Chevrolet had them behind the rear license plate (1970 Chevelle)
1963 Ford also had them behind rear tag.
Just seen it a lot I guess. If i am wrong oh well i’m wrong.
My Nova 71,72 had that and I think a 78 caprice
I read somewhere that BMW puts the filler on the passenger side for very slightly improved weight distribution when the car has only a driver. I don’t know if that’s true or not.
Is it possible manufacturers stopped doing it . . . because I really haven’t noticed that arrow, not even on the newer vehicles in our fleet
I’ve got the little arrows on both my cars but you need a magnifying glass to see it or you have to get to about page 350 in the owners manual. Or ask the wife. She’s the one that pointed it out when I asked what side the filler was on “her” car when I stopped for gas. I think the rule is they are opposite the tail pipe unless you have dual exhaust.
The best place was on a 79 Firebird, above the bumper right in the center. You could fill up in any direction. Then there was the Crown Princess Family Truckster.
Convenient to fill the gas tank, more likely to cause a fire in a rear end accident.
Rear mounted gas tanks went the way of the dodo because of the possibility of fire (and lawyers). They were relocated under the rear seats and a bumper mounted filler would just not work.
1 Like
I like having the arrow on the gas gauge pointing towards the side with the filler. I used to travel a lot for work and often had a rental car, and never the same as my personal car. I never knew which side the filler was on, and was always in a hurry to get to the airport and return the car. Having the arrow on the gauge saved time pulling up to the correct side of the car every time.
1 Like
I remember Ray and Tommy talking about this on the radio show
One of them said as you’re approaching the pumps, push/pull the fuel door release handle, while looking in the rear view mirror. When you see what side it’s on, then you can make a move for the appropriate pump
Using their methods, you could drive a car that’s totally new to you, and be in good shape, when you’re approaching the filling station
And drag that hose across my paint? Not happening. I’ll just pull up to the correct side.
1 Like
I set my side mirrors to minimize the blind spots. Doing this makes seeing the side of the rear fender impossible unless I put my head on the window or over the console. This seems unsafe, IMO.
1 Like
I don’t “drag that hose across my paint”
I actually hold the hose up, so that it doesn’t touch my paint. I’m usually the only guy there that is going to such lengths, but I’m not making this up
I only pull up to the wrong side if the station attendant directs me to . . . otherwise, I pull up to the pump that has the nozzle on the same side as my filler neck
Everybody has to set up the controls . . . seats, mirrors, steering wheel, etc. . . . in a manner which feels right to them. Nothing more to say on the matter
And whenever I go to costco the short lane is for cars to the left of the pumps, but their hose stretches just fine to fill my car on the left, the odd part the guy on the right side of the pump had the hose stretched to the right side of the car, go figure.
I remember taking my old 65 Chevelle to the gas station, pulling forward quite a distance to get to the tank in the back, when someone came into the pump ahead of mine; I had to back up and go to the other side.
He told me I didn’t have to do that, but I told him that the filler was behind the license plate. He had forgotten that cars used to have those
Those GM gas caps behind the license plates in the bumper weren’t much higher than the tank. Spilling some gas wasn’t very rare at the Sohio station…
My dad tried that method with a company car back in the late 90’s, pulled what he thought was the fuel door release and after not seeing anything in the side mirrors, looked in the rearview and he actually opened the trunk.
The side of the gas cap has never mattered to me. My Lincolns have it on the “wrong side” and even my old VW air cools had a “wrong side” gas cap and not even a gas gauge…
I remember the 1951 Cadillac where the tail light flipped up revealing the gas filler cap. I think it was the left tail light, but my memory isn’t clear on this point. Also, on the 1952 Nash Statesman and Ambassador models, the filler was under a cover above the tail light. I believe it was the right tail light.
My 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon had the gas filler behind the license plate.