Just had the Cool Desert Nights event wrap up last night so all the cars are packing up to head home from the Tri-Cities of Washington. I wasn't able to make it to the show but saw a few come through work and around town which seemed to show a nice cross section of Hot Rods as well as Street Rods. Anyways on my bike ride to work I passed by this happening just down the street from my house. A Stude with Montana plates on fire, not sure how it started as I wasn't going to ask the owner but it made me think about a bit of safety on board such as a fire extinguisher or two just in case. I know we all have the best wiring jobs and our cars are built to the top of specs but shit happpens so plan for the worst and hope for the best.
I never had a car fire, (almost did once when my flattie coughed and carbs regurgitated some burning gas onto the manifold...Not a BIG fire, but in a channeled Model A Coupe with the cowl tank...I was quick to smother it with my Gear Jammers club jacket.) The day I bought my fire extinguishers for the shop, I had the solvent tank go up! No harm done, just a mess...I had the bottle recharged that very day.
Seeing that picture breaks my heart. All it takes is something so simple to cause such a great loss. Agree 100% with the extinguisher comment. Often overlooked, unfortunately.
we all need to carry a fire extinguisher,,the bigger the better. Reminds me of Deuce Roadsters fire,,,HRP
Yep thats exactly it, gorgeous ride from what I saw as well. I am curious what caused the fire because it looked to be a quality build.
Yeah I should have got a shot from the front. It looked to be a dash fire as it burnt alll up around the windshield area, then spread to the headliner and as far back as the B pillar right as they were getting the hose on it. Once they had the hose running it was out quickly, but an extinguisher could have possibly held it back or possibly even put it out altogether without half the damage being done.
My uncles 57 had a fire in may and one of the other show folks heard a lady tell fire and grabbed his fire exstinguisher and put it out. Fuel line had come loose,hell of a way to make the front page of the local paper. Would have been 5 years of sweat up in flames.
We blamed a lot of fires on the MTBE fuel additive her in CA a few years back. The ingredient (leftover in refining) was corrosive to rubber and cork. Causing leaks all over especially the carb over the hot intake. This post is a good reminder to carry a fully charged extinguisher. If not for yourself - but maybe save someone else one day. -D
I watched a 59 corvette burn to the ground once. there was a pile of fire extinguishers that just couldnt get it out. The fire departments big one got it out finally.
It was before sun rise, I was on my way to the Donut Derelicts in my'65 Biscayne. I had just installed a new stereo the day before. Going down the freeway, my dash lights started to flicker. I killed the power to the stereo but the lights continued to flicker. I killed the ignition and started to coast off the freeway. I felt something on my legs and realized the oil line to my gauge had broke. I looked down and saw a glow from under the dash. I jumped out of the car and grabbed a towel from the trunk and swatted out the fire from under the dash. I used a braided line for my oil pressure gauge since I've had the plastic ones break. Turns out the braided line had rubbed on my emergency flasher line, rubbed through and the short had sliced through the braided line. The oil had caught fire. I re-wired the dash and switched to an electric gauge. Funny thing, the electric gauge worked better than the mechanical gauge. I had to replace the carpet too. After that, I always carrying a fire extinguisher, on the floor board behind the driver's seat. It may not be pretty, but it's close on hand and I can always put it in the trunk for shows. After reading this thread, I'm going to invest in a bigger fire extinguisher.
Having any car without at least one fire extinguisher is just stupid. I remember reading about a guy burning to death while his wife watched after a traffic accident leaving a car show. I still can't believe no one had a fire extinguisher in the cars that stopped to try and help.
You folks are toward summer, it ups the risk some too. p.s; Make sure the extinguisher unit is up to date. I pulled the trigger trying to put out my lawn mower and nothing happened. Scary. Exit lawn mower.
The Jalopy Journal
