Fueling my '73...how to stop the drip

[jd21476]

Living in California we have these special pumps that wreak havoc on trying to fill my '73. They spill more gas than gets in the tank and I have ot stand there and hold the pump. This can be a long slow process especially if I decide to fill both tanks.

I've tried rotating the handle to the 2 o'clock position and it seems to work but I feel there has to be a better way.

Yes, I have seen where people have modified their trucks to have newer fillers or relocated to the bed...etc.

I'm wondering if anyone has found a quicker cheaper alternative to modifying the truck. I was at the auto parts sotre yesterday and saw a nice size funnel and I was thinking I could attach that and then maybe fill it that way. Any ideas?

[bob_o]

Same freakin' issue with my '75. Such a pain in the ass. My temporary solution is a long skinny funnel that came with a plastic gas can i bought a few years back. I stick the funnel in the gas filler and then stick the pump in the funnel. Works pretty well, cost me nothing and doesn't spill any fuel.

[jd21476]

How do you hold onto the funnel? The issue would be having to pull the emissions plastic thingy back to get the pump to work and then hold the pump and the funnel. Not enough hands.

[tinydb84]

This question comes up a bunch and I haven't seen a good answer yet.

I typically spray the passenger side of my truck down in gas. Then I watch the gas station attendant glare at me.

In all seriousness though anyone running a fill tube/opening that points straight down? Like to a blazer tank through the bed floor?

[Big Port Jimmy 6]

Try one of these. http://www.mccuff.com/ Jay

[bnoon]

I fill at full blast until I get to about 2 to 3 gallons left, then switch to the lowest setting. It pops off without spitting gas everywhere.

[billdozer]

Originally Posted by tinydb84

I typically spray the passenger side of my truck down in gas. Then I watch the gas station attendant glare at me.

Pretty much my method too...

I'm thinking about doing something along these lines: http://www.truckinweb.com/tech/1006t...ck_relocation/

[jd21476]

Originally Posted by Big Port Jimmy 6

Try one of these. http://www.mccuff.com/ Jay

That is the general idea but its for motorcycles and it almost seems like it would then be worse cause it is pulling the nozzle further out of the filler neck on the truck.

[jd21476]

Ok, so humor me on this. I know my drawing is bad but I used MS paint. So my idea is to take a large metal funnel and weld on a bent piece of pipe out of the bottom. Then, weld on a gas cap that has a hole cut in the middle that is the same size as the pipe. Add a piece of fuel line to fit into the filler neck. When you get to the gas station you remove your old fuel cap and just screw on the new fuel cap with the funnel sticking out. If you weld on the fuel cap at the right angle it should make the funnel stand straight up when locked in. You can then fill up by holding the CA emissions thingy back with one hand and the pump in the other. No more mess.

[bnoon]

I had to look it up online to see what you were talking about with the fuel pump nozzle being different. Are you talking about the rubber boot looking things that covers the nozzle like foreskin? They used to have things like that on the pumps way back in the 70's and removed them because they found that they were too expensive to maintain and caused more spills and drips than just the bare pumps did. Crazy that they brought them back.

Found this too. http://www.millproprecisionmachining...uct/NZLBDY-200

Your funnel idea would keep the spills from going down the side of the truck, but then you'd have to drag that funnel around in the bed. It would never be clean, so more dust/debris would make it into your tank... but you say you'd wipe it out every time... and then when you're done pumping, you'd have to wipe it out again or gas drips would be in your bed. Seems like more of a pain in the rear to me.

[jd21476]

Originally Posted by bnoon

I had to look it up online to see what you were talking about with the fuel pump nozzle being different. Are you talking about the rubber boot looking things that covers the nozzle like foreskin? They used to have things like that on the pumps way back in the 70's and removed them because they found that they were too expensive to maintain and caused more spills and drips than just the bare pumps did. Crazy that they brought them back.

Found this too. http://www.millproprecisionmachining...uct/NZLBDY-200

Your funnel idea would keep the spills from going down the side of the truck, but then you'd have to drag that funnel around in the bed. It would never be clean, so more dust/debris would make it into your tank... but you say you'd wipe it out every time... and then when you're done pumping, you'd have to wipe it out again or gas drips would be in your bed. Seems like more of a pain in the rear to me.

CA has had the foreskin fuel pumps for as long as I can remember and it is a pain in the A** to fill up here.

I was thinking I would keep like a plastic box in the bed of the truck and just keep the funnel in there. Not a perfect answer but maybe an option.

[jd21476]

The nozzle buddy is ok for pulling back the foreskin thingy but thats not the problem. The problem is that even with the foreskin pulled back there is not enough pump left to fit down in the filler neck without it splashing back up and running down the side of the truck.

It makes a mess.

[bnoon]

Originally Posted by jd21476

CA has had the foreskin fuel pumps for as long as I can remember and it is a pain in the A** to fill up here.

I was thinking I would keep like a plastic box in the bed of the truck and just keep the funnel in there. Not a perfect answer but maybe an option.

Interesting, maybe I just didn't notice them when I was in La Palma about 5 or 6 years ago. Things you don't notice unless there's a problem I guess. Funny how something designed to minimize fumes makes an even bigger mess fueling up an older vehicle. TAKE THAT tree hugger!