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Pop open gas cap?

Wasnt sure which of the boards I should put this under, so here it is... Do all pop open gas caps SUCK? Mine keeps popping open, and not when I want it to.... Was just taking the car up for the safety inspection and a guy pulls along side and rolls down his window, I'm expecting a "nice car" or some shit like that and I get, "I think your gas caps open"..... Is there any MOD I can do other than safety wiring the damn thing or do I need to just swap it out for a non-pop open cap? I'm not a huge chrome fan, but since the tail light bezels are chrome and the bumpers chrome, I'd rather stay away from the aluminum or black ones, although I kinda dig 'em...


BTW- the car passed the safety inspection. All the tested were lights, turn signals and brake lights. Not even the horn or wipers.
 
Did you leave the spring loaded fuel cap assembly in place, or did you remove the spring loaded cap and replace it with a normal twist cap?

I found that after I removed the spring fuel cap assembly, I no longer had this issue with my pop open cap. The normal twist fuel cap easily fits behind the pop open door, and I put 1/2 of a small red mechanic's rag between the fuel cap and the pop open door. The rag keeps the pop open door from rattling, and it's nice to have a small rag handy if/when fuel spills from the fuel nozzle.
 
Yes, I still have the spring loaded portion. SO I should remove that and get a twist on cap to go under the pop open? The twist tabs on the regular cap clear the pop open or did you have to modify?
 
That sounds like such a nice system.....the convenience of a pop open, the hassle of a twist off buried inside. Why not convert to the 2010 Mustang type, open the door and stuff in a nozzle.
 
no issues with mine...
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On a rare basis, mine (an original Ford unit) will pop open immediately after I've closed it from refueling. The spring has some muscle to it and maybe the two teeth did not seat "just right" and I'll just need to close it again. It's never popped open on it's own but will sometimes open if I hit it too hard when washing the car. I know the repro's have the twist-off inner cap and the pop-open is essentially for show and to access the twist-off.
 
u can just go to an auto zone and pick up a twist off cap my neighbor found one that required no mods just removal of the spring
 
I remember when I got mine I had to do some filing on the latch to make it stay shut. Later I removed the spring and opted for the small screw on cap that came with it. I did that because every time I stepped on it gas would slosh out.
 
"Fast68back" said:
Yes, I still have the spring loaded portion. SO I should remove that and get a twist on cap to go under the pop open? The twist tabs on the regular cap clear the pop open or did you have to modify?

As long as you're not worried about keeping the pop open gas cap stock/original, I'd ditch the spring cap. As Mustang Mike said, the twist on cap also helps keep the gas from sloshing out.

When I removed the spring from my repro pop open cap, I didn't have to make any modifications to clear the twist off cap.
 
Not to get off subject too much but Rick, by law did you have to have the car inspected? Even that old?

I'm going with an aftermarket locking gas cap, non spring loaded.
 
To be honest I dont really know. It was a big debate, some said yes and some said no. From what I gathered, if I ran "Classic" plates I dont need any inspection, if I run YOM (which I am) or just standard plates I need a "safety" inspection. Safety inspection just looks at lights, high and low beams, turn signals. I was shocked he never checked the horn. He asked about my wipers, which were behind the seat, I told him I would put them on if he "needed" to see them on, but he said it was OK. He said it was weird, you dont have to have a windshield, but if you do you have to have a wiper....He also asked for the mileage, which the autometer speedo was reading about 75 miles, I gave him the mileage from the original speedo, 53K, which I have and meant to bring with me but forgot.
 
No such issue with my original pop off cap. Also, no sloshing of gas out the filler hole when driving. Is the spring loaded piece on your repro adjustable for tension?
 
"cmayna" said:
Not to get off subject too much but Rick, by law did you have to have the car inspected? Even that old?
still off topic a bit, in KY every car that you want a licence plate (tag, whatever) has to be inspected. Define inspected: The sherrif makes sure the VIN matches the title and you have a windsheild...
I had all my cars inspected when I moved to KY and transferred the titles to get KY plates. My 67 was still a project and didn't have bumpers, horn, wipers, door handles, exhaust, etc. It passed because the winsheild was not cracked and my VIN was okay! My other cars obviously passed as well as they were daily drivers.
 
I went to the tag office at lunch and left there knowing less than when I went in. The lady did tell me that I could register it as an Antique or a classic. Antique had limitations to mileage and usage, typically for shows and parades. Classic allows for everyday usage. I can use the YOM plates for either Antique or classic. She could not give me a definite answer, and apparently wasn't planning to ask anyone, as to which or if either of them required the safety inspection. She did say she assumed its not needed for the antique, to which I asked why not if its driven in parades with people standing around.... I'm seriously considering scrapping off the safety sticker and just using the registration sticker in the window. I'll just put the safety inspection paperwork in the glove box with the Ins card and registration.
 
"Fast68back" said:
I'll have to look at it and see if its adjustable, are they supposed to be?

I don't know. If they are adjustable, that might be the solution to your problem.
 
"tarafied1" said:
still off topic a bit, in KY every car that you want a licence plate (tag, whatever) has to be inspected. Define inspected: The sherrif makes sure the VIN matches the title and you have a windsheild...
I had all my cars inspected when I moved to KY and transferred the titles to get KY plates. My 67 was still a project and didn't have bumpers, horn, wipers, door handles, exhaust, etc. It passed because the winsheild was not cracked and my VIN was okay! My other cars obviously passed as well as they were daily drivers.

When I bought my Malibu recently from WA I had to go through a similar process called a VIN verification here. I had it done at the DMV, but apparently I could have done it at CHP or other law enforcement as well.

It was pretty asinine as the car was originally sold and licensed less than a year ago in CA, only to be moved to WA and then returned here by me, but hey what are you going to do? While that was a PITA, it didn't suck as much as having to pay to get smog check. Seriously, one a 1 year old car originally licensed in CA!? Oh well
 
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