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And that is why I have a fire extinguisher in my car...

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by _charles_, Jul 23, 2009.

  1. _charles_
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 305

    _charles_
    Member
    from Tampa, Fl

    So, still breaking in the Caddy...resolving or do***enting any bugs that I have (so far has only been a blown fuse).

    Well, tonight, I decided to take her up the Suncoast Parkway to a little (200-300 car) cruise-in in Brooksville. As I am driving up there, somewhere around SR52, she starts to smoke. I pulled over, saw that the car was leaking a little bit of ****** fluid, and decided to turn her around and head home. A few seconds later, smoke comes pouring out from under the hood.

    I immediately pull over, jump out, and open the hood, to be greated by 2-3 foot high flames[​IMG]. Luckily, I had prepared for this moment, as i normally keep a fire extinguisher right behind the drivers seat (and today, I actually had 2). I grabbed it, and put out the fire before any damage was done.

    Must say, this was not installer error, but rather a failure of the part. The lower line coming from the transmission to transmission cooler popped off at the cooler. It was a new style barbed fitting that doesn't require hose clamps. Needless to say, old style fitting are going on now.

    Had I not had the fire extinguisher, she'd be a crispy critter on the side of the road.

    Always keep a fire extinghuisher in your car if you like modifing it. You never know when you will need it.

    Charles
    (sorry, no pics...of course, no real damage either!)<!-- google_ad_section_end --> <!-- no inline ads for registered members --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
     
  2. Pleased you and the Caddy are both ok.


    Always an excellent idea in any Vehicle , modified or not. The newest vehicle we (wife and I ) own is her 1969 Capri and there are fire extinguishers mounted in ALL our vehicles. Its the cheapest form of insurance you can get!



    .
     
  3. I'm glad it was under control. I carry one in all my cars. If it doesn't save my ***, it might save someone else's.
     
  4. Docco
    Joined: Mar 23, 2007
    Posts: 286

    Docco
    Member
    from Ippy

    Cheap insurance
     
  5. i'm glad you got things under control before it got worst. i have never trusted those fittings and always used a hose clamp on them. a fire extinguisher is a good idea in any car, even your daily driver...i have one in every car i own
     
  6. justinj
    Joined: Oct 22, 2008
    Posts: 70

    justinj
    Member

    Fire extinguishers aren't traditional.

    :D
     
  7. _charles_
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 305

    _charles_
    Member
    from Tampa, Fl

    Neither is the fuel injected V8 under the hood of My caddy...but I love you too :D
     
  8. 51chevcoupe
    Joined: Oct 24, 2008
    Posts: 110

    51chevcoupe
    Member

    Bummer but al east ya got it put out fast. My car had a similar failure and I bought it as a burnt hulk. It's going on three years now getting it into shape.
     

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  9. they may not be , but they make a lot of sense to me in ANY car. they are within easy reach of all my cars..hot rods or my daily driver
     
  10. Insane 1
    Joined: Feb 13, 2005
    Posts: 974

    Insane 1
    Member
    from Ennis TX

    I don't know about that non trad stuff. I bet if you look in some of the old mags you'll spot one or two in a car.
     
  11. Chaoticcustoms
    Joined: Sep 20, 2008
    Posts: 270

    Chaoticcustoms
    Member

    You are very lucky sir. I almost lost my mustang in highschool to a ****** line popping off(however was my fault). It douched the headers down really well and all of a sudden we had a fire, with no fire extinguisher. Sand and my shirt kinda did the trick. The girl i had with me wasnt very impressed haha. Congrats tho on still having a car!!!
     
  12. DRUGASM
    Joined: Dec 16, 2008
    Posts: 2,817

    DRUGASM
    Member

    yeah,...fire ext are good. A buddies OT Camaro caught the air cleaners on fire one day and we had to dump 2 gallons of apple juice on it. good thing it only had two carbs....one gallon each. coulda been alot worse.
     
  13. 50scotbolt
    Joined: Jan 15, 2009
    Posts: 627

    50scotbolt
    Member

    Yup! Totally agree with you guys....I had a valve seat drop and hang up an exhaust valve once.
    Ignition in the wrong place at the wrong time! It set the air cleaner on fire. :eek:
    Thankfully I had a bottle of soda to hand. Got off lightly with just a melted filter.
    Went out straight after and bought a proper extinguisher! (Halon)
    That was a close call!
     
  14. Four or five years ago I had my Dads truck running errands and pulled up at a light behind an SUV. They had just popped the hood, and when I walked up to help with their engine problem the fire had just started to rage up one side of the engine bay. By pure luck I had just filled my oversized coffee mug when I picked up the truck and had it in my hand. When I saw the flames, I let it fly, and caught a lucky break when it went out.

    Bought a fire extinguisher later that week.
     
  15. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,609

    manyolcars

    dry chemical extinguishers sure make a mess........but its better than burning to the ground
     

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  16. Glad you saved the car and didn't burn your ***. I always carry a fire extinguisher in the truck and old cars... I had a cough*Mazda RX-7*cough that caught fire after an oil metering line got brittle and sprayed oil & gas mixture all over the exhaust manifold and lit it up. Extinguisher saved a very expensive motor.
     
  17. Belchfire8
    Joined: Sep 18, 2005
    Posts: 1,540

    Belchfire8
    Member

    I feel naked in a car without an extinquisher. I put a new torque converter in my '46 truck last week and took it out for a test around the neighborhood. I got about a block away and realised I had taken the extinquisher out of the truck and put it in my '46 Chevy a few days before to go to a cruise night thing. I went right back home and grabbed the extinquisher and then resumed my test drive. Guess i gotta get another one now. Have one in my daily truck too.
     
  18. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,401

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

  19. 1/2done
    Joined: Oct 29, 2006
    Posts: 652

    1/2done
    Member
    from Ohio

    Been there, done that. Stuck float.:(

    [​IMG]
     
  20. RAY With
    Joined: Mar 15, 2009
    Posts: 3,132

    RAY With
    Member

    Well I have to totaly disagree. In the 40's the Grand Parents always had the old br*** pump type fire extinguisher in there 47 chev mounted on the p***enger side kick panel area. Don't get any more traditional than that.
     

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