Hi gentlemen. I have a little problem with my 1932 Ford roadster fuel tank. Seems to be a Vintique Inc model. When i refuel it fully, the fuel is exiting by the fuel cap when turning. I don't know if the tank is baffled. I was thinking of inserting some fuel foam cells in it.... I think other rodders encountered this issue... does anyone have a viable tested solution ? Looking forward to read from you. Thanks. Rod.
Don't ever top it off meaning don't fill it up to the top of the neck and consider a new cap. Sometimes the gasket on the cap fails. If it's a cork gasket, it gets brittle over time and will allow fuel to splash out. The rubber ones will fail over time as well. Inspect them to determine their condition. My tank was spitting out fuel on turns occasionally. A new cap and being cautious when filling the tank solved the issue. I would make inserting foam as a last resort. Your tank likely has some sort of baffling or you would get some pretty noticeable movement from one side to the other of fuel on turns. You would notice this on such a light-weight car........Good luck, Don.
Cap with rubber seal. The cork one I had originally leaked on turns from the start. Lived with that for several years and then decided to replace the cap and the problem disappeared! Vintique tank too. Chris
...........I think sometimes they get dry and brittle from sitting in the box before even getting used. Sometimes they can be renewed by spraying a bit of silicone on the cork to make it more supple again. Like you said, the rubber gasket is usually the best approach.
Thanks for the replies !!! Everything is 2 years old on the car and it's a Bod Drake cap with locker. It had a cork gasket, i made a rubber on but doesn't seem to fully solve the problem. If i have to top it off with fuel when planning a long trip, i found a solution.... not very aesthetic to say the least but it works...and when i stop or the tank empties a bit, i take it off....!!!!
I ran a '32 tank on a '30 coupe 30 years ago, worried about the same problem... thought about a capped tube just smaller than the tube so that slides into the filler neck with a short chain that only lets it settle to the bottom of the neck... remove it to fill up... drill a drain hole in the bottom... my project sportster will run a '32 tank... we will see... .
Hi Yes i thought about that too, .. what's pissing me off a little is that, as you said, it seems to be a recurent issue for sooooo many years and we still have the same problem. A smaller tube inside the main one with a little check valve and spring that close the inlet tube when you take the fuel gun out and problem solved... I f i want to do so, i'm gonna have to empty the tank and wait for ages before vapors dissipate fully.... Well, anyway, we'll find a solution.... Have a good day. Thanks a lot.
I solved the problem on my '34 by using a Vintique B-9030-SS or B-9030-V8 s/s non-leaking cap. car has a Vintique tank but other caps leaked.
The cap on my Vintiques tank has a rubber O-ring on the inside of the cap. Works great, does not leak. -Abone.
32-34 gas caps were unvented. Later caps were vented but look the same and are the style reproduced. Silver solder the vent hole in the later/repro cap and it will seal correctly
Wouldn't you need a vent tube for the tank if your using a sealed cap? Next thread will be ,,my car dies after about twenty miles.
The Vintique and Tanks 32 tanks both have external vents on the withdraw apparatus on the front of the tank. I have encountered no problems with using the rubber O ring cap.
I am using a stock pickup and tank which has the vent included as part of it. As above, there should be a vent on the front of repro tanks.
Yes you need a vent. They are called safety rollover valves, self explanatory. You may need a bung brazed in the top of the tank and on a 32 you have to pick your spot since there's not a lot of room on top. Just a word of caution, people have been injured welding on gas tanks.
My cap leaked but the original cork seal was shot, I replaced it with a aftermarket rubber seal, it still leaked, I ordered another seal and now have 2 seals doubled up and absolutely no leak, but O never fill the tank completely. HRP
If these caps are the ones with the V8 embossed in them , they work great , zero leaks . We swapped out a plain cap for one of these , perfect . We tried motor bike inner tubes over the filler neck and all sorts . Now we can fill the tank to near the top. We are using the new large capacity tank that has a built in vent tube.
My locking cap from Bob Drake leaked after a short time. Went back to using the Tanks TC-32, doesn't seem to leak. Available from Summit Racing. Phil
How about the right size sleeve with a flared end to keep it from falling in... weld a spring loaded blocking plate that is inside today's filler tube to the new sleeve... should work like today's cars... I may do this, buddy has an exhaust bender to make the flare...
Just a thought........ I used a locking petrol cap of a Ford mk 1 Cortina from before the days of offshore lower quality stuff. I suspect that a lot of ‘60-‘70s fords and other cars would have good quality caps that would fit and work.
Suggest to NOT put foam in the tank... foam eventually disintegrates and you have no way to remove the stuff. Even the good foam from Fuel Safe will get attacked by the alcohol in today's gas. The cheap junk from the mail order catalogs lasts about half the time of the Fuel Safe foam. The stuff will stop up every filter you own.
I tought i would do that but the problem is the welding.....can't wait eternaly to let the fuel vapor dissapear....Thanks a lot. Rod.
Hi Kiwi4. I think i have a large one as i can put more than 11 gallons in the tank. I'm in the process of redoing many things on the car. I'm gonna take the body out of the frame to redo the exhaust, fuel, brake lines and so i'll check the vent on my tank. Thanks a lot.
with the sleeve I spoke of the flared rim will hold it up... so weld the flip cap section onto the lower end of the tube on the bench, grind it... it need not be water proof , then slide it down the filler tube till the flare rest on the top... may need to add 2 notches for the cap's tab clearance...