A little AMC historical trivia here. On the gas caps, AMC had a big problem
with people stealing gas out of the 'easy access' butt in the air Gremlin
and Hornet Series. With rising gas prices in the early 70s something had to
be done. The 'butt in the air' Grem/Horn offered a super easy target if you
will, a 'bullseye' for those wanting to quickly siphon off gas. No gas door,
no side of vehicle where possibly be seen, just poke hoes, suck and fill and
gone quickly. So AMC responded with a locking gas cap. HOWEVER!!! Locking
gas caps had been around since the advent of the Gremlin and Hornet, just no
one wanted them. So AMC "pushed" them hard at dealerships. This was a Group
15 Accessory. I would have loved to seen the faces of crooks trying to
figure out how to turn that cap on a car they had hit many times before in
their neighborhood or mall.
Enclosed in this photo is the actual page from the Dealership Accessory
Catalog. Note AMC offered a discount on 12 or more locking gas caps. What
makes the gas caps desirable for the Gremlin and Hornet is that they are
'big bling' that is big ass caps with the Gremlin "man" or Hornet "bee" on
them. Other desirable locking caps are the curved type for several Ramblers
in 65-66 and 68(?) and wagons. The wagons are large, flat and solid chrome,
beautiful, but nothing AMC or "R" on them.
The gas caps sold new in 1970 for the prices shown. The first row with the
899 numbers is
A/C number
the second row is
DEALER NET
the third row is
SUGGESTED WHOLESALE
the forth row is
SUGGESTED LIST.
Lastly, if I can ever find it, there was a in house dealership memo about
the "gas crisis" by OPEC in 1973/74, and demand for locking gas caps for
these cars blew thru the roof, and this is why AMC pushed them at
dealerships. I believe they were still selling for under $5 in 1974 so quite
a bargain if you wanted to keep your tank of gas from being stolen; the
alternative would have been sitting in 2-5 hour gas lines, and your license
plate would have to end in either even number or odd number. For you who
didn't go thru it, even if you were in line 4 hours and it was a"even day"
IE=Texas tag Fb5-4h9; the station by LAW would not give you gas, you could
have dying momma and 7 kids in the Hornet, too bad. Come back tomorrow when
it IS YOUR TURN with "odd" plates....hey it could happen again easily is a
Rita, Katrina or Wilma ever hits Houston where I'm at, get your happy ass
ready to pay $7 a gallon if that happens......then I guess a "run" on
locking gas caps on ebay......
Eddie Stakes'
Planet Houston AMX
713.464.8825
eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.planethoustonamx.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hal" <strlcuckoo_46@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 5:20 AM
Subject: Re: [BaadAssGremlins] Fwd: gas caps
> Paul,
> That could probably be done. I've only lost the use of
> a locking cap since I've owned my 74 and that was due
> to some A** snapping off the Gremlin and taking it. I
> have another but it is ONLY FOR SHOW.
> Have you gotten the caps yet?
> Hal
>
> --- Paul Hancock <kwikbiker@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Note: forwarded message attached.
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just
>> $16.99/mo. or less> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 18:38:29
> -0800 (PST)
>> From: Paul Hancock <kwikbiker@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: gas caps
>> To: BadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> Been lookin at early Mustang gas caps on ebay. looks
>> like the early Mustang and Gremlin are very similar,
>> almost exact in some cases. I noticed that the
>> Gremlin logo can be removed by flipping a little tab
>> on the back, the same as a Mustang cap. Mustang had
>> a real cool cable that used to be fastened to the
>> back, and to the fuel filler making the cap very
>> difficult to remove (steal). It also looks like the
>> cable attachment was an extra piece that fits
>> beneath the rubber seal on the cap. I'm thinking you
>> could take one of these old mustang cable assemblies
>> and use it on a Gremmie cap. Seems like when the
>> logo comes off there are fasteners that release the
>> inner parts. you could then install one of the ford
>> cable connectors and reassemble the cap, giving you
>> a theft proof cap. Or maybe I've been drinkin too
>> much coffee, what do you think. Paul
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just
>> $16.99/mo. or less
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________
> Yahoo! DSL - Something to write home about.
> Just $16.99/mo. or less.
> dsl.yahoo.com
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BaadAssGremlins/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
BaadAssGremlins-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Attachment:
ebay stuff 1292.jpg
Description: JPEG image
Back to the Home of the AMC Gremlin
