so... i was going to post some pics of my new glass i just had installed last week... looked very good! i was happy and ready to start getting interior decisions going... well... here it is... ha... man is she beautiful... then i installed a new holley carb. brand new... took it down the street for a test drive and it ran a heck of a lot better than my old worn out carter i had on there... whole new car! well, was going to take it to my brothers to mess with it a little bit and as i got off the highway, it died... my guess is the float stuck open and when i tried to start it, it back fired out the carb and boom, fire... when i popped the hood to try and put it out it was already too late... that fast... thing was engulfed in fire and i just had to stand on the side and watch her burn... fire department finally showed and here is what had happened... and the new glass... luckily it didnt buckle anything nor hurt the engine... but shes down for the count... and it hurts... i couldnt even stand watching her burn... ive had it since i was almost 16 and built it myself... sucks, just plain sucks...
This Kind Of Flame Job Not Cool Ever .. That Is Some Bad News Glad Your Ok Enuf To Bitch And Complain Tho,,
That hurts for sure. That little '51 looks a lot like my first car. Fire damage sometimes looks a lot worse than it is, get her cleaned up and see where you are. Good luck.
glad you ok , thats sucks man.. the car was lookin good before the fire.. another good reason to keep a fire extingusher in the car..
man that sucks bad. i know the despair. friend of mine a few years ago put flame throwers on his chopped 41 ford. had them for a couple weeks. he forgot the car leaked a little gas when he filled it completely up. well, no more car. upside, yours is fixable. you'll just have to pull up your boot straps and get to it. you got the old girl this far so you can bring her back. after my buddies car burned i started carrying fire extinguishers in my cars.
That's terrible, but you'll get it back to where it was eventually, I'm sure. Let it be a good lesson to everyone else - always carry a fire extinguisher in your car!
thanks guys... it will be resurrected for sure... i wont ditch this car... ever... this will give me the extra push to fix some things i did when i was 16... ha... and i was going to pull alot of it apart this summer after igot my truck going to straighten alot of it out and fix some problems... well, looks like i have to now... ha... one good way to look at it... the crappy part is i have spent a few pockets worth of change on it the past few weeks with the glass, carb, electric wipers, weathersrip/rubber.. etc... all that is "up in smoke" as they say... i called the place i got the carb and they told me to call holley and tell them what happened... my buddy, before i knew him had the exact same thing happen to him, melted the whole upper part of the engine... they at least gave him a new carb out of the deal... but who knows...
ive always had an extinguisher in this car since ive been driving it... just this last summer i checked it and it was empty or the pressure was out... anyways, i never did get a new one... just didnt think... but from now on... definately will have one in every rod i build! no questions asked...
Shit, I had the same thing happen a few years ago to a muscle car I had. Was burnin real good until I remembered I had a 20oz. coffee in my hand and knocked the fired out with it before alot of damage happened. Good luck and get her back on the road
Most of us have been there. I damn near started my truck on fire last week pouring gas down the carb to get it started. Its always trouble to run an engine without an air cleaner. I'm sure you'll get it back to beautiful ! Good luck.
Buy one, and replace it every couple of years, they go bad sitting around. Cheap insurance. Make sure it's an ABC type for all sorts of fires. In fact, if someone has a decent level of expertise a tech thread about fire extingusihers would be a good idea. One question: Were you running some type of air cleaner on there?
i did have an air cleaner on top, had a K&N filter in it... dunno if that oil on the filter is flammable or not... but im sure it helped feed the fire...
In fact, if someone has a decent level of expertise a tech thread about fire extingusihers would be a good idea. A bit too late for oddball but for the few minutes it takes to watch this video its well worth it.(its a bit corporate like)Its also amazing how much fire an extinguisher can put out if you know how to use it properly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G0a-MLneRs
It's a real good idea to replace them every couple years! A few years ago I needed one for a power steering fluid barf on the headers fire. Of course the one I had with didn't work! I had to use some bottled water to put it out.
I don't claim to be an expert on the subject of fire extinguishers but I do have a good idea being a Fire Fighter/ Paramedic. An general purpose ABC extinguisher is the easiest to find and would probably be the best for a car fire. The most important aspect of the ABC in this case is the "B" being combustable liquids. The number rating associated with the B, i.e. 5B or 10B, tells how many square feet a non-expert can extiguish of flammable liquid. Think of a fully involved engine bay and you would probably have a square footage of atleast 10. What if your engine bay and passenger cabin was on fire? You get the picture. But the larger the number rating the larger the extinguisher body. The bigger the better and keep it as accessible as possible. The longer it takes to get it out and use it the larger your porblem is becoming. As corny as it sounds, the acronym of P.A.S.S. gives you the basic concept of the use of an extinguisher. Pull the pin, Aim the nozle, Squeeze the handle, Sweep the nozzle side to side thoroughly covering the fire. One mistake many people make is standing to far away from the fire for one reason or another. The closer you can get the better you can occlude the oxygen from the combustion process. Stand as close as the heat will allow. The common misconception that cars explode is not true. Even when fire makes it to the fuel take there is only a rapid surge of flame. One should still be cautious of this not being in protective gear. Also if you have an electric fuel pump try and shut that off as soon as possbile. One problem with the ABC extinguisher is the corrosive properties of the Ammonium Phosphate used for the "A" ,natural combustibles, portion of the dry chemical. I suppose extinguishing your fire is much more important than corrosion of your bare metal. It is also a good idea every so often to turn your extiguisher upside down and give it a few blows with a rubber mallet to help break apart the dry chemical as it settles with time. I think I covered a good portion of it with my rammblings. If I missed anything or if there are any questions just ask. Oh yeah, keep in mind that ABC fire extinguishers only occlude oxygen and do not have a cooiling effect on the fire. The fire can re-ignite since there are still high temps.
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