That was lucky...

[Scott]

Knowing I'll be doing some miles over summer I've recently gone over my Fulvia carefully with a thorough service before taking it in for an MOT, which it passed, and for good measure I took it to a Lancia specialist who also gave it a clean bill of health. So far so good!

Not doing serious miles in my Fulvia in recent years, and with advice not to have stale petrol in a tank due to lack of use, I only usually fill the tank a third to a half full. However knowing I'll be doing more miles soon then when it came to the need for a refill recently I topped the tank to the top.

Coming into my garage the next morning there was the reek of petrol and a small pool of the stuff under the fuel tank. What transpires to have happened is that the seal between the filler pipe and the tank had deteriorated. Not noticeable with my normal fuel-below-the-join situation but with the tank full then the fuel could seep out.

I'm really glad this happened before I start doing miles! It would have been a classic to find this problem away from home especially as it's not something I would have planned for at all! A big "thank you" to the people (Andrea Nistri, Brian Hilton etc.) who have in the past recommended fitting an electric fuel pump as an aid to prime the carbs. I was able to detach a fuel pipe and get that pump working overtime to liberate 20 litres of fuel from the tank into a jerry can so I could make the fix!

Why I'm posting this is to encourage all of you to take a quick peak underneath your Fulvia and check you don't have a deteriorating seal; especially after a fill up if you share my not-usually-full scenario.

[chriswgawne]

You need to make sure you use a rubber seal of the correct size and cross section (which is square) to stop seepage in the future. This has been on the forum before and it happened to me a couple of years ago.
My quick fix which was recommended by a forum member I recall and which is still perfectly OK was to carefully cut a ring off a Fulvia radiator tophose using a very sharp knife.

Chris

[Scott]

Ah ... I must have missed that posting. Hopefully this posting will at least serve as a reminder.

Nice trick with the slice of hose! I actually obtained a nitrile seal and have gone belt-and-braces with some Blue Hylomar too. This seems to have done the trick and, temporarily, I've wrapped some blue kitchen paper around the area just to confirm no sneaky leak still exists! 

[DavidLaver]

I've done that...after having a new tank fitted just outside Reading.  I won't say who but Chris will know and smile.  Not sure what got missed but it was a big enough pool for the fire brigade to come out and supervise.