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None of the Packards I’ve ever owned have done that unless fully topped-off to the top of the filler! Of course, they all have locking gas caps with a rubber seal so maybe that’s the difference.

Thanks guys, I remember reading about Tobs' experience with his gas cap leaking and figured I would end up doing the same. When I first filled the tank all the way up I wasn't surprised to see gas leaking down the fender. But as I used up more and more of the gas it continued to spill out over the fender, even when the tank was below 1/2 full.

My gas cap has the vent hole in the center as well. Perhaps this is were some of the gas is coming from? Or getting past the cardboard seal? Either way I'm just going to throw half a soda can over it for now and call it good.

Now I have to somehow clean off the stain on the paint from the MMO/gasoline mix.

-Kevin

I tried putting a plastic bag between the tank and the cap to seal the vent hole, and IIRC it still leaked a little gas. So I think my car is coming out from the sealing area.
Perhaps we need a rear sway bar to keep the rear of the car flatter in the turns (I know about Ross' 3/4 inch sway bar, but I wish I could find a 5/8 inch bar that also fits)
Once you do the soda can thing, and the paint stays clean, it won't be much of a bother anymore.

Wonder if there is room for a large O ring to fit in the space between the cap edge and the cardboard support. Something maybe about 3/16" or 1/4" diameter that would seal against the portion of the fill opening just outside the rounded or raised portion and let the cardboard stay as a seal on the raised portion of the opening.

Doubt if there are any gas compatible regular O rings that would precisely fit that large diameter but maybe a length of O ring stock cut to length would do the job -- or at least prove if that is where the problem originates.

If not an O ring maybe a flat piece of thin fuel resistant sheet material cut to be slightly larger than the cardboard and fastened over the cardboard to provide a thicker, compressible and larger seal.

Looking at the pattern on the inside of the fuel door, it looks like the gas is coming through the vent hole in the center of the cap, and running down the door from there. Even if the cardboard seal had problems, the edges of the cap would likely push the gas away from reaching the door. So the vent hole looks like the most likely culprit.

In other news, a big box showed up yesterday containing my new exhaust system. I need to call the exhaust shop and schedule a time to get the car with them. Hopefully we don't get fumed out anymore in the cabin of the car.

Date night with my wife typically happens in the Panama now. We got lots of looks and thumbs up while cruising to whatever restaurant we are going to. The car is running well overall....it seems to get better the more I drive it. Once it's warmed up I can barely hear it at idle. I can hear the fuel pump and one of the lifters, and that's it.

-Kevin

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Beautiful Clipper and great angle for the shot!

As for the leak, I still think that something is somehow pressurizing the tank slightly to cause fuel to come out of the vent. Otherwise I can't imagine what else would cause it to come out the vent without leaking around the gasket. No way that gas could be that high in the tank without pressure unless you topped it off right to the edge of the filler and I doubt you did that!

Here is an older style cap. There is no direct route for the fuel to escape thru this cap because the vent goes from the center hole to a space above the gasket which is open to atmosphere but under the cap shell. The solid top keeps the fuel at least contained so if it does gush out it is confined by the cap and directed down the outside of the fill pipe.

My 56 cap is the locking type so not a fair comparison to photograph but it too appears to vent thru a small hole in the middle and also into a space above the gasket. Except for the key hole that cap is solid on top too.

Out of curiosity, what does the top of your cap look like and where does it vent? If the outer hole is thru the top and that is where it is getting out to hit the door is there any way to make a baffle out of thin sheet metal so it would protect the inside hole from any direct splash or surge of fuel. Possibly a thin plate attached with small sheet metal screws that laid over the hole yet bent up enough air could still flow in from the sides.

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Howard, these are good questions but work-arounds such as baffles and drip-catchers should not be necessary to fix something that shouldn't even be able to happen. No matter where the vent is, the fuel should not be able slosh out unless Kevin drives like a maniac on the roughest roads possible and I doubt he does!

I agree but the fact so many have been complaining about the same fuel spilling issue makes me think there must be something about replacement caps -- either modern or maybe something that hit the market years ago -- that is not like the originals. I was just trying to find some kind of solution that might work and could be easily done.

It might not even be the cap. I don't remember if the question was ever asked but could it be that those having issues today have the replacement tanks. Maybe something there is not correct. Could the replacement tank mfgs have used a fill pipe from another vehicle that might be just different enough from Packards that it needs a different cap.

I’ve owned and driven many 1950’s era Packards and never a drop out the filler unless it was overfilled and that is with original, original style and more modern replacement caps on factory tanks. I have a new reproduction tank for the Clipper but have not yet installed it although I can’t imagine what difference that might make. On Kevin’s car, there is something else going on.

That said, I recall reading about the lack of baffles but did the originals have one where the filler meets the tank and, if so, does the reproduction have it? Grabbing for straws here as the lack of it should not cause the spillage either with the leisurely driving being done.