I bought my 79B from a chap who had a locking gas cap. He didn't
have the key...said his wife did and told me to contact her. She
said she didn't have the key (they were getting a divorce and I think
they weren't communicating real well). Needless to say, i had a
quarter tank of gas and no way to get the gas cap off.
I removed the cap and filler tube from the car and then drilled out
the lock and removed the cap. Didn't drill while it was on the car
cause I didn't want to cause a spark nor did I want to drop metal
filings in the gas tank. Bottom line, the gas cap came off and the
key to the cap is undoubtedly sitting in his or her drawer and they
don't know what it's for.
> Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 10:51:38 -0500 (EST)
> From: "William W. Moyer" <bmoyer@marauder.millersv.edu>
> To: Alan Wilson <awilson@accessus.net>
> Cc: ALAN_COSTICH@HP-USA-om11.om.hp.com, mgs@autox.team.net,
> british-cars@autox.team.net, triumphs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: removal of locking gas cap
> Reply-to: "William W. Moyer" <bmoyer@marauder.millersv.edu>
>
>
> On Wed, 10 Jan 1996, Alan Wilson wrote:
>
> > Have you tried the lockpicking newsgroup on usenet? They might have some
> > suggestions....
> >
> > If you cannot actually pick the lock, you might use what they refer to
> > as a rotary pick -- a 3/8 electric drill with bit. Try to drill on the
> > shearline of the pins so you can rotate the cylindar.
> >
> > Good luck
> >
> I'm not sure that the average guy knows what the shearline is, but in any
> event I'd be cautious about running a drill into the gas cap if there are
> gas fumes in the supply tube and/or tank. One spark could ruin your
> whole day.
>
> Also, I think that most gas caps are wafer locks, using flat pieces of
> metal instead of pins. The approved picking method for these locks is
> "raking" the wafers with a jagged pick. The pick looks like a magnified
> view of a saw blade. You pull the pick over the wafers while twisting
> the cylinder in the "unlock" direction.
>
> These locks aren't technological wonders and are about as easy to pick as
> a desk or file drawer lock. It just takes patience and persistence.
>
> bill "misspent youth" moyer
>
>
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