Driving to the golf course last Saturday, just around the corner from my place, rolling around 30 miles an hour and pop! Pull er over, big smoke, so I pop the hood and get out to check it out. I notice fire dripping from melting plastic right away and got back, called 911 and watched my baby burn! What a sad day!
I put a lot of time into this vehicle but I don't have very much experience with cars, does this happen at all? How often?
I just had a new intake and carb put on it a month ago, is this the cause?
Thanks for any insight!
Mike

 

Wow. I'm really sorry. That's terrible.

To answer your questions:
• Yes.
• Very rarely, and only if something is very wrong.
• Most likely.

You say, "I just had a new intake and carb put on it..."
That implies that someone other than you did the work.
That person almost definitely did something wrong (probably left a fuel leak at the carb. inlet) that caused the fire.
Local fire marshals might be able to narrow down the cause of the fire (there are telltale clues), and unless it can be proven that it was NOT the new carb., I'd say that mechanic owes you a car.

- Eric

 

Thats a pretty rare event, but guess as you found, sometimes does. Actually know a couple guys had this happen. One in a mid 70's Ford T-Bird 460, and another in his wifes later model TPI Chrysler LeBaron. Guy in the LeBaron did some maintenance work and going for a test drive. Thing went up like a book of matches. Surely he knocked some fuel lines loose, and probably what happened to you, and the T-Bird guy. Your still walking around, so really all that matters.

 

Mike,
Sorry to hear about the loss - I feel your pain.
Certainly not your simple backfire. An electrical fire would usually start slower with just lots of smoke and no sudden fire or pops.
This really sounds like there was a big fuel leak. I question the work the guy did who replaced your carb.

One question i have to ask is if rubber hose was used between the fuel pump and the carb. I see this a lot on older cars where fuel filters were added or the metal lines were damaged and not replaced with the correct metal lines.
Regular rubber fuel line should not be used in pressure areas. Fuel injection hose would be my only recommendation if it is really needed. And if used, there better be barbs ont he tubes to keep the hose from slipping off. Clamps are not always secure enough.

I have seen and experienced relatively new regular rubber fuel line burst under pressure - it splits along the edge and fuel sprays out in a fan shape. A hot exh manifold or electrical spark (like in the alt) will set it off. If enough pools up before ignition, then a pop and sudden fire will occure.

This thread is also a public service announcement to always carry a fire extinguisher, even if it is a $20 cheapo stowed under the seat.
This fire may have started too large to be totally controlled, but it could have reduced the damage, or at the very least you could have said you tried.

Hope insurance pays up and replaces it. However, the emotional attachment through all the blood, sweat, and tears spent will not be able to be replaced.
Hang in there!

 

Hey Mike,

Sorry for your loss, hope everything works out with insurance and all.

As you said, i'm not a car buff either but all the hard work and effort you put into the car is worth more than any dollar we've all paid for our cars.

Best of luck,

-Tony

p.s: Also, i have rubber fuel line from my carb to my fuel pump (replaced by previous owner) i'm totally gonna check and make sure it's the high pressure fuel injection type...

 

Mike...... That is just soooooo sad! How awful for that to happen. Ever since Jamesbo's fire last Sept., I've been worried about fire. It's really scary. I have 2 little red fire extinguishers I carry on the back seat floor board just in case. I do want to get one of those better ones from Summit we talked about last year, when I get the money. I did get the battery quick disconnect. I know that won't help with a gas fire, but still.

These cars are so old. So many things can happen unexpectedly. I am truly sorry about your car, but thank God you were not hurt and was able to get it stopped and off the road. Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out with your insurance. Do you have an agreed value policy on the car? Oh, I just feel so bad!

 

Ouch, So sorry for your loss. Been there

 

Hey Sandy,

Which extinguisher is that? And which battery disconnect did you get? I bought one at my local farming/tractor everything store for like 10 bucks, not sure if you guys can suggest a better one?

-Tony

 

That's awful. I'm sorry that happened...

Like others said, its rare.

Agreed. A fire that fast/big would need fuel.

I once had an idiot roommate that drove his '69 98 another 30 mins after the coolant started pouring out & his temp light came on. By the time he made it home & we popped the hood, the engine was cherry red and everything flammable under the hood was smoldering with a small fire on one side from burning plastic...

X2

 

It was most likely a fuel leak at the carburetor. If you had the air cleaner on top of the carburetor, a backfire would be contained.

Most likely, the new line was leaking, and puddling all over the intake manifold.

 

Oh man that truly sux, hate to see it! It's everyones worst nightmare!! I hope everything works out for you!!

 

Mike, this is just aweful and I am really sorry that your beauty was destroyed. From your avatar picture, it looks like it was a really nice car. The '74 is one of my favorites and now there is one less around which is always sad. I hope your insurance is going to cover it and that we all can learn from this. I am just about to start taking my car on real road tests (more than a few miles around town) and I am not going anywhere without an extinguisher or two handy. Best of luck to you in getting past this.

 

I've gotta say that in my time, I've seen quite a few engine fires and rarely was any of them contained with a single compact fire extinguisher. That's not to say I don't carry one or recommend carrying one - I do. But gasoline-fueled fires are HOT, and really need water to cool them or they often just start right back up after being knocked back by a dry chem extinguisher. I saw a beautiful 70 AMC Rebel Machine burn in the pits at Union Grove, WI a couple weeks ago and it took many racers' extinguishers to finally hold the flames down. It was pretty crispy by then and the owner was understandably sick over it. Bad thing is it happened at a racetrack and may not be covered by insurance

 

The thought of this happening to one of my cars is terrifying. Does anybody know what type of extinguisher is best capable of handling a fuel fire, if any? Should we all keep a gallon (or more) of water in our cars?

 

I know ABC is "supposed" to be for every type of fire, there are BC ones as well, but i'd rather have all my grounds covered.

It seems to be around 30-40 bucks for a pretty good one in stores..

 

Thanks for all the support fellas, much appreciated!

The fire started right away, but was small, it just escalated very fast. A fire extinguisher probably would have helped but i honestly never thought this was even a possibility, would I have even grabbed it?!? I will be running with an extinguisher from now on in all my vehicles, better than watching it go up in flames totally helpless. I had the stock air fiter still on, I think flames shot out the snorkel to the battery area and torched all the plastic, and then everything else. No disrespect, but the Fire department took over 10 minutes, my car had no chance!

I was in the midst of getting my Collector plates, had the drivers seat re-done, and was going to do the carpet and trunk seal this winter, then it was qualified. So, the worst rookie move of the ordeal, I just put the minimum insurance on it, liability...no fire and theft! Very expensive lesson! Probably saved $100 for the 3 months insurance...wow!

Is it possible that the carb was defective?

 

My old quadrajet was warped and pissing fuel from every nook an cranny, that's why I changed it to an e-Brock to play it safe. What kind of carb was it anyway?

 

Sorry about the fire as well.

 

Edelbrock carb and intake

 

man that really sucks......my car will be next if I dont replace the rubber gas line thats rubbing on the thermostat housing that should not be a rubber line in the first place....its actually melted some of the outer casing away from the heat.

 

I guess it's possible maybe the fittings weren't tight at the fuel inlet, but I would think that's still something a mechanic would check before installing a carburetor..

I actually had to recently take apart my carb to re adjust the floats and check for missing parts, which the folks at edelbrock did attest to the fact that sometimes parts are missing or incorrectly installed.. Which was exactly my case.

I would definitely check these things out and give my two cents to whoever installed it as others have said,

Best of luck,

Tony

 

its weird , because I had a couple of cars spring a leak at the carb throughout my life and it never started on fire , it just smoked and smelled like gas of course....something else must have played a part in igniting the gas.

 

It is somewhere between unlikely and impossible that flames came out of your carb., passed through your air cleaner element, came out your snorkel, leapt another foot, and started a fire.
Air cleaners are designed to act as flame supressors in the unlikely event of a flame backfire, and a running engine will suck the burning material IN and send it out the exhaust, NOT out the snorkel.

As I and others have said, this is the result of a fuel leak from your newly installed carb. Until PROVEN otherwise.
Since you had no insurance, your mechanic DOES owe you a car.

... And, yes, it is possible that the carb was defective, but if it was bad enough to pump out that much gas, it probably wouldn't have run well.

- Eric

 

I always use marine grade barrier style fuel hose. It is flame resistant and holds up very well. It is made by a company called Trident and I can get part numbers if anybody is interested.

I am very sorry about the loss of your car. At least you are still ok. You can get another car...

Chris

 

I'm a volunteer firefighter and we always recommend the dry chemical ABC extinguishers for everything short of airport (burning magnesium requires Type D) or computer mainframe room (Halon--now classified as Type E--leaves no residue that can ruin electronics) duty.

Don't buy one of those single-pound extinguishers, either. It's always better to have more powder than fire, and with all the stuff that likes to burn in engine compartments, I've seen several "car size" extinguishers sitting empty near the still-burning car upon our arrival.

I am VERY sorry to hear about your loss as well. It could easily have been me:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-fountain.html

 

...Hey Sandy,

Which extinguisher is that? And which battery disconnect did you get? I bought one at my local farming/tractor everything store for like 10 bucks, not sure if you guys can suggest a better one?


Tony......This is the thread about fire extinguishers we talked about after Jamesbo's car went up in smoke. I bought a quick disconnect off of ebay - there was a link posted in Jamesbo's car fire thread. Blue put it on for me, and I use it every time I get out of the car, at home and shows and cruise ins. I just have 2 of those little red fire extinguishers in my car now, but I do want to get one of those better ones when I get extra money. Summit has to order them.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-what-use.html

 

I am so sorry about your car.

A regular fire extinguiser that is available at most stores will work just fine. I had just put a new engine in a truck and the metal fuel line that goes to the fuel pump had a split in it (probably from the engine install) and it was leaking fuel and while breaking in the new engine, it had formed a puddle under the truck and something sparked it and I had a pretty big fire on my hands. I had one of those generic "ABC" fire extinguisers in the garage and I grabbed it and let it fly. It made a huge white powder mess but put the fire out dang near instantly.

 

As for fire extinguishers, have a 2.5 Halotron gas unit in my late model Corvette I road track with a group. Truth is, these things barely have the capacity to put out a cigarette. No way I'd ever put a dry chemical job inside the car, as imagine what would happen, if one of these accidently went off. Even shooting this stuff under the hood might cause more damage than the actual fire.

 

aw man,sorry to hear about and see your car

 

Sorry to hear, very sad