It’s amazing how many small items have to be looked at when you start working on a car that hasn’t moved in 25 years. One of the first I’ve looked at on my 1986 Lotus Esprit Turbo HCI is the gas tank caps as the locks were incredibly stiff. Fortunately I was able to remove them and while I didn’t photograph the procedure, removing the 2 screws cause the whole unit to fall apart. A quick cleaning and some new lubrication and once again they work like new.
At a later date I’ll probably clean them again and lubricate them with graphite. The rubber seal shown below is a little cracked (they are 35 years old!) so I’ll cut a few new ones at that time. I know, it’s not much but there will be many more smaller jobs to tackle during the coming months.