Trick to filling gas?

[CBuff]

I’m filing that under “seven immunity” like not mounting my front license plate.  

[pethier]

9 hours ago, CBuff said:

I’m filing that under “seven immunity” like not mounting my front license plate.  

Minnesota is a two-plate state, but Collector Class (20 years old) cars, AND cars old enough to eligible for Collector Class even if not registered that way, only need to display a rear plate.  I may get away with not having a rear plate light on the Birken.  Or do what I did with a former trailer; install the plate using mounting bolts incorporating directional LEDs.    I think I even saw an MK Car so-equipped in one of their promo pix.

[Slonie]

I haven’t ever really determined my maximum range or filled my tank all the way (except the time I overflowed!) but I tried to crunch the numbers from my notepad-based drive log over the past two years and it seems I get around 20mpg, give or take.
 

This is mostly on canyon drives (since the hills start 10 minutes away), so I guess I’m satisfied. Would always like to see a little better though!

 

Edit: Zetec on TWM throttles, Pectel T2, 13” Toyo 185/205 tires. Actually a bigger rolling diameter than stock so my economy should be *slightly* above indicated but not enough to matter. 

Edited yesterday at 08:11 PM by Slonie
Car notes

[pethier]

I think I have found the trick to filling gasoline/petrol (hereafter "gas") into a Seven.

 

It's not very useful on a cross-country trip, but if you are planning to drive your seven close to home (or close to your trailer), this could be the answer.

 

The problems are:

 

You can't tell how much gas is in the tank.

 

The gas-station hose keeps shutting off, and you don't know which shutoff is the real one, so you get gas all over the back of your Seven and on your shoes.  The gas station staff isn't all that happy, either.

 

Get a couple of red plastic gas cans.  The kind that do NOT have an air vent on a different location from the spout.  The kind with a valve that is meant to be opened by allowing the weight of the can to open the valve when the little hook on the valve is allowed to press on the edge of fill port on lawnmower or the like.

 

( My lawnmower has a handy little shelf down inside the filler neck which allows the spout to go farther into the tank to reduce the gas from splashing out.)

 

If the spout valve has a little nanny-lock that you need operate each time you want to open the valve, remove that with a pair of cutters.  You need the valve to respond to your commands without interference.

 

I picked five and two gallon sizes.  Both can be filled at the gas station without a lot of drama.  You can have multiple big cans in whatever size you can handle in their vertical-valve orientation.

 

You really only need one small can.  You want a small size that you can easily handle with the valve/spout in a horizontal orientation.  Two gallons worked for me.  Add a piece of hose to the spout.  Make sure it has a good seal to the spout.  The idea is to have the length from the valve-actuation to the end of the hose long enough so that when the valve is operated the end of the hose is all the way into the Seven's gas tank.

 

Pick up the small can.  Shove the hose into the car.  This is not easy, as the hose wants to hang up on this and that.  I have experimented with tapering the leading edge of the hose.  Engage the hook on the edge of the car's gas port and push the tank forward to open the valve.  The gas will glug into the tank.  Periodically, the gas flow will glug to a halt as air from the tank backfills up the spout.  If the can empties completely, raise the can and drain the hose into the car.  Put the little can on the ground and refill it from the big can just as if it were a big lawnmower tank.  Repeat the procedure.  When the gas in the tank rises to the end of the hose, air can't get into the hose and gas stops flowing from the can.  I'm calling this "vapor lock" whether that is the correct term or not.  Let up the pressure on the can to close the valve.  Withdraw the hose a few inches and raise the can so the gas in the hose drains into the car.  Lower the can and carefully withdraw the now-dry hose from the car.

 

The tricky part is knowing how long to make the hose.  If you make the hose too long, you won't fill much of your tank.  If you make the hose too short, you will have a gas mess again.  Ideally, the vapor lock will occur when the tank is almost-full, but not yet into the car's large filler hose. 

 

I tried this method at home and at an autocross practice day and it seems to work.  I still have not determined the ideal hose length, so I am erring on the side of "too long" instead of "gas-soaked Seven".

 

You could do this at the gas station with just the little can, but you might not feel comfortable carrying a partly-full gas can in your Seven.

 

(It is difficult to see the hose on one of the little cans in the truck photo.)

 

 

[IamScotticus]

Without having read most of the previous, my solution to the filling issues is to forgo the 90˚ elbow and instal a vertical pipe, much like the S1/2 type.

This will allow me to hold the fuel nozzle above preventing shut-off and give me visual confirmation of the fuel level and prevent wetting myself with everyone watching.  Easily done in a non emission vehicle.

[Slonie]

My one last (for now) thing to add is when I imagined that I'd be filling gas up at home more often, I splurged on one of these. A gas can that you don't need to tip to control the flow. So luxurious! (I've used it precisely once)

 

https://www.surecanusa.com/product-page/5-gallon-gasoline-surecan