Dropping in to say 'hello' again

Yep, as the title says, I'm just dropping by to say 'hello' again. I've never been that active on this forum (nor any other for that matter - the most active I was, was when I had a Mercedes for nearly ten years - needed a bit of help with that now and then from Merc owners!) but my ride with classic cars since 2003 has been a bit up and down - as they can be - and I've been taking a step back from being active with them over the last 12 months. However, I still own my distinctive, and incorrectly painted yellow-topped Wolseley Hornet, very probably the only one of its type in the entire Galaxy (I think a previous owner wanted a Ford Zodiac or a Vauxhall Cresta) and I'm currently feeling a little better about it and while online looking for bits and bobs, came here and....couldn't log in with my old password. Seems I was past my best-before date. Still, that's sorted now. Last time I was here was a year ago, appealing for help with my persistantly leaking petrol tank, because the new fangled ethanol petrol appeared determined to shrink the gasket that seals my screw-in fuel gauge sender. Dave2010, I think, told me he'd had success doing something with soap - I never quite worked that one out, but a motorcycling friend of mine said use tallow. So I bought a tub of tallow off a market seller on one of our famous, wonderful tax-evading Luxembourg registered major online retailers, melted some in a pan, soaked the cork gasket, plus the fibre washers I was to use under the screw heads - and I have to cautiously say that it seems to have worked, though I'm reluctant to keep fuel in the tank over the level of the fuel sender mounting plate while the car is standing in the garage unused for any period. Because I'm a namby-pamby fine weather classic car fan, and I don't like the smell of Waxoyl (nor do I think it works that well) so far this year I've only made a little local show on a fine day on Drive It Day, but I've also used the car for transport in the sunshine several times, instead of my current modern, and have loose plans to do other local-ish shows marked on my calender coming up in the summer. So that's it really. Still here, still own a Hornet! Sometimes that seems a miracle, but I only wanted a little classic car, having owned bigger ones in the past, so that I can push it into a corner and forget about it when it is misbehaving and I'm not in the mood.   For that, it fits the bill! Mick.

Welcome back to you MickD. Yes I certainly remember recommending soap as a cure for leaking petrol tank sender-unit gaskets.
I was plagued with the smell of petrol in my 1965 Morris Cooper (same tank ; sender-unit ; etc.).
I tried various branded products without solving the seep (it was'nt exactly a leak - just wet stain around sender when the tank was full).
Even tried to find the recommended sealant used extensively by garages in the 60s - a product called " Stag " - but without success.
Eventually an old mechanic with more miles on his biological clock then even I have ! told me about soap.
You see - he explained - its one of the very few things that petrol can't penetrate ( & as soap contains fat - your lard solution may work too).
I took a small piece of soap & reduced it in warm water to a putty-like consistency. With the sender removed and all surfaces clean - I coated the
newly purchased cork gasket with the " soft soap" on the side of the gasket obviously which would then be re-fitted next to the petrol tank.
I re-fitted the sender unit , etc. and finally tightened the (I forget the number) of small retaining screws in a diagonal sequence to avoid distorting
the gasket. The next part was easy - leave everything for twenty-four hours to allow the soap to dry-out & harden.
That was - I think back in 2009 - the Mini Cooper has remained " petrol odour free " & more importantly " leak-free" to this day.
David2010.