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Collapsing fuel tanks
Page 40
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I read your item "Running on Air" (CM, August 31, 1979). This article described a friend who has purchased a Talbot Horizon, and when he removed his filler cap his trousers were soaked.
From our experience with the filler cap on our three-litre Granada Estate, I'd like to recommend to your friend to rectify this trouble quickly.
We drove in to a garage recently to purchase petrol and as usual, when removing the cap, the air in the tank was under vacuum and the spray drenched the person (me) removing the cap. The garage owner said I'd have trouble with my tank if I continued using that cap.
What happens is that the cap is too tight (it is a lockable one) and causes a vacuum in the tank. This forces the sides of the tank to contract. His customer with a car exactly the same as ours had her tank fall off, with the resulting expense of having a new one put on her car.
If you cannot purchase a new cap, we recommend drilling a small hole in the cap which will solve the vacuum problem.
I can assure you my problem was solved this way very satisfactorily, and will endorse this by telephone (High Wycombe 31867).
J. A. PARNABY (Mrs), High Wycombe, Bucks.