One way to prevent engine fires

[Tbob]

Heres a couple of thoughts about fires in our vans. One thought is that the nylon fuel lines run along the frame of the van, and in the event of a fire, I wonder if they melt and then gravity allows fuel from the tank to flow out, fueling the fire with gasoline, which is obviously not good. So when I refurbished my 1985, I made and ran all new metal fuel lines, with the engine end higher than the top of the fuel tank. I did both the pressure and the return. There is no easy way to make the fuel tank end higher than the top of the fuel tank, so I didn't, but I felt that was an acceptable compromise, as the fuel tank is several feet away from the engine, there most the fires are.
I have watched as Volkswagens(especially vans) when they had an engine fire, it often ended in total destruction of the van, and I wonder if that may have been because of the fuel in the tank gravity feeding the fire. Most vehicles have their fuel lines go into the top of the tank, so they can't gravity feed fuel. I just tried to duplicate that concept.
The second thing I do with all my waterboxers when I replace the fuel hoses is make a small bracket and move the fuel pressure regulator from its psition right next to the distributor(distributors are known spark event locations(!), and move it back and mount it to the left hand side upper transmission bolt. It's further away from the distributor, and maybe thats a good thing. I have so idea how many engine fires, if any, were caused by that proximity, bey it was easy enough to move, so I did.
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1969 Deluxe, owned since 1973
1973 Westfalia, owned since 1983
1980 Westfalia, watercooled conversion
1985 Westfalia, stock!
1986 Westfakia, Audi I-4 conversion
A couple of trucks and a couple of Jeeps

[E1]

Five Stars on this idea.

Another kit for vendors?

One thing worth noting about the nylon fuel lines… after our total-loss, sixty- to eighty vertical-foot rollover in 2018, a nylon fuel line had sheared and was POURING gas onto the exhaust.

The only thing that kept it from immediately burning down was that we’d driven a scant half-mile after a twenty-minute shutdown to get two coffees. That three-minute stop after being full-hot took twenty because of an insightful, life conversation with the store’s Korean owner.

Ten days later, we returned to that store to thank the owner for the talk, and to tell him we’d crashed right after meeting him. He said “THAT WAS YOU?!!!” and I told him he was almost the last person we’d ever seen alive.

This was a powerful, human moment. He immediately teared up with the moment’s gravity, as did we, and we hugged for a good minute.

I apologized that the crash had wasted our coffees, and showed him my Yeti cup, now full of dents and scratches from the crash. He told me to fill our cups, then looked at us with a smile and said “No Charge.”

All this to say that in life, sometimes it pays to engage with people and see what they’re all about.

Thanks and Love to that corner storekeeper in Lyons, Oregon. I am drinking coffee from that same cup right now, a daily reminder I’ll never, ever replace.

Hope to see him again sometime, surely he’ll never forget this incident — and obviously, nor will we. If anyone knows this place, please say Hello and Thanks Again for us, I have a strong feeling he’s still there.
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1984 Westfailure/2.1 Digijet/5.43 Ring & Pinion/Peloquin/D-rated BFG KO2s
AI has spoken to further illiteracy, to steal, to cheat, and to replace humans

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

[Xevin]

Great story E. Thanks for sharing.
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Keep on Busin'

[E1]

[zerotofifty]