I about burned up two of my MGs today! While trying to time the '86
Corvette I suddenly had flames shooting up out of the engine compartment
over the windshield!!! This is a car that I had bout a few months ago
that needed a little work on it, I had fixed a vacuum leak on the intake
and knocked the timing way off because the distributor was loose - so my
project today was to time it. I was sitting inside the car at the time
letting it idle when all of the sudden all of flames just started
shooting up from between the engine and the firewall. I shut the car off
and jumped out the flames kept shooting up and were licking over the
windshield where I had my service sitting. I couldnt move the car
because it was trapped by other vehicles. I thought (hoped!!!) I had a
fire extinguisher in the garage. I first glanced over by my welding
torch (since I usually grab the extinguisher when I am using the torch),
didnt see it there, so I walked over to the pedestrian door in to the
garage since I vaguely remembered keeping it there. I moved two folding
chairs and fortunately it was behind them. I have never used a fire
extinguisher before, though Ive seen the drill before, and this is a
real old one one of several that I had picked up at an auction about
twelve years ago so I hoped that it would work. It is an ABC model and
does have a gauge, which I check and has always been in the green zone.
I walked right up to the car, pointed the hose at the fire and gave it a
shot from the passenger side, to my surprise it knocked the fire right
down even though it seemed to be burning stronger on the other side.
However it flared right up again, I walked around to the other side and
gave it a good shot and that knocked it down for good I though I would
have to give it a shot from underneath but that didnt turn out to be
needed. It doesnt look to have hurt the car at all, except for powder
everywhere from the extinguisher, which I could hardly believe, given
the size of the flames. That was fortunate since I dont have the Vette
insured. Plus it was parked between two of my MGs (a 54 TF1500 RHD and
a 78 MGB with a Buick 215 V8 installed) and nose to nose with my daily
driver 01 Camaro SS that is parked under my 70 350 hp 4-speed Corvette
convertible! Not to mention the racing Kart I just bought my daughter
was right behind the 86 Corvette plus the garage is full of car parts
and my woodworking and automotive tools. I guess the moral of the story
is to have a fire extinguisher handy any time you are working on a car
even when you dont expect to need it. Plus make sure it isnt one of
those little dinky cheap ones one of those would not have had enough
charge to put this fire out I dont know what the rating is on this
extinguisher I guess that it is too old for that type of rating other
than saying it weighs 14 lbs. So I guess that I can give thanks, on this
Thanksgiving holiday, that I didnt panic and I had what I needed to put
the fire out plus I was about ready to walk in to the house, while
leaving the car idling (the house is a couple of hundred feet from the
garage) and get my wife to help set the timing (hold her foot on the
brake while the Vette was in gear), so fortunately the fire started
while I was still in the garage otherwise everything would have gone
up in smoke. I dont know what started the fire, I had a big piece of
cardboard under the car to catch oil leaks and that all burned up in
fact I think that was the main thing that was burning, Im wondering if
I had a fuel leak I thought I smelled gas when I was trying to start
it yesterday that got down on the cardboard and the vapors caught
fire. Oh well alls well that ends well Im just glad I had the fire
extinguisher handy!
Take care all and Happy Thanksgiving!
Kevin Brown '54 MGTF 1500 RHD, '78 MGB V8, '71 MGB, '66 MGBGT V8
|