Filling the gas tank

[pAAt]

What are the ways you can fill your tank, on the Model A , with out spilling on your paint job or other possible dangers ?

[DaWizard]

Oh pAAt, you have opened that can and can't put the worms back in.

Here in smog filled California we have the funny nozzles that make it almost impossible for you to fill a tank period!

What most of us around here have done is to make a PVC reducer to hold the lip of the filler nozzle back and let the nozzle stick down into the tank. This is what I made for me, but it still needs adjusting because I can't top off the tank, but it works great.

Gas aid 1.jpgGas aid 2.jpgGas aid 3.jpg

[pAAt]

Thanks for the pictures Wiz. I'll pick up some fittings when I'm in town. I figure I'll use an extra A tank, I have, as a gas can for awhile. I'm a sloppy filler at home and need the practice. I'll drain it into my cans when I get home and also filter any crud out while I do that. Again many thanks, Pat

[Ed H]

Way back when I worked at a filling station, I would put a clean rag under the nozzle handle and slowly start the gas flow. As the fuel neared the top I would pull the nozzle out until it was full. Then put the rag under the nozzle to stop any drips on the paint. One customer would ask for me otherwise would wait.
This is when there was real customer service.

[pAAt]

Ed, I pumped gas and washed windows for pop and candy in the early 70's. I never filled Model A type vehicles, most you filled by pulling the rear license plate down or at the rear quarter. People didn't tip back then, they expected great service or they would go to another station. P.S.- I will also have a clean rag handy. Thanks

[Mitch]

Pat
Here is a thread from our archives which may help you

https://www.vintagefordforum.com/forum/model-a/19613-gas-tank-neck-extension

[pAAt]

Thanks Mitch, just got back from there !! How many times do you shake it ? The nozzles up here seem to drip for a longer time, must be the cold weather.

[Mitch]

I keep shaking it till nothing comes out

[Jeff/Illinois]

Mitch that sounds like how Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, would do it-------YEAH ba-by oh bee-HAVE

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Mitch,
DON'T shake it MORE than 3 times---LOL

[Curly]

I think there’s a learning curve. Several times early on I would get big gas overflows on my paint because I didn’t account for heat expansion or road vibration. I have to say I have become quite the expert, not a single drip mark in two years and counting.

[pAAt]

Curly, how full do you fill yours now ? Pat

[Curly]

For me 1 1/2 to 2 inched from top is perfect. If I do more it gets on my paint within a mile of the fill station. My paint is showing a little age around the gas cap so I have to be careful.

[CarlLaFong]

Same way I filled my bikes. Have a rag to catch any drips as you pull the nozzle out. BTW, in California, you can pull back the foreskin on the nozzle and top the tank off, no problem

[DaWizard]

True, if you have the strength.

[Mitch]

I never fill past 3/4 and a sore area is the raised neck part of the tank where the cap goes. If you get fuel on the paint there it can peel down and that's not good for aesthetics

[H. L. Chauvin]

With a little thought and care, "partially" filling a Model A gas tank without spilling gasoline does not appear to be too big of a problem.

But, "overfilling" a Model A gas tank could be dangerous with a warm engine as well as harmful to large areas of beautifully painted Model A surfaces.

Having a calibrated wood measuring stick to accurately measure every single gallon already "inside" one's Model A tank, and using it before "filling up" at a pump, (or "filling up" with gas cans), can help to avoid wishful guessing and sometimes embarrassing and harmful "overfilling". Just calculate how many gallons are required for a fill-up; and monitor the number of gallons added as indicated on the gas pump.

If ever traveling in remote rural areas, where gas stations are few and far between, "filling up" one's Model A gas tank is sometimes a necessity to avoid the possibility of running out of gas.

And remember, not all convenience store gas stations today have fire extinguishers, let alone cashiers who know how to operate a fire extinguisher.

Hope this helps!

[pAAt]

Kinda scares the hell out of me HL. so I'll get a stick and a fire extinguisher. What is the best all around type fire extinguisher to have ?

[CarlG]

First off, I do not have that pesky screen inside my tank. Also, in Alaska we do not have those funky vapor recovery type nozzles. Now, having said that,

1) After removing the cap, I carefully move the hose with the spout up until it is over the tank opening, then carefully rotate it so that the spout points down and is inserted about an inch in the tank.
2) Once inserted and the nozzle/handle is resting comfortably on the top of the tank, set the automatic shut-off on the slowest fill rate.
3) When the automatic shut-off actuates, I do not try to "top off the tank", just be satisfied with the level as it is.
4) Slowly withdraw the nozzle from the tank, turning it up so that it does not drip on the top of the tank.
5) Replace the cap. Good for another 150+ miles.

I only do this while on tour or when I know that I will use up a gallon or two before getting back home. For around town stuff, I just put in whatever it takes to get to half to 3/4 tank.

[Grit Kid]

It only took me one time to spill gas, after that, I haven't done it since.

I took a terry hand towel and cut a hole out that fits over the tank opening, I also acquired one of those gas tank extenders that fits right on the tank opening. I haven't spilled one drop since and I fill it one gal less that it holds. I also use a precise marked dip stick. I know before hand how many gals to add to be one gal less than what it takes.

[2manycars]

I never have filled my tank more than 3/4 in over 42 years. I also have never spilled any gas doing so. I guess if you live where stations are 100 miles apart it might be necessary to fill, but around here, I can get gas about every 10 or 15 miles.

[dmdeaton]

What is the true purpose of the pesky screen? And why is it called a flame arrestor screen? To keep fuel from spilling out during filling, or is it supposed to work with the baffles to prevent sloshing during driving?

[Mitch]

https://www.vintagefordforum.com/forum/model-a/1911-gas-tank-flame-arrestor

[dmdeaton]

Thanks Mitch, Read the thread, but still come away with the question, what are the original thoughts behind this? I guess more people smoked back then, maybe this is why. But Henry didn't smoke and didn't include ash trays in the common models because of this.

[BudP]

It has the same purpose as an old-fashioned miner's lamp, called a Davy lamp. Like Tom W. states - the holes will not allow a flame to escape or enter. See more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp

[dmdeaton]

I have only one trip so far to the gas station with the roadster. My strainer is in place and I didn't have any issues filling up. Other than vapor lock an hour later when she stalled. That's another story. I'm in Ohio without the vapor collection hoses and it was about like filling up a motorcycle to me, but standing on my toes!

I was going to order one of those neck extensions, but I think that would only make it worse. I felt I had pretty good control filling it up.

[Tom Wesenberg]

A spark from static electricity could light the gas, and that's the main reason for the screen with holes small enough to keep the flame from passing into the tank. I just pump slow and hold the nozzle off the neck, and have no problem. I fill to the top if I'm on the road, otherwise if it's ready for storage, I leave it an inch down.

[Jeff/Illinois]

I have used the shop rag trick too, works OK. Just hold the nozzle upright and then tip it in to the tank so keep the drips from getting on the car. I'm tall enough that I can lean over the car and look down in the filler neck with no problems. I fill to within an inch to two inches of the bottom of the neck unless the car is going into the heated garage then I don't go that full. I've laid old towels down around the opening too especially if I'm putting gas in the car with a gas can at home.

The Roadster was lacquered in the late 70's even the body (as much as I dislike lacquer paint jobs) but I have spilled gasoline on the top of the tank a time or two and there has never been any issues, just wipe it off and we're off to the races. No cracking or checking or any paint damage that must go with the lacquer finish.

[Fred K]

My wife made me a "blanket type thing" that lays over the top of the tank. It has a hole in the middle of it to go around the neck of the filler hole. It catches most of the drips. It is made out of a plastic type material with cloth underneath. I also have an old towel that I lay on the hood if I fill with a can. BTW you can buy this type of thing in most of the vendors catalogs.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

With the windshield WIDE open, I filled Minerva from the Pilots' Seat! Got several "funny" looks!:rolling
Dad Odd