I have only just acquired a Vintage Speedster - I love the car. It is an Outlaw version black on red.
Question I have is, I have noticed that it is possible to overfill the gas tank and then whenever I turn left hard I spill gas from the overflow. Does anyone know of a collector tank set up to limit this phenomenon? I understand that I could just fill it less but wanted to ask.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Mine does the same. And for the first few miles and sharp turns I smell gas. It's safe but I understand it being annoying. To keep from filling too far I use a wooden dowel marked with a "full" line. I just dip it in to see how much fuel I'm putting in.
You could mount a small plastic catchment tank under the car. But what do you do when it's full? Also, the overflow hose acts as a tank breather. So you don't want anything air tight.
search forum posts there are simple solutions , Extending the hose or putting a loop in it so that it is higher than the filler work
Also one way valve - lets air in but no gas out. Or find an old charcoal filed expansion tank in junk yard (VWs and other cars had them).
Common in many VS's. An easy fix.
Gas is spilling out the end of the vent hose and dribbling down the side of the wheel well.
A loop in the vent line that goes up high under the fender will stop the flow.
Here's what I hooked up, but it turns out you don't need that fuel filter in the line - I've never seen gas get that far.
Just get a length of fuel vent hose that's the right diameter for the vent fitting on your tank. The hose that came with my VS was too large and was leaking a little into the trunk as well. And if there's not one there already, add a hose clamp where the hose attaches to the tank fitting.
Check this earlier thread dated 04/29/2017 for more suggestions. It helped me when I was having the same problem with my Vintage Speedster.
https://www.speedsterowners.com...6#559334912871425346
In it Troy Sloan mentioned that it was a simple 15 minute fix. . . and it really is. Just extend (a longer) vent tube under the car just behind the front wheel well to help eliminate your having to smell any gas fumes that might leak out. Oh, but first be sure you put a loop in the tube up close to the tank as high as you can.
Not sure EPA likes excessive direct gas venting to atmosphere though - better to eliminate leakage - that's what carbon canister is for but its usually gets vented back to carb or maybe the tank. Suspect good size high loop will solve though.
verbieten.....Here's a photo of my fix on my VS. The hose on the left is the same as you have but you have to "Loop" it up higher than the tank. Sort of like the "P" trap under your sink. Just for a little extra insurance I bought a one way check valve at a motorcycle shop that's used in the fuel vent hose on most motorcycles. This plugs in the end down under your car. By the way that whole hose was too short when I got the car from VS so buy yourself a totally longer one.
The other hose is for draining spilled fuel out of the "spill funnel" I epoxied around the fill neck. This prevents the carpet from getting soaked and smelling that until it dries out ... It's just more of the madness you can think up and do when tinkering with your treasure ??.............Bruce
WOLFGANG posted:Not sure EPA likes excessive direct gas venting to atmosphere though.
I got a good chuckle out of this. I'm pretty sure there's about 1000 things the EPA doesn't like about these cars.
The right way to do this is with a charcoal canister. Angela is the only person I've ever known that actually did that. The rest of us have various work-arounds, some more effective than others.
Thanks everyone I think I have a new task this weekend!
Stan Galat posted:WOLFGANG posted:Not sure EPA likes excessive direct gas venting to atmosphere though.
I got a good chuckle out of this. I'm pretty sure there's about 1000 things the EPA doesn't like about these cars.
The right way to do this is with a charcoal canister. Angela is the only person I've ever known that actually did that. The rest of us have various work-arounds, some more effective than others.
Anyone have a part number on a charcoal canister that will work - I'm getting ready to solve the gas smell issue as well.
I recently installed this little one-way valve. Solved everything...
*LongFella posted:I recently installed this little one-way valve. Solved everything...
Where did you find that LongFella?
Amazon 
I ordered two just in case there was an issue with one. Some reviews claimed there were, but both I got work. They have a very low crack pressure too.
Thanks for the great info LongFella!
Is the direction of flow away from the tank - probably a dumb question, but I'm getting pretty comfortable asking dumb questions here!
Here's one on ebay for $30 shipped also check SAMBA - they were used '68-77 on bugs. Some cars have ones that are plastic which is probably preferable to steel.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2...hn=ps&dispItem=1
slowshoes posted:Thanks for the great info LongFella!
This is how everybody does it. It's got some problems, but it's better than the alternatives. I've always used the super-cheap checkvalves from the "Help" section at my FLAPS.
Point the arrow in.
The tank will pressurize if you fill up in cool weather, and store the car in the heat. The solution is to drive enough to use gas.
Regarding the charcoal canister- every car made since we all had hair has had one. A -U-Pull-It yard will have one on every vehicle because they never go bad. If you have a hankering to buy new, just do a web-search for "charcoal canister".
I stopped turning left and take the long way to work...Only problem now is, I end up at the beach before I get to work
Bill Prout posted:I stopped turning left and take the long way to work...Only problem now is, I end up at the beach before I get to work
That's a very good thing!
With the flow directed away from the tank, the valve would provide nothing useful, with proves my question was, in fact, dumb!
With it oriented toward the tank, it will keep fresh gas from escaping on left turns (something that has to be happening in my car, going by the raw gas smell on left turns), but what about the fuel vapors?
If it allows the vapors to pass, won't you still have the gas smell, maybe not just as strong? If it doesn't allow anything to pass, that would have the same effect as putting a cork in the open end of the vent line, leading to pressurizing the tank and having leaks develop at the sending unit fitted to the tank.
All I know is right now, I have a strong raw gas smell with left turns, and when I open the garage door, it smells like I'm one lit match away from a trip to the moon.
Just loop a vent line up over the hood hinge and down and out to the rear tires...there it's fixed!
Bill Prout posted:Just loop a vent line up over the hood hinge and down and out to the rear tires...there it's fixed!
That was what I meant by "The rest of us have various work-arounds, some more effective than others."
The loop has never been particularly effective for me. Your mileage may vary.
Yeah - right now I have a loop, no extension on the fuel line yet. I can say that the loop with no extension made no difference whatsoever.
Worked on both my CMC's. Option B may work for you, if not try C...
Get about 4 feet of fuel line and put three to four or so coils of line inside the frunk and feed the remainder into the right wheel well and put one of these valves on the end. Stops fuel leaking out but lets air in.
Robert M posted:Get about 4 feet of fuel line and put three to four or so coils of line inside the frunk and feed the remainder into the right wheel well and put one of these valves on the end. Stops fuel leaking out but lets air in.
Yeah - I'm either going to do that, or do what LongFella did on his car. I like how close he put the check valve to the filler tube. It will keep gas from getting in the vent line in the first place. It seems like that setup, along with a charcoal filter farther down on the vent line, would be an ideal way to deal with both the raw gas and gas vapors.
Here you go:
I used the same thing as Stan's post, just for a Ford, 'cuz it was the same as the HVAC check-valve on my Ford truck! They're all the same.
aircooled posted:verbieten.....Here's a photo of my fix on my VS. The hose on the left is the same as you have but you have to "Loop" it up higher than the tank. Sort of like the "P" trap under your sink. Just for a little extra insurance I bought a one way check valve at a motorcycle shop that's used in the fuel vent hose on most motorcycles. This plugs in the end down under your car. By the way that whole hose was too short when I got the car from VS so buy yourself a totally longer one.
The other hose is for draining spilled fuel out of the "spill funnel" I epoxied around the fill neck. This prevents the carpet from getting soaked and smelling that until it dries out ... It's just more of the madness you can think up and do when tinkering with your treasure ??.............Bruce
Great metal work there Bruce
Getting ready to order some additional fuel vent line - is 1/4 inch ID the correct size? Thanks for any help.
Bill
What ever fits the tank neck nipple, be sure to add some sort of restriction in the line so that just a tad of air can pass by it , you don't need much
