Here in CT the gas cap is checked for a seal with a vaccum (or pressure?)
device. They have a bunch of adapters to make any cap fit on their testing
device. The seal of the gas system is not checked at all. It seems to me it
would be smarter to use the testing device in place of the gas cap to check
the car being tested and not the cap only. But who cares really as long as
I'm smog legal and pass.

I think the flap you are talking about is a "dust" or foreign matter blocker
or a pass down of the old days when you might have had to worry about the
gas being removed from your car overnight. A siphon blocker. I was not old
enough to drive in the gas crunch so I'dont know if gas theft was ever a
problem. Or is that thing to make sure you don't put regular in the tank.
Can you even get reguar anymore? (meaning not unleaded)

That stupid flap makes it hard to put additives or octane booster into the
tank as it is a pain on my 90 cabrolet. Yes I know the vanagon does not
benefit from octane boost additive. (unless you buy the cheapes of gas I
guess)

Rob

Sorry for misspellings, sticker fumes on the brain.
----------
>From: Vernon Craddock <Vernon@CRADDOCK.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Trap door under the gas cap no longer closes.
>Date: Tue, Mar 16, 1999, 10:15 PM
>

>Hi fellow Vanagon owners,
>
>        The small trap door which closes when you remove the gas pump nozzle no
>longer closes on my van.  I guess that the spring fell off or busted and is
>in the tank now.  Anyway, It has been like this for a while, but it is now
>time for me to get a smog test.  I have noticed that they remove and
>visually inspect the fuel cap.  Will this missing/broken spring be a
>problem for my CA smog test?  It looks to me like I will have to drop the
>tank to fix this.
>
>Any Ideas?
>
>Thanks,
>Vernon Craddock
>'90 Standard Vanagon pending California smog check II
>