Well…

Don’t do this to your Bugeye Sprite.

In the “I’ve never seen this before” category, here’s a Bugeye rear deck that’s been damaged by someone who didn’t realize that the fuel neck to their tank could be modified to fit the body rather than making the body fit the tank. We’ve run into this before-old body damage to the back of a Bugeye and resultant body repair can make for a slightly fatter boot section at the filler neck. Because the filler neck is a fixed length on original and some replacement fuel tanks, it can be difficult or impossible to get the fuel cap onto the neck if your body is slightly taller at the location of the filler neck. This restorer chose to beat up the body rather than modify the filler neck and damaged the back deck of the car for no reason.

*A piece of rubber at the base of the filler neck allows for extension of the neck, meaning you can dial in the height for proper fitment of your fuel cap!*

The correct solution for a slightly pregnant rear deck is to cut the fuel filler neck and put in a rubber hose with clamps to extend the neck above your existing body and thereby make your filler neck adjustable in height.

*Our fuel tank kit comes with a detachable filler neck, so no cutting or rear deck mutilation necessary to achieve proper fit! Click the photo to order!*

We sell a fuel tank kit with a removable neck and you can set the height of the neck to your specifications regardless of any body damage that may have been built into your car before you bought it. You should never have to damage the body of your Sprite to get something to fit… call us if you have a problem that makes it looks like that might be needed —we’ll help you find a workaround.

*A fixed-neck tank can result in a cap that is too close to the filler neck, which can close your tank vent and affect how your Bugeye runs!*

*This is what your filler neck should look like when the fuel cap is attached, with a small gap between the bottom of the cap and the top of the filler neck gasket.*

Another important issue here is that sometimes the fuel cap is way too tight against the body rubber gasket, which blocks the vent in the cap, creating a fuel delivery issue. So make sure you have at least an eighth of an inch gap between your cap and the rubber grommet that goes in the back deck, so that your fuel tank can vent properly, otherwise your engine can die if the tank doesn’t breathe. If your cap is too close to the grommet, you may need to cut your filler neck, just like the above restorer should have. We have all of the parts and tools needed for this job in our parts catalog! Click the photos below to learn more or click here for our full catalog!