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Gas in trunk!

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304-dude View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 304-dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/26/2020 at 5:32pm
Mine is like yours in sediment, years of pump gas. The sock will fall apart if if rubbed. The vapor recovery tank at the rear is not servicable. It's a white plastic container with a valve for tip over. I've had it nipple broken, but it's functional.

The black charcoal container up front can be serviced by removing the felt filter from underneath and remove the charcoal stuff with fresh from an aquarium shop. I would bag them in a breathable socck material... cheese cloth.
71 Javelin SST body
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CamJam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/27/2020 at 3:50pm
So here's where the gas was getting in. Pretty easy to see the gaps.  I squirted a little carb cleaner into them and it goes right to where the gas was pooling in the trunk, so any gas from an overfill, leaky gas cap or leak in the filler neck ends up there.  You can see that the tube has a flat floor making a great place for any spills to collect and seep into the trunk.  I patched it with PC-7 epoxy paste, which is gasoline resistant. I also sealed the sides of the tube floor.

These photos are taken from under the car looking out through the filler towards the back of the license plate.  The final photo is after I applied the PC-7.  I'll paint over it after it dries. What looks like a blob of sealant dripping down in the first photo is not what it appears. That's actually the tunnel cover and the gap between it and the trunk floor! Yes, the factory applied what appears to be a tar-based sealant over this inside the trunk, but I'm not so sure that gasoline doesn't dissolve it. Best to stop it before it gets inside those cracks if you ask me.

I'd suggest everyone check their own car whenever the gas tank is out, as they must all have the same problem. Seems like the gaps on my filler tube cover might have been larger than most though.











Edited by CamJam - Apr/27/2020 at 5:02pm
'73 Javelin 360 (current project)
'72 Baja Bronze Javelin SST
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/27/2020 at 11:21pm
Nice detective work. 

Originally posted by CamJam CamJam wrote:

 the factory applied what appears to be a tar-based sealant over this inside the trunk, but I'm not so sure that gasoline doesn't dissolve it. Best to stop it before it gets inside those cracks if you ask me.

It's been working at it for some time!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mopar_guy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/28/2020 at 9:36am
Yep, that's a common place for the fumes to get in. I'm finding out how bad the factory did on sealing up the whole back end on these cars. Another place they didn't seal well is where the quarter meets the tail panel. There's multiple places that didn't get sealed well letting water in and causing rust.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote amcenthusiast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/28/2020 at 11:30am
First thought is to replace the flexible filler tube: the 'rubber' rots out and tiny cracks can be hard to detect (same for vent and fuel lines)
---------------------------------------

I tend to blame the poorly applied body sealer on the assembly line workers, perhaps getting complacent ...and back then, many people knew not to buy cars that were made on a Monday or Friday.

But it was a big chunk to digest for American Motors making the corporate shift from selling Kelivinator and buying Jeep Corporation from Kaiser in 1970. -Surely there was an untold uncertain amount of managerial 'static' and wasn't there a workers strike in protest?

Not hard to imagine much juggling of job assignments for managers by taking on Jeep and working to form the all new AM General Division. IE: the postal vehicles and those huge heavy trucks for military... and there were about ten different versions of the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck in full dressed military form?

Taking in the thought, it seems maybe the Kenosha automotive plants may have experienced some managerial neglect?

I've always noticed the early seventies cars appeared to be assembled in haste, sometimes by apparently disgruntled workers, the cars showing unibody cavity drain holes obviously filled with sealer and/or spot welded shut instead. -this kinda stuff tells me there was 'static' between the workers and management.


Edited by amcenthusiast - Apr/28/2020 at 11:35am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CamJam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr/28/2020 at 1:10pm
Yeah, I used to cringe at the quality of American cars in the early 70s.  Still do whenever I try to get the trim on my door to align with the trim on the dash.  #1, you shouldn't design something in such a way that your workers can't assemble it properly.  They got smarter about that later, not putting horizontal trim pieces that have to line up on two separate panels. We can thank the Japanese for forcing us to pay attention to workmanship again.  And of course, extensive use of plastic was relatively new back then, and it doesn't help that the early ABS plastics often warped in the heat.

'73 Javelin 360 (current project)
'72 Baja Bronze Javelin SST
'69 Big Bad Orange AMX (2018 Teague Heritage Award) SOLD

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