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Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:01 pm

I just bought a NOS filler neck that can be placed on a late Oval fuel tank. It reduces the filler neck diameter, so that a smaller cap can be mounted.
But what is the real purpose of this thing? Is it to add a tank ventilation?
Was there a problem with tank ventilation before?
Was it ever mounted factory on, or just by dealers?

Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:34 pm

Tank ventilation. Very popular in Sweden as most cars were equipped with them.b My '56 Kabrio had it

Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:21 pm

VW found the stock cap easily popped off in an accident spilling gas and risking a fire. In the 60s there was a service bulletin instructing dealers to install the new cap/tank and to stop selling the original style caps and early tanks.

Since Sweden had heightened safety standards it makes sense that they have them on many cars.

Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:06 am

That 's a very interesting story. Do you have that service buletin somewhere/link to some webpage?

I live in Sweden and I've never seen a thing like that before, not even for sale (except the one I just bought). It's not a pretty item, but since it's NOS, I'll put it in my showcase :)

Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:32 am

No service bulletin. An old VW mechanic came to one of our club meets one time and while we were discussing the difference in two same year cars with different tanks he told us the story. I also used to work at a VW parts house and most of the gas caps I sold were of the safety variety not the original type.

here is another thread talking about the recall

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=374381

Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:49 pm

derluftwagen wrote: VW found the stock cap easily popped off in an accident spilling gas and risking a fire. In the 60s there was a service bulletin instructing dealers to install the new cap/tank and to stop selling the original style caps and early tanks.

Since Sweden had heightened safety standards it makes sense that they have them on many cars.
It's been a while since I read Ralph Nader's book slamming Beetles, but I'm pretty sure he mentions it in there. The thick steel cap without the VW logo is the replacement that doesn't pop off when the tank is squished in a crash. I think he said that in Sweden, the gov't there forced VW to do a recall. That's when VW designed the thick steel cap. From that point on, worldwide, all you could get from the dealer was the new steel cap.