This is probably a sure sign I am becoming obsessive compulsive about the layout but on what side of the car did a 1956 Chevy have its gas tank. I want to place one at a gas pump and it would only make sense that it would be parked so the tank side is nearest the pump.
Of course a better question would be why the automakers never standardized this so we could all pull up to the pumps on the same side.
This is reaching WAAAAAAY back in my memory. If I remember correctly, '55 & '56 Chevies had the gas filler concealed behind one of the taillights (left side? Maybe?). The taillight assembly swung to the side or flipped up to expose the gas cap.
In the late '50’s and early '60’s, I think the automakers went to great lengths to hide the gas caps. Buick, and maybe others, hid theirs behind the rear license plates. Ford had some interesting locations, too, but I don’t remember the specifics.
Hope this helps. It’ll make an interesting scene having a gas nozzle sticking into the taillight of a Chevy! LOL
Darrell, quiet…for now
'56 was behind the driver’s side taillight. This one I know, my ex had a restored show-winning 56 Chevy and she was a certified judge for 55/56/57 Chevys.
–Randy
This has zip influence in one’s OCD (I’ve been accused of this myself) but just to mess up the head I’ve seen people with 1957 chevs driving up to the pump, jumping out of the car and dragging the hose clear over to the other side to fill’er up…
I have a 1957 chev on my N scale that is being filled at the back by the bumper…excuse being that the car was after all ‘modified’…
It was the driver’s side tail light…
Don Z.
Your memory is good. Our family car was a 1956 Chevy station wagon back then. The drivers side tail lamp assembly would swing down to expose the gas filler cap beneith. The latch to lower the tail lamp was disguised as a piece of chromed trim.
Cadillac started the “hide the gasoline fill” trend. The late 1940’s Caddy’s had the primal tail fin with the tail lamp perched on the tip of the fin. Press the red reflector button on the tail lamp and it would flip up exposing the gas cap. This Cadillac feature was so cool that by 1956 it had trickled down to Chevy.
Just a quick question. What would happen if some yahoo left the lights on while filling her up and he spilt gas on the light housing? How many of these cars went up in flames from this?
Brent
both the 56 and 57 gas cap was behind the left rear tail light. The light swung to the side(left) to reveal the cap.
A worse problem would be an intermittent connection that is sparking while you are trying to put gas in. The heat of the lamp wouldn;t be enough to ignite spilled gas, and I’d assume the conenctions were reasonably liquid-proof or you’d loose the taillight every time it rained hard. I’m going out on a limb here and saying this was a rare occurance, if it ever occurred - the 57 Chevy in particular is probably the most common classic around - everyone and their brother seems to have one, mostly turned into street rods. 56’s OTOH seem to be somewhat rare.
–Randy
Good information. Thanks to all who replied. I’ve seen gas caps behind license plates but never would have guessed a tail light. So I should park my Chevy on the right side of the pump and a litle past it. It will make it a little easier for the little gas station attendant. Who remembers those? I always wondered why those guys never had the spiffy uniforms like the ones on the commercials.
I think the electrical safety concerns coupled with the hastles of installing the extra fuel piping thru the body panels to the tank and the eventual demise of the big fin cars were the prime reasons the filler moved to behind the license plate by the early 1960’s, even those were problematic, I can remember trying to fill a 69 Nova at night shoving the pump into the filler tube, pulling the handle and watched about a gallon shoot out onto the concrete before I could react and release the handle because I hadnt placed it in the pipe but had wedged it just under the filler due to the hinged license plate getting in the way, I hated those hinged plates.[D)]
BTW Jaguars of this era has gas caps on top of the rear quarter panels on both sides so you could fill up easier, it was a carry over from their racing cars, I always thought that was brilliant and wondered why other makers didnt do the same.[:P]
Good luck with the model[;)]
I sometimes wondered why production of cars with the gas filler behind the license plate stopped. I always figured it was easier to have it in the middle, that way if you’re driving an unfamiliar car, you don’t have to concern yourself with the usual “which side is the gas tank on” question that always arises.
I suppose I would rather be inconvenienced with having to move the car around to the appropriate side than get my hand pinched by those metal plate covers that used to snap back into position with some decent force. Ouch!
The drivers side rear I own 2 of them. A 55 had it on the driver rear quarter and a 57 was also the driver rear taillight.
Kurt 56Chevytime2
It was due to rear end collisions fracturing the filler pipe allowing fuel to leak and cause fires, Fed regs mandated moving the fillers to the sides during the 70’s
If in an unfamiliar car, look at the Fuel gauge, it has an arrow pointing to the left or right, telling you which side the gas cap is on. (on newer cars anyway)
Have to check that on my car.
Also if the tailpipe is on the left, the filler is on the right, and visa versa. Almost all American cars fillers are on the right, while almost all Japanese cars are on the left.
(doing his best Johnny Carson imitation) I did not know that…
Except that the filler on one of my Pontiacs is on the right and the filler on my other Pontiac is on the left…
This is kind of interesting. I customized a 1998 Dakota, and one of the features we did was to hide the gas filler behind a taillight. When the truck was on display, this got more attention than just about any of the other modifications.
