Shamrock GS
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:49 AM |
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Car up in smoke - get an extinguisher!
Sitting on my drive yesterday - just started the car when suddenly thick smoke poured from the air intakes. Then came flames and a bang!
Fortunately I had an extinguisher on the car and put the fire out. It was scary just how quickly the thing took hold. No more than 15 secs and the
damage includes Carbs partly melted, bonnet gone, melted goo all over the engine, electrics on one side fried, fire extinguisher powder everywhere.
It looks a mess but apart from the bonnet and carbs is all fixable.
The moral is - buy an extinguisher - cost a few quid but probably saved my car.
Anyone have a spare Velocity XT bonnet and/or a spare pair of 45 webers (some hope!) for sale?
Cheers
Gary
[Edited on 24/7/08 by Shamrock GS]
[Edited on 24/7/08 by Shamrock GS]
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:52 AM |
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well hats off to you for being so sensible, nice one
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:55 AM |
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That was lucky. Glad the damage isnt too bad.
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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vinny1275
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:56 AM |
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Got one in all my cars, and another in the garage, and the kitchen.
Had fire marshall training with work, and the trainer asked if anyone had ever put out a fire. I said I had, and she asked what - when cutting up the
sierra shell in the garage I went through a pipe that I thought was brake fluid. started cutting the next bit, and it turns out the fluid was petrol,
and I'd just set fire to my garage floor..... Had an extinguisher handy so put it out.
then someone said: Why do you have a fire extinguisher in your garage? Durr, because I do things like cut up cars in it!! 
Good luck with the rebuild!
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:56 AM |
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Any idea what caused the problem?
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Dusty
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 10:59 AM |
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I remember stopping at a red traffic light. Car opposite also waiting, wisp of smoke from the grill, then the wheel arches and then flicker of flames.
Whole of the front of the car engulfed in flames and the traffic lights were still red. Difficult to believe how fast it happens. Well done for saving
99% of it.
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nitram38
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 11:19 AM |
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I have plumbed in extinguishers on both the F1-2 and the MotaLeira.............no chances taken here!
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Moorron
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 11:43 AM |
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ive always had one in my cars. I think it stemmed from my renault 5 turbo days when they like to just catch fire.
On the indy its in the boot which means a good 20 seconds to get to it 
But never had to use one thank god
also got one in the kitchen, but not in the garage! which i think is pushing it a little.
i also want to know what caused your fire?
one question i have always asked myself. Would i stop and use it on a strangers car? I think i would if it involved saving someone or it was a nice
car, but in the back of my mind i think i wouldnt use it any other time due to the luck i have and how my car would set alight just after emptying my
powder bottle on the strangers car.
Sorry about my spelling, im an engineer and only work in numbers.
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JAG
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 11:46 AM |
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What caused it?
Justin
Who is this super hero? Sarge? ...No.
Rosemary, the telephone operator? ...No.
Penry, the mild-mannered janitor? ...Could be!
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adithorp
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 11:57 AM |
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I've got a small extingisher in the car plus an automatic one under the bonnet. It's from Flameskill (01493 440464) on an offer through
CKC for £99+vat (normally £165). Its dead simple; Fit the bottle in a convenient place and run the 12' of flame sensitive pipe around where you
think has the greatest fire risk. In a fire the pipe bursts where the flames are and dumps the contents on them.
adrian
[Edited on 24/7/08 by adithorp]
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 12:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
I've got a small extingisher in the car plus an automatic one under the bonnet. It's from Flameskill (01493 440464) on an offer through
CKC for £99+vat (normally £165). Its dead simple; Fit the bottle in a convenient place and run the 12' of flame sensitive pipe around where you
think has the greatest fire risk. In a fire the pipe bursts where the flames are and dumps the contents on them.
adrian
[Edited on 24/7/08 by adithorp]
certainly the way to go
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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AndyGT
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 12:30 PM |
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once saw an oldish lady in her mk3 astra at the side of the road with the hazards on, all windows closed, all doors closed and black smoke bellowing
out from under the bonnet of her car. Couldnt beleive the stupidity of it, if her doors locked by central locking electrical fault she wouldnt be
able to get out and her windows would almost certainly not open.
By the time I stopped and turned around she had been advised "politely" by someone to get the f**k out before it goes up!! I bet she was
chatting to a neighbour on the phone and not the fire brigade....
Sometimes it doesnt matter about the motor but that nobody is injured etc. In this case it looks like it woudn't have been a huge loss to
mankind!!! ;-)
Since then have always carried an extinguisher in all my cars even if it's only used has a hammer to break a window to help a trapped person in
an accident!!
Like everyone else, interested to hear what the cause was so similar fate can be avoided in future...
Good luck with sourcing the right bits and the rebuild.
Andy
PS Insured?
nothing is impossible
everything is possible
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 12:53 PM |
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usually fuel hoses popping off or float needles jamming and flooding the carbs
or next doors cat sleeping on the exhaust
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 01:32 PM |
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My first car caught fire - it was a reliant rialto, beast of a machine.
Fuel line perish and dripped onto the exhaust (it runs underneath!!!)
Heard a funny "puuuf" sound from the engine, then the smoke started!
By the time I opened the tiny bonnet the flames were 4 foot high!!
Managed to keep it controlled with pans of water until the fire brigade made it and hosed it down.
The car survived to be bought by someone else, whilst I upgraded to a relaint rialto SE...
Going to get an extigusiher for my kit car and garage soonest - good post!
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DarrenW
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 01:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
My first car caught fire - it was a reliant rialto, beast of a machine.
Fuel line perish and dripped onto the exhaust (it runs underneath!!!)
Its for this reason that i ensured all cables and lines were routed down opposite side to exhaust manifold.
Pleased you had extinguisher. Will insurance foot bill to have car taken to Luego or similar to be repaired?
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Maradona
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 02:21 PM |
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shit!!!!!!
Diego,
The locost builder from Argentina
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bimbleuk
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 02:43 PM |
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A good one for us kit car owners is the Sparco Fire-Eater. Basically think of a flare which you light and direct at the fire. The gasses released
smother the flames for up to a couple of minutes. Very compact but basically one use only and not particularly cheap. Just light it and shove it in a
grill or under the chassis so the flames are contained in the engine bay.
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Shamrock GS
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 03:34 PM |
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Just out of the garage having assessed damage in the cold light of day. Apart from melted filth and the bonnet and carbs everything else is fine.
Still not entirely sure of the cause but definitely carb related. The first thing that went up was the foam air filter socks so I think there was a
spark or flame spit from the carb. Fortunately the petrol feed didn't melt (I think it got covered fairly quickly with dripping fibre glass
which might have protected it).
For those who asked - its not a Luego, only used the bonnet as it came cheap from fleabay and the scoop allowed the height of the pinto engine to
fit.
Thanks for supportive comments. Planned to bin the whole thing last night - now a bit more rational. A good excuse for a rebuild with a few worthwhile
improvements thrown in!
CHeers
Gary
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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MikeR
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 04:32 PM |
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call me paranoid but ....
extinguisher in my bedroom
and one down stairs,
fire blanked in the kitchen,
fire extinguisher by garage entrance
and one at rear
+ water in washing up bottle for smouldering paper / wood - which has been used a couple of times.
I'm also a fire marshal at work. Fire brigade trained me, i asked about the welder etc and they said phone up your local fire station and let
them know - so they know to drive round the block until they hear the bang. They REALLY hate gas cylinders.
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clairetoo
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 04:35 PM |
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I've only had one fire in a car - I was sat at a junction , cold engine spitting a bit , then when I went to pull out it popped.........and died
. It would'nt re-start and that was when I noticed thick smoke drifting out of the wheel arches .
I jumped out and popped the bonnet up , to find the pipercross foam sock air filter looking like a smoke bomb !
As I yanked it off it burst into flames
So I chucked it on the road , stamped the flames out , then just re-fitted it and drove off
A bit of a lucky escape...........
Its cuz I is blond , innit
Claire xx
Will weld for food......
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Fred W B
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 05:36 PM |
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I one drove past an old Granada stalled at a set of lights with smoke oozing out from under the bonnet. Took pity on the distraught driver so pulled
into a nearby petrol station, asked them for a fire extinguiser, threw the bloody great 3 foot high thing in the passenger footwell and drove back to
the car.
Bu now a crowd had gathered, and flames were licking through the grill. I told the driver to just pop the bonnet, and directed the extiguisher nozzel
through the gap, which put the fire out.
One of bystanders says to me......"Good job you had that in your car"........
Like I drive around looking for fires to put out
Cheers
Fred W B
You can do it quickly. You can do it cheap. You can do it right. – Pick any two.
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lsdweb
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 07:30 PM |
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I've seen a fair few fires in my time!
I have a 4 litre system plumbed in system in my hillclimb/sprint car even though I don't need it! My fellow competitors tell me to ditch it to
save me about 6kg and make me quicker. I won't!
Wyn
[Edited on 24/7/08 by lsdweb]
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owelly
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| posted on 24/7/08 at 09:12 PM |
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I was getting some tyre fitted at a mates garage when an old guy came running in (in slow motion like old people do) screaming that he was on fire. He
actually meant his car was on fire out on the forcourt. He was parked over the undergroung fuel storage tanks right under the vapour stacks. The lads
grabbed an extinguisher each and ran outside. I popped the bonnet enough to get the nozzles in but all four extinguishers failed! No pressure in any
of them! I had a 1.5kg Dry Powder in my car so used that to put the fire out. Job done. We popped the bonnet to make sure it was out and it was. The
old guy had been cleaning the top of the engine with some sort of degreaser it had caught fire when he tried to start the car.
The sound proofing under the bonnet was ruined but the rest looked OK. We hosed the engine off to get rid of the muck and closed the bonnet. Then the
fire brigade turned up, pushed all us bystanders out of the way and proceeded to bend up the corners of the bonnet with wrecking bars to open it. So
one immaculate Rover SD1 Vitesse with ruined wings, scuttle and bonnet.
And I got to have an empty fire extinguisher. Great.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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