With regard to the petrol smell and cracked filler pipes, I have been working on the back end of the car the last few days and kept noticing a petrol smell which i thought was from the pipe (which is quite cracked). Turns out it was coming from the filler cap. Mine has no breather (1974!) so presumably has to have a vented cap. Is there a rubber seal in the cap which could perish?
Yep, mine has a small hole in the cap which I make sure I keep clear with an air line. I think it originally had a cork seal but I make my own out of some fuel resistant rubber I have. I keep it well covered in vaseline to peserve the rubber, and maintain the seal.
