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Hot Rods Little set-back with the 36...Fire

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by hot-rod roadster, Dec 31, 2011.

  1. hot-rod roadster
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,112

    hot-rod roadster
    Member
    from Omaha Ne.

    Backed it out of the garage the other day and it was running a little rough. Next it back-fired and smoke started rolling out of the hood. Turned off the power and jumped out, through the louvers I could already see flames. It was a little windy and when I opened the drivers side hood a breeze caught it and just fanned the flames. Fuel must have been pumping out like crazy cause by now there was a puddle under the car and the cement was also on fire. Ran in the garage and grabbed my good fire extinguisher, pulled the pin and squeezed the handle...nothing...ran back in grabbed the little K-Mart extinguisher pulled the pin hit the button...nothing...Now I'm freakin out. Yelled at my daughter to call 911 picked up the K-Mart extinguisher again shook it and could tell it was full, pointed it at the fire and smacked the button and it fired.Whew!...relief. I think it had been sitting around so long the button had just gotten sticky.
    One carb is torched, plug wires, dist.cap, coil, wiring harness one air cleaner,paint on the firewall and hood was about the extent of the damage.
    It's all fixable and was actually planning on re-wiring the car and re-placing the plug wires anyway. The hood bothers me the most, hate to re-paint it and have it not look old like the rest of the car ???
    Good news Grundy Ins. adjuster was out yesterday and said it's covered 100%, what a great Co.
    Lesson here, keep fresh and up-dated fire extinguishers close by, this could have been much worse. Removing the carnage and repairs start today. Gary
     

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  2. n847
    Joined: Apr 22, 2010
    Posts: 2,724

    n847
    Member

    Man sorry to hear that, but glad the car, and more importantly your house, and you are safe! Real bummer about the hood though!
     
  3. RMR&C
    Joined: Dec 26, 2009
    Posts: 4,884

    RMR&C
    Member
    from NW Montana

    That sucks! Lucky it wasn't worse.....what was the cause of the fire?
     
  4. captain scarlet
    Joined: Jun 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,432

    captain scarlet
    Member
    from Detroit

    How old are the rubber hoses? This newer gas is not kind to them.
     
  5. Don's Hot Rods
    Joined: Oct 7, 2005
    Posts: 8,319

    Don's Hot Rods
    Member
    from florida

    Um, not pretty at all. In the overall scheme of things it could have been a lot worse.......homes have burned down because of a car fire, so you relatively came out ok. Looks like the fire started by the distributor or solenoid ?

    Don
     
  6. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 35,837

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Did you figure out what was the actual cause?

    It looks like the rubber lines are still in good shape but did the steel line get a hole rubbed in it behind the distributor or is all the gas out of the back carb? Those carbs look cute on that engine but they have a long reputation of being prone to leaks.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2011
  7. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 34,001

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    wow, lucky not worse and you and garage OK. so, what did you figure caused this to happen? might want to keep a small extinguisher in your car. yep, think we all assume the fire extinguishers we buy will always work when needed. as for hood, maybe get it louvered long as you have to redo it anyway. hope you have changed your oil too in case fuel went there too.
     
  8. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,036

    belair
    Member

    everyone go give your exitnguishers a good shake.
     
  9. flamedabone
    Joined: Aug 3, 2001
    Posts: 5,733

    flamedabone
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Oh man..I was holding my breath reading that... Sucks to have new scars, but glad it wasn't worse.

    -Abone.
     
  10. redlinetoys
    Joined: May 18, 2004
    Posts: 4,302

    redlinetoys
    Member
    from Midwest

    Yikes! Glad everything is relatively ok, and interesting to hear that Grundy has you covered on this issue. Good deal.
     
  11. grits
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 3,180

    grits
    Member

    Man, glad it wasn't any worse, fire is my biggest fear.
     
  12. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    Awhile back someone posted they drove a few blocks from their house and had a fire.A good safety precaution is to fire it up , open the hood and check for possible leaks before attempting to drive away. Always have a working fire extinguisher near by!
     
  13. Don's Hot Rods
    Joined: Oct 7, 2005
    Posts: 8,319

    Don's Hot Rods
    Member
    from florida

    On the subject of dry chemical fire extinquishers, I worked in the marine industry and these are used on every boat by law. The gauge can be up in the green range and they still can be bad. What happens is that the powder inside settles to the bottom and clumps up.

    When the Coast Guard boards your boat to inspect your equipment what they do is turn the fire extinquiser over and hit the bottom of it with their hand. If they feel a clump break loose inside they deem the extinquisher no good and must be replaced. I have seen some go bad in a couple of years and some will last 20 years, you just have no way of knowing.

    Don
     

  14. Man I am sorry to hear/see that. But it is no hill for a stepper right? I coould have been a lot worse.

    When I began to read I was expecting to see a pile of ashes with a little tuft of hair sticking out of it.

    I am damned glad to see that it is not any worse than it is. You're OK Right?
     
  15. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,407

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    Neat safety trick. Going out to thump my extinguisher on it's butt this very minute. Gary
     
  16. 40StudeDude
    Joined: Sep 19, 2002
    Posts: 9,562

    40StudeDude
    Member

    Damn...that ain't good at all...thot you were talking about the '40 at first...didn't even know you had a '36...!!!

    At least it didn't catch anything else on fire...

    R-
     
  17. I bump mine (extinguisher) on the bottom with a rubber mallet.

    Very sorry to hear about the car! Thankfully it's fixable. Not easy to hear though.
     
  18. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,472

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    wow Gary, that's rough. glad it wasn't worse, and that you are okay.
     
  19. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,339

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    Sorry to hear that, but as you have said, that could have REALLY gone bad. If that had happened out on the road somewhere with no extinguisher handy...:eek::(
     
  20. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,421

    sololobo
    Member

    Holy Heart attack, man this is scary as can be. Hope it all works out bro. Good save and glad to hear Grundy was cool on the coverage. My insurance co. also! ~sololobo~
     
  21. hot-rod roadster
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,112

    hot-rod roadster
    Member
    from Omaha Ne.

    Had just replaced and flushed all the rubber and hard fuel lines. Along with new filters last week

    Fuel lines are good, the rear carb was the culprit. Maybe something got stuck in the needle/seat. At any rate I'm going back to a 4 bbl. Don't want to deal with this on a road trip

    Excellent Co. Highly recommend them

    Great Information, Thanks

    Was a little scary, but it's all going to work out. It was probably worse for my daughter when she came out and seen the flames she got pretty upset.
    Again Grundy is a great Co.
     
  22. hiboy32
    Joined: Nov 7, 2001
    Posts: 2,797

    hiboy32
    Member
    from Omaha, NE

    I still soo bummed out that this happened, also very happy it isnt any worse.
     
  23. 40 & 61 Fords
    Joined: May 17, 2006
    Posts: 1,999

    40 & 61 Fords
    Member

    Looks like a great reason to paint that firewall white!
     
  24. bobwop
    Joined: Jan 13, 2008
    Posts: 6,135

    bobwop
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Arley, AL

    best wishes with the repairs.

    knowing you, it will be better in the end.
     
  25. captain scarlet
    Joined: Jun 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,432

    captain scarlet
    Member
    from Detroit

    Wow. Good luck with the repairs. That is a little scary
     
  26. hot-rod roadster
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,112

    hot-rod roadster
    Member
    from Omaha Ne.

    Thanks Jeff, it's on it's way back

    I've been thinning bout that, just not sure it fits this car ???

    Thanks Bob, I hope so. I am going to do a couple upgrades
     
  27. Rocky
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 17,620

    Rocky
    Classified Editor

    Holy crap, Gary! Glad it wasn't any worse. Like Roger said, I also didn't know you aquired a 36...when did that sneak in? Looks like a nice car.
     
  28. Fenders
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 3,921

    Fenders
    Member


    Patina. Leave it.
     
  29. BLUECOLLARKUSTOMS
    Joined: Jan 22, 2006
    Posts: 184

    BLUECOLLARKUSTOMS
    Member

    WOW, stories and pics like this scare the crap out of me and should be a wake up call to all of us. Imagine if you had an unused hole on the firewall that would have let the fire get to the interior insulation, could have been a total loss in a hurry. It is a "firewall" after all, everyone should take a close look at your cars before you hit the road in the spring, good to see that it didn't have worse outcome than it did. I keep a fire extinquiser next to my electrical kill switch in my truck, but will look it over again before it hits the road again. Scott
     
  30. squigy
    Joined: Nov 30, 2003
    Posts: 3,915

    squigy
    Member
    from SO.FLO.

    Oh man that really sucks.Sorry about the ride, but thank god no one was hurt...
     

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