Dear Tom and Ray:

My wife is very upset with me because I lost the gas cap from her 1961 Plymouth Valiant. She doesn't drive the car because it doesn't have power steering. But it has great sentimental value because her mother drove it for 29 years -- until she was 93 years old. I have tried to find a replacement cap with no luck. As you may recall, the gas cap on this car is part of the body. It fits flush with the left, rear fender. Can you offer any suggestions? -- Roger

Tom: Oh, boy, are you in trouble, Rog! I can see that you've already figured out what the next 35 years of marriage are going to be like if you DON'T find a replacement cap -- soon!

Ray: The best place I know to look for stuff like a '61 Valiant gas cap is Hemmings Motor News (1-800-CAR-HERE). Hemmings is a monthly publication full of ads for old cars, old car parts, and groups offering oblique social interaction to geeks who spend their lives obsessed with old cars.

Tom: And you'll be doing your wife a tremendous favor by finding her a source for old Valiant parts in Hemmings. That way, she'll know where to get replacements for future parts that break, rust or disappear due to husbandly neglect.

Ray: Alternatively, Roger, my brother owns a '63 Dodge Dart, which happens to use the same exact gas cap. And if you send me 50 bucks and tell me what color Krylon you want it sprayed, I'm sure I'll be able to "find" one for you and have it in the mail by tomorrow morning.

Tom: Oh, no you don't!

Stop the madness! You can stop driving like a knucklehead, and you'll help your car in the process. Learn how your driving habits can harm your car in Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1997 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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