egerson

HI

would like to know if anyone has this problem and how they have addressed it.

Do any of you keep your older Vette in a garage that is attached to your home with a garage door?

My enclosed garage is under my bedroom.

a car with the a carburetor, as we know, retains gas after it is shut off.

The garage always has a gas odor, which gradually lessens the more days it sits without being driven.

I have a 6" exhaust fan in the garage but that may not be big enuf.

#1 - is there any way to keep this from happening? I guess what I am asking can a fuel injection system be installed on a C1? Is there another solution?

#2 - would installing a BIGGER exhaust fan in the garage be a solution?
#3 - is this a potential serious environment problem in the home?

I would appreciate hearing from anyone with thoughts on this as my wife thinks this is a serious problem, and I have to admit that do not the answers.

thanks

ED G

396/425

Maybe a very slight minor smell in garage for a minute is normal, but im getting a feeling youve got a leak somewhere between the tank and carb if "the boss" is calling you out on it........... Walk outside. Clear your nose get fresh air. Walk back in garage. If you smell raw gas, that IS NOT NORMAL.

wmf62

are you possibly filling your tank before parking? if you 'overfill', heat from the exhaust can make the gas in the tank expand and cause some gas to come out the vent hose.
Bill

DansYellow66

It only takes a few drops of gas on a warm surface to set up a pretty good stench. So I would look the entire fuel system over after a drive for any sign of a small leak. It could be from a gasketed fuel filler or sending unit on the tank, a cracked piece of rubber fuel line, a loose hard line connection or the carb itself. I have a car that iinspite of all sorts of fuel line insulation, carb insulators and even a piece of thermal insulation on the bottom of the Holley accelerator pump housing - insists on dribbling fuel out of the accelerator pump shooter about 10 to 15 minutes after shut down. Up until then it smells pretty normal but after it starts spitting a small amount of fuel out on to the hot throttle blade and I get a stench that ends up lasting about a day. There is a difference in smell between just a rich exhaust smell - and a wet gas leak. But, it's kind of something you have to figure out yourself as I don't know how to describe it other than the wet gas leak on a hot surface is a real stench that seems to last a while. My Corvette has more of a rich exhaust smell from the big cam and Chevy Power Book staggered jet recommendations for the L88 milled plenum intake - but it seems to be less offensive and dissipates faster. Not sure if any of this will help.

Frankie the Fink

My '61 (dual quad car) and '63 have sat in my attached, closed up garage for weeks at a time and never any gas smell - believe me, I'd hear about it if there was a smell.

If you have the stink, listen to the Fink: "You've got a drip, seepage or outright leaks somewhere"...

Todd H.

If you have an original type fuel pump, the screws holding the bottom of the fuel pump on can come loose. If they do your fuel pump will drip fuel for several days after each use. They're slotted head screws, and they're very easy to check.

phil2302

I smell fuel and exhaust for the rest of the day when I pull into the garage after a drive. I always open the hood to let her cool down faster and I leave the garage door open for a few hours.
6-8 hours later all odor is gone. I dont see any leaks. I think it is normal but then again I have been messing with cars so long that I am just not concerned with it.
Having said that, this is my situation not yours so check whatever is needed to be safe.

Frankie the Fink

Yes, that "Detroit cologne" will linger in a closed in area where an old muscle car has idled for a bit...it should dissipate rapidly and no more odor should be present. However that pungent smell is different than a 'raw' fuel smell. The former is normal; the latter is a concern.

Tearloch

This is exactly the case with my 62. A little bit of time with the garage door open and that is the end of it.

MasterDave

One of my wife's girlfriends won't ride in the 64 for this reason. I tell her there is no cat on the car and just deal with it.

SDVette

My garage is not only attachd, but I have rooms above it..
Whenever there is a stink problem in the garage, it seeps into the house.

I have a semi-industrial fan in front of where I park.. I run it for 10-15 minutes after I park the car to clear the exhaust stink... It's maybe 16 inches diameter with large blades - Blows like hell!

But I don't have a raw-fuel stink.. Mine is a Carter 1x4 WCFB..

If I smell raw gas, something is wrong.



I agree with others - you might have a drip.

J.Moore

Took my 65 out for a drive last Saturday evening. Hot and humid with temp around 92 and high humidity. 20 minute drive up and down the highway and some stop and go traffic. All was well and water at 180 like normal. Car ran fine. Got back home pulled into the garage and shut it down. I always pop the hood release and look at the engine after a drive for some reason, just a habit. Lookin for leaks I guess.

All looks cool, go in the house get a drink come back out in garage after 10 or 15 minutes and I smell raw gas. Left garage door open the whole time. I know the difference between raw fuel smell and normal engine, exhaust, heat smell after shutdown. I look under car, from tank up to engine, feel all fuel line connections from pump to AFB carb. Nothing. I know I smell gas. Feel under air cleaner at carb linkage on both sides where throttle shaft exits carb body and I find it. Small fuel seepage from throttle shaft on both sides of carb. Not enough to drip on intake but enough to get my fingers damp. That little bit of fuel seepage was enough to smell above the normal engine, heat smell.

I'm thinking possible fuel percolation from high temps or my carb shaft is worn a bit. Got a heat temp gun and will check carb and intake temps next time I drive it.

John McGraw

Part of it is that we have just gotten used to modern cars not smelling of gas! There is some percolation issues and the like, but a hot garage will cause vapors to exit the fuel tank vent and it will smell a little. Even in the garage where I park most of of my resto-mods, I can smell a little gas odor, and they are all EFI LS3 engines! There just is no substitute for the charcoal vent canister systems used on modern cars!


Regards, John McGraw

bcwaller

Not only check the fuel lines and carb fitting, but also the fuel filler neck. Pull the rubber away from the filler door and look at where the neck attaches to the tank. Mine has some seepage there from slosh. I need to replace the gasket that fits between the tank and neck.

corvetteed

With my '58 I learned the hard way to not fill the tank to full. Three quarters was the most I'd fill. That took care of any gas smell in the garage after a drive. You might want to try that first before anything else.

Frankie the Fink

Look 100s of 1000s of these old cars were parked in owners' garages for decades and people's noses have not gotten any more sensitive since then. If those original owners' cars didn't reek and smell of gas back then (IF properly maintained!), ours shouldn't now. Its that simple.

Mine don't.

Folks need to look around and find the cause of any lingering raw gas smell and fix it.

phil2302

FWIW my garage always has some smell of gas.
Between 3 motorcyles, a John Deere tractor, chainsaws, a powerwasher, gas cans, my 66 vert and 2 outboard motors I dont see how it couldnt.

fyreline

I would check to be sure you have the correct gas cap - your problem (and solution) may be just that simple. My 1962 used to stink up the garage something awful with that "Eau de Octane" smell . . . But between switching to the correct non-vented fuel cap, and taking care never to over-fill the fuel tank, my garage is now odor-free.

R66

Didn't know there was any car in the 60s that used a non-vented fuel cap??
I know that ethanol (alcohol laced fuel) seems to evaporate faster and longer than the original lead fuel, thus more fumes.
But if it is raw fuel, look for a drip on the manifold, on the floor, or a wet rubber hose or steel fuel line.

vettepoor

My 57 has no fuel odor unless I overfill the tank on a hot day, in which case my copilot lets me know - usually goes away after a few minutes of driving. As others have said, raw fuel smell after a drive or when cold are not to be ignored. Percolation/float/needle seating issues in carbs can all be factors, as well as line leaks.