Fuel Filler Neck

Totally normal for an early car such as yours.

The outside fuel door was added at a later date.

this style aftermarket fuel neck is available from Hall Pantera. I am pretty sure it does not have a screw on cap but utilizes the old-school style of cap  

this style incorporates a screw on cap. I do not know if any vendors are currently selling this style.

converting to an outside fuel door is a time consuming and expensive modification to add to an early car. And that assumes you can actually find all of the parts and pieces that are required.

Larry

Thank you for the information.  I will be sure to fill it up when not hot in the engine bay.  I'm guessing fuel and hot headers aren't a good mixture.

Best Regards,

John

Hey John - the real confronting part is the car has to be cut out to accommodate the new fill nozzle and  it will need a spill gully drain in the recess. It can be very difficult to get a replacement batwing aluminium unit for the side cover with the opening fuel tank door. I have read previously that some have made fibreglass replacement units but have not seen any for sale.

John:  Welcome to the madness.  Yes, your car is like mine (early 71). Open the rear deck and be careful putting the fuel nozzle in.  I always point the nozzle on the ground first to let any fuel run out before entering the engine bay with it.  In my case, I removed my rear quarter windows so I can have one hand on the nozzle and use my other to guide it in and a lot of times the stupid fume catcher on the nozzle catches on the lip of the tank and you can reach in and move it free.  I have never had an issue fueling, but as you state, I am VERY careful.  I plan to get a 5 gallon race fuel can and will do fueling at home when the car is cold.  But, been working this way for 32 years.  Enjoy.

I recently encountered a problem fueling up a 71 Pantera. Here in California we have gas pump nozzles with a lot of evaporative emissions equipment. I was able to get the nozzle into the tank and then pump fuel into it but I could not get the nozzle out. The spring thing on the nozzle was caught up on the filler neck. I had to use a wrench to loosen the filler neck bolts and then I could extract the pump nozzle. I plan to add some angled aluminum pieces between the tank and the filler neck to make it more compatible with today’s nozzles.

Gasoline and even gasoline vapors do not ignite that easily, it requires a flame, a spark or an incandescent or red-hot material. Headers can  be red-hot but only at full load and cool sufficiently during the time to slow down, enter the gas station, stop the car, get off, open the hood, remove the cap, unhook the nozzle, etc....... So even if a few drops of gasoline fall on the header, it makes pschittt and that's all.
But it's still better to be careful and that's why I made this for #4406 which is an L model from September 1972.

I use a cap similar in function to this on my '71 with an aftermarket fuel neck. No muss, no fuss. I'm sure it would be illegal in California.