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Sun Jun 11, 2006 6:25 pm

saramay777 wrote: It has taken me over ten years of dreaming and waiting, and I got mine!!
Now I hear that my little dream can burst into flames!! It needs a carb, due to fuel leaking out!! I have been garaged by my husband!
I can't drive it till I get that fixed. I can understand that, as I'm sure you can.
I plan to relocate the fuel filter to the fuel line coming from the tank as opposed to being in the engine compartment. I have the braided hoses on it now. I also have a receipt from the begining of the year from a mechanic that say it got new lines then.
I also plan to cover the battery terminals and to carry a fire extinguisher, just in case.
My question is do I need to do anything else? I could stand it if she caught on fire. It has taken me along time to get her. I already have alot of work into her, I just don't want to leave anything out. Thanks for everything, ya'll are great!!

Sara :D
1973 Deluxe Bettle

8)
Sara,
Even though the receipts says the mech changed the fuel lines don't believe it until you physically check all the fuel lines yourself . Don't forget about the small piece of line under the fuel tank.

One other thing concerning the fire extinguisher. Learn how to use it properly. Your local fire dept. should offer some expert training and advice on how to use it. :wink:

Enjoy your VW.

Mon Jun 12, 2006 11:56 am

great thread! now i dont have to experienced it to learn a lesson. thanks to all the questions and replies.

Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:39 pm

saramay777 wrote: My question is do I need to do anything else?

Sara-

My advice would be to not just simply check everything, but also to do a little bit of preventative maintenance- even if it doesn't "need it".

The fuel line grommet in the engine tin? Replace it.
The fuel filters? Replace 'em.
The fuel lines & clamps? Replace 'em.
The diaphragms in the carb? Replace 'em.
The carb fittings? Tie 'em down.

The cost of a fire might be devastating, but peace of mind is priceless. :wink:

- David

Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:42 am

Doing a tear down of a 69 - looks like a lot of the hoses were relativley new. Was getting ready to pull the engine and was disconnecting the great looking rubber fuel line from the frame tube to the engine compartmnet - as I flexed it a little to slip it off the metal line. gas was spraying out of a hole.

Anymore, (and this seems to be the ACVW mantra) - If I didnt do it myself, don't trust that it was done by someone else. As Cindy and I were dropping the engine I asked her to remind me about the fuel line when I say "well that line looks OK, I shouldnt need to replace it" LOL

Fri Aug 25, 2006 10:30 pm

Well, last weekend I had a fire in my little princess!!! Was driving down Hiway 68 with the top down and some guy pulled alongside me, pointing towards the back and mouthing 'FIRE'. I quickly pulled over, jumped out and there were flames shooting out of the vents!! My friend already had the fire extinguisher in hand so we doused the engine the best we could.
By the time the fire and police showed up, it was all over.
So I have to have the carbs rebuilt, some wires replaced, the back painted, the top replaced.
Was due to a backfire catching the air filter. So the moral is: Don't drive if your VW is backfiring!! Fix it first!! ......and ALWAYS have your fire extinguisher!!

Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:58 pm

OK, so what kind of fire extinguisher is the call for our precious bugs? Are we fighting a Class A fire, or a liquid, (fuel) fire? Any brands recommended? Does their charge need to be checked periodically or are they good indefinitley until used? Is there a mininum size/volume that we should carry?

I've seen the pic of Glenn's setup in his back seat, looks like it'll do the job, but a little big for most of us. I know theres no gurantee when it comes to fires, - just dont want to drive around with a false sense of security with some pepperspray size can from J.C.Whitney.

Any thoughts?

Greg

Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:03 pm

Halotron I 2.5lb is around $100.

Isn't your car worth that?

Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:29 pm

Glenn wrote: Halotron I 2.5lb is around $100.

Isn't your car worth that?

Absolutely, just not sure where I could fit that beast. She's gotta be what, 15" or so in length? I have a parcel tray up front, and a back seat :wink: . What was the determining factor in your selection?

Peace, Greg

Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:01 pm

My extinguisher was a 1 pound dry chemical extinguisher. Fortunately it was enough to douse the flames. It wouldn't have been enough if the fire was bigger. My question is though.....where do I get my extinguisher refilled?.

Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:58 am

Kathee wrote: .where do I get my extinguisher refilled?.

Check the local yellow pages for fire equipment.

Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:02 am

Minimum extiguisher size should be (IMO) 2.5lbs. If it's a fuel fire, a smaller one may not get it all. I had a small 1lb a few years back when I had my carbeque, it was barely enough to keep the fire in check until Henry county FD (GA) came to the rescue, fortunately, they were only a mile down the road when it happened. http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=335859#335859

I now have two 5lb extinguishers for the garage/cars.

Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:00 am

Over the years I've owned bugs, I've had 2 fires and a near-fire incident. First fire was due to the battery terminals rubbing on the metal seat springs when a heavy sack filled with fruit was thrown in the back seat. Second fire (small one) was when my air conditioner compressor shorted out its magnetic clutch and set the plastic insulation of the wiring in the dash aflame. I still remember that incident - was driving late at night and the cabin filled up with smoke quickly, as the windows were up with the air con on. Couldn't see a thing in front of the car! Luckily I was the only one on the highway at the time as it was late at night. Lastly, about the near-fire incident, I was fiddling with my carb because of a hard-starting condition, and I noticed that a jet of gasoline would shoot out of the carb towards the fan housing every time I suddenly opened the throttle. Turns out the mating surface of the carb top was warped and couldn't mate well with the body. I fixed it by sanding the top mating surface over sandpaper laid over a flat pane of glass.

Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:39 am

Ok, I bought a bigger extinguisher at Target. Even though the little one worked on the carb fire, it freaked me out enough I thought I'd get a bigger one.
Thanks for everyones input!
Kathee

Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:50 pm

I drove my 'repaired' vw today and it backfired quite a bit. Now I'm scared to drive it. Guess my mechanic gets a call on Tues.
Kathee

Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:01 pm

It's probibly running lean.

Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:50 pm

So when my rebuilt carbs are idling at start up, it backfires a bit and flames come out. Bad?

Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:55 pm

Kathee wrote: So when my rebuilt carbs are idling at start up, it backfires a bit and flames come out. Bad?

It shouldn't backfire.

Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:32 pm

in relationship to the fuel line topic: Does anyone make a braided steel fuel line kit? If not is there a way to adapt the hard line coming through the firewall to AN type fittings and anytype of adaptor for the carb fuel inlet tube on a 1972 dp 1600 with pcit carb?

Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:56 pm

I had a small fire in my engine compartment today while driving. Thank god I had an extinguisher.

Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:37 pm

gypsymums wrote: I had a small fire in my engine compartment today while driving. Thank god I had an extinguisher.

8) Yes thank goodness for fire extinguishers. :shock:
Tell us what caused the fire...Fuel Leak, Electrical, ????

Don't forget to clean up the powdered extinguisher agent ASAP ! It is extremely corrosive. You might want to get a new fire extinguisher as soon as you can. You never know when another fire might happen. :wink: