Filling fuel is forever an issue with Bugeyes, as with all classic cars. It is easy to spill, and when you do spill, your painted surfaces are vulnerable to damage.
This is Kelly, a car we recently restored, and sadly, a full tank plus a little sun resulted in a bubble-over of gas, and damaged paint.
This is going to require a trip to the bodyshop for repair.
The damage here probably happened after leaving the gas station. Spirited driving with the tank near the top (combined with direct sunlight) produced enough fuel expansion to cause fuel to pour out of the cap. No classic car cap can stop this, because these are all vented caps and if they sealed perfectly, your car would not run! Modern systems are sealed completely. Not so here. The cap has to vent so that a vacume doesn’t occur in the tank and shut off the car.
So fill your car until it clicks off, and don’t top off. Tilt the nozzle so it can only drip into the tank and lift it away carefully from your car so no fuel contacts the paint. Don’t park it in the sun until you burn off some of the fuel. You would be surprised how much cold fuel from an underground tank at the gas station expands when heated in the sun.
Keep it cool. Handle fuel with care!
