Locking Fuel Tank Cap

Stopped by the auto parts store today and bought a locking cap for my fuel tank. Not that I don't trust my fellow man, but with the price of diesel hovering near the price of gold, I though, "what the heck, why not?"

The last time I owned one of these it was on a '71 Pinto 4-banger in 1973 during the gas crisis.

What goes around, comes around.

Most vehicles today have an anti splashback valve installed right at the fuel tank. It is supposed to prevent fuel spillage in the event of an accident. If your vehicle has one installed, it is impossible to snake a siphon tube past it. That's why thieves today have taken to drilling holes in fuel tanks.

Be sure that the cap seals to the filler neck, if it doesn't, your check engine light will come on.

AVid

schrowang wrote:
'71 Pinto 4-banger .

A what???? Does that go along with a Gremlin and a Pacer? I remember them too.

oldelmer1 wrote:

schrowang wrote:
'71 Pinto 4-banger .

A what???? Does that go along with a Gremlin and a Pacer? I remember them too.

It was a beautiful little car. I put 110K on it before I sold it and the engine (the 1.6L Deganham used in F2 racing) was still in good shape. It had a 4-speed standard and got 32mpg over the road. What a car.

I'm not sure the words Ford Pinto and fuel should go in the same sentence.

Sorry schrowang, I couldn't help it.

timge wrote:I'm not sure the words Ford Pinto and fuel should go in the same sentence.

Sorry schrowang, I couldn't help it.

You know, I owned that Pinto, new, from 1971 to 1981. In that 10 years, I never had a problem with it. It ran well, little to no major maintenance, got good mileage and only cost me $2,300.00. Yeah, I know all about the rear collision problems and Pinto's being blown up, but I attributed that to the "if it bleeds it leads", glory seeking, liberal, drive-by media that needed a good story.

Any gasser vehicle, when struck from behind, will have a propensity to detonate on contact; hot engine with spark in contact with a ruptured gas tank = BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Sorry about the rant, its just that too many good things have been ruined by the proverbial "if anything can go wrong it will, and by God we'll find it and expose it." liberal media.

Reminds me of the side saddle GM pickups from 73 to 87 that were in the news years ago with ruptured tanks from side impacts.

FWIW, you guys are old! Pinto! JK. 1975 was a good year!

Mike, I agree, but I just couldn't pass that little joke up. I am in a field that just loves, oh wait, yeah loves the media and I live in a town city that is a bastion of all things liberal.

jetskier, not old...experienced and you see what I drive

Dang, I was a Pinto driver once. My older sister had one that was Bright Fire engine Orange, it was like the last year they made them I think a 80's something model. The Pinto would actually haul I thought it was the most rediculous looking car in the world, Until my 1978 Ford F-100 broke down and I was Forced to Drive it. For about 6 months ,,,,,, I remember picking up my girlfriend - now wife - the first time in it, She came out the door and just looked and started laughing, " you gotta be kidding me":,,,,, Oh yea baby, Get in ,,,,,

I gotta say the little orange pumpkin was kinda fun to drive though and had a Killer sound system in it. And it did have a Ford emblem on it.

The very best thing about the 1971, '72 and '73 Pintos was the little 1.6L British Deganham engine. Coupled with the 4-speed standard it had a lot of zip right out of the factory. The Degenham 1.6L was the basic block for Formula 2 racing in Europe. There were alot of goodies that you could put on that puppy. I replaced the single throat carb for a new intake manifold and two dueces along with the Deganham racing cam. Of course my MPG's went to hades in a handbasket, but in '71 who cared? The car also had radials all around. and with 14" rims in the rear had quite a rake to it. I loved that car.

Only problem that I found was that after about eight years it leaked like sieve and rusted out the floor pans in the front. Kept it for two more years, got over 100K on the odometer and sold it.

I think that Ford (as usual) ruined a good thing when they started putting the German Taunus 4 banger in the car. Even though it was a 2.0L block, it was an inferior power plant and owners spent alot of time in the shop getting them fixed.

Ah, the good old days!