Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I have no experience in fueling any Packard older that a 1955, and in truth, I guess I need some more experience in this department. Without laughing out loud at me, does anyone else have a method to fuel these cars without the darn gas pushing back out under pressure as the tank nears capacity? I've tried the 'listening method', but fear I'll inhale some highly toxic carcinogen while my face is in that area. Also, many new pumps here have these 'talking' features that hock or sell carwashes and other items while the pump dispenses, making it difficult to hear anyway.

Thanks........thoughts appreciated.

Prior to mid 51 there was a whistle soldered in the vent that would sound until the tank neared full. If you wanted to try and go back to something like that it might be possible to add one into the vent line again. There are boat whistlesdefender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|302335|7364|939822&id=848503 & it should be possible to remove a section of the vent higher up and plumb it in to get the angle they want. Between the whistle and the car, you'd certainly be the center of attention at the station.

We have those fancy EPA required nozzles locally that are supposed to vacuum up the fumes. The fill pipe is too low on mine for them to fit in the opening far enough to compress the rubber & release the trigger. I have to hold the bellows back and pump manually. Usually I have an idea of how much is needed and start slowing down the flow when it should be close.

Every-time I have filled my '54, the nozzle has "clicked off" as normal when full.

Ditto for me Kev on the automatic shutoff, on both the 34 and 56.

I have to listen or it will slosh over. Being a little hard of hearing, I sometimes don't stop in time. The problem is they narrowed the intake pipe so you couldn't put the old fuel in. They also had to downsize the fuel hose pipe on the pump. This allows air to be pushed out alongside the fuel pump hose and not shutting off the pump because of back pressure. I am going to find a small plastic glass and cut the bottom out so it provides a snug fit in the tank pipe. That way the back pressure will shut off the damn pump. The whole thing looks like it was designed by some damn bureaucrat.
Sorry for the type - damn bureaucrat should be one word.

Thank-you gentleman.

I posted this elsewhere, but I recently had just the opposite problem: the pump shut off continually.

Normally mine fills normally except that you have to hold the nozzle; it doesn't hook on.

Shutting off continually isn't an unusual problem, especially when tanks are nearly full, or with cars like the pre-35 cars where the filler neck is just 2 or 3 inches above the tank. The reason is that today's gasoline is considerably more "foamy" and when the foam rises it often will trigger the nozzle. Filling at a slower rate as the tank fills is the answer.

I was feeling a bit lowly today so I decided to take the Packard out for a spin to cheer myself up. Decided to head northwest across Tucson and I knew I'd need a bit of fuel, so I stopped into Costco for some of their $3.65 per gallon unleaded. I begin to pump and I'm trying to listen for the 'noise'. Remember, that special noise emanates from the throat of the filler pipe as fuel rushes into the tank. Well.....I'll be fit to be tied! Can't hear a darn thing given everyone else in Tucson decided to come to CostCo at this particular moment to fuel their modern drivers. So I'm thinking......wish I'd installed that whistle into the Packard.........ahhh yes.....I need to do that BUT concentrate blondie! I'm holding the pump firmly in place and decide that 12 gallons is enough for my adventure. BUT.......but, why will not the pump come out / off the filler tube? Well just tug on it! Tug harder! Still no luck........so I decide to call the attendant on the provided telephone. I had to repeat the story twice because he didn't get it the first time I told him. He comes over to the car and scratches his head and announces, " this has never happened to me before." Well partner, it's my first rodeo too! Long and short of it is that he had to partially disassemble the pump and my Packard didn't get sloshed with any fuel today. It seems that the entire bellows slid down over the OD of the actual filler pipe. WEIRD!

I then made a command decision ( and a fine one it certainly twas) that I didn't need any more strange or goofy stuff happening to me today. So I drove up the street to a local watering hole and had a couple of draft Sam Adams brews in a cool pint glass.

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At least you didn't get to the tavern and find out the fuel hose was still hanging from the car!