victim"! They can feel superior to you, generally the ignorant hick rubes hailing from flyover Jesusland. Virtue signaling. Having the correct thoughts is what matters, never mind it's all BS. Do not engage or try to persuade with facts, logic, or reason. They have been innoculated against persuasion. It may seem like one is making progress. Then a few weeks or months later, they will be even more wacked out.

They would ban any car more than 10 years old in a heartbeat, and probably will.

 

WoW, this thing took off. Good! I'm glad the charcoal filter is covered, that's where I was headed. Good advice there guys. Not sure what to say about splash over while filling. Maybe a photo of how things are set up would help. On my 53 F-100 project I ran a vent line up inside and back down the stake pocket. Copper tube and rubber hose works fine. Stopped the fuel surge from take off spilling over the short tube. The gas oder is just enough to let you know there is some but not like a stink. More just Old Truck smell, I like it.
It really does sound like your neighbor is just an Old Blister. I'm out of advice there for ya. I'm quite sure your Grandpa would be proud of ya. Keep it up, your the only one that needs to be happy when it comes to your Truck. I think I can see your Smile from here.
The Wizzard

 

hmmm, have you looked into plumbing a charcoal-can fuel vent system from a later vehicle?
It doesn't look too difficult.
It absorbs fuel vapors when they expand, then recycles the vapors the next time the vehicle is started and running.
I contemplated doing that in mine, but never got around to it

My old truck smelled of fuel at every fill up. I found a tiny crack where the filler neck flange met the tank.
When I filled it, the fuel level left about a pint in the filler hose leading to the gas cap. Until that last pint finished dribbling out, my truck smelled of fuel, and left small stains on the ground.
I completely rinsed out the tank, filled it with water to eliminate any fire risk, then sealed the crack.
After about 5 years, it is back. I think I'll try one of those bolt together filler neck fittings with a gasket this time....

P.S. the power of suggestion is a very powerful reality-altering thing for many people.
A while back a buddy of mine had a neighbor who would get physically ill at the slightest smell of second hand smoke, even from across an outdoor parking lot. "allergic"

A couple times she had bad reactions when some kids were spotted playing in the park with sticks. No smokes, just imagination.
I know it sounds goofy, but there are plenty of ppl around you just looking for triggers to indulge their favorite gripes and crusades.


why be ordinary?

 

Do you have a vented or un-vented gas cap? HRP

 

Your neighbor needs something to occupy their little life, may I suggest getting:

 

I had a neighbour problem a while ago, he did all sorts of shit to annoy me, when I just ignored him he decided to yell out and try to talk to me every time I was in the yard... So I quietly went over and asked him if he knew why I kept living there, even though the neighbour was a complete asshole... He didn't, so I told him that since I got out of jail my parole says I had to live and work where directed, and that I would be on parole for the rest of my life because I murdered the neighbours that pissed me off at the previous place I lived.. he hasn't even looked over the fence since then, let alone spoken to me.
I should point out that most murderers in NZ get out after 10 years but are on recall parole for life...one step out of line and back to the hoosegow ...

 

The raw gas fumes won't be improved by those aroma additives, you'll smell them only thru the exhaust. They work with race alcohol better, knocks the sting out of the odor. Try it but it probably won't work as well as you want.
What can cause a lingering odor is if the truck is running rich or lean, if she happens to be near and smell those fumes just once she'll assume it is dumping all mannor of noxious gasses into her air.
Take it to a gas station that can test O2 emissions and get a printout of what it's running and idling at - its probably the idle quality she is aware of - and post them here.
We'll be able to advise on how to improve it with carb adjustments and tune up etc.
We'll be able to help with the liberalism too, that might take a little longer.

 

Or you could tell her that you just realized that the extra chemical she WAS smelling is just some harmless embalming fluid left over from your volunteering job , at the local free hospital morgue .
Print this out and give it to her
https://volcenter.org/hospital-and-morgue-program

 

Tell her it's her damn cat she is smelling. HRP

 

If I had the nerve, I'd say.... "I've had my car inspected and it passes less emissions and chemicals than a cow emits. And I think it takes about 3 old ladies to equal one cow."

It's the sign of our times: People will walk through fire and broken glass to vote/march/demonstration/bow down to the current loon flavor-of-the-month, but they won't spend 5 minutes to find out real facts for themselves. They will drink the Koolaid 11 times out of 10 and do as instructed by the loudest crackpot available. So if it's not old car smells, it's peanuts in school. They've been told that cars are the devil and owning certain ones is evil incarnate. But they will buy homes 50 miles from where they work, have a garage full of vehicles and never walk anywhere farther than 100 feet. Old car nostalgia is an alien concept to them because they are convinced that the past was wrongheaded on just about everything and they are the enlightened bringing forth a new age.

As old car owners, we shouldn't assume that the checkered amount of toleration and allowances we receive now will always be there. There could be a day coming when we can keep our old cars but we won't be able to drive them, like we own a mini museum exhibit. So keep voting and spreading the gospel to your friends and neighbors.

 

I think this is the bottom line of the problem. Every loonie needs a cause to rally against and this is a popular one.

 

As mentioned before its commendable that your taking the high ground by trying to be accommodating towards your neighbor.
I would check to see what the restrictions are if any in using the parking area (maybe in the lease agreement or HOA). Since your vehicle is registered, ins. and safety inspection, I don't think your neighbor could take action against you unless there is civil allegation of nuisance. But then again if she's hyper sensitive that wont work either.
Is the garage vented properly or is there a spot away from pedestrian traffic?
Nothing good ever comes from swearing and being confrontational. Just say your doing everything the law requires you to do. I probably wouldn't make big changes on my car if that happened unless it bothered a lot of people. good luck

 

This is the most common sense answer here and costs nothing to try. Do not fill up before going home and see if there is still any smell. I used to fill up before going home and would sometimes have a strong fuel smell in the garage. I quit filling up before going home and have not had the problem since.
Other possible source of smells can just come from the smell of certain items when heated from engine or exhaust heat. Undercoating, paints, exhaust coatings, plastic items, and weeping fluids that may not drip on the floor can still emit odors. I find that many hot rods have a distinctive odor when hot as a result of their particular combination of the above items.

 

Welcome! I live in a heavily populated area in NY and am subjected to these types often. I do not have a catalytic converter, truck is smelly etc...

If you listen to your tank filling a few seconds before overflow you will start to hear a gurgle. Stop immediately at that point you should be close to full. Since I started doing that I never over fill. As for busy body neighbors either:

1) ignore, smile and play the fool and they eventually go away

2) find what they are doing that is a crime against humanity and point it out next time

Seems like some people just hate old and people that have old stuff is a thorn in their side. You will never change their mind. Don't let the turkeys get you down.

 

Because it's in an underground garage shared by all the residents, I think you should do something to minimize or eliminate the smell.

 

I blame it all on gluten.

 

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Gimpyshotrods.Some people are just ass holes!!!!That's why I move to a quite mountain top here in East T.N. Bruce.