BLAZE CUT length

[colin_peggy]

I am considering a Blaze Cut system for my 1973 THING, what length should I order ? A 6 ft or 9 ft. Thank you Colin

[mondshine]

This is a 6' Blaze Cut.

[colin_peggy]

Thanks for the quick response. A picture is worth a 1000 words.

[KAmes]

This is also a 6' one.

[doublecanister]

I went with the 6 foot and using a unfortunate incident by a local Thing owners fire as an example, I tried to find a simple way to mount the Blaze cut without engine removal.

Used the idea of where the dizzy, fuel pump and carb centrally sit and with the fire damage that fellows Thing experienced, it seemed to be a good spot as his engine lid was rather burnt (his fire occurred while driving) but with the heat in that area I believe this will suffice.

2 photos of lid open and a view from inside the engine bay.

used the Blazecut "right outta the box".

It's not difficult to remove if needed and with the lid open and me standing I can clearly see the Blazecut's gauge.

used Gorilla taped magnets (to minimize paint scratch) Got 25lb magnets from Home Depot and the rubber coated hose clamps.

(Of course you do what you feel makes you sleep better at night as it's "your" Thing)

Hope this helps.
T

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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8

[KAmes]

Doublecanister, I like the simplicity of your installation. I thought about putting mine on the door somehow, but I didn't think of doing it that way.

[colin_peggy]

I like the magnet idea ,I am leaning towards that..... again thanks for the information

[doublecanister]

hey KAmes and colin_peggy;

Simplistic to a point as I could not figure out how to put it in the ceiling of the engine bay with the motor in the THING easily.
I'm not a fan of drilling holes if I can help it.

The magnets do work but with the tape on the backside it did cut the strength a bit, I saw online they had stronger magnets than what I used but I did have a couple hard point mounts along with the magnets and together it seems to work.

So if you wanted to get stronger than 25lb magnets you could.
I used the heavy Gorilla tape (because I had some) for a pad so the magnet base didn't etch into the paint.

Good luck with your setup, it's "cheap" insurance, I read of too many of these engine bay fires and finally decided to go for it.

And after the fire of the local fellow I mentioned happened, the dry powder fire extinguisher did damage as well. Beat having the whole thing go up in flames but dang!

T
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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8

[Semper_Dad]

I hate drilling any extra holes as well. Don't have enough faith in magnets. Magnetism will decrease as temps go up. How about some sort of toggle that uses the oblong slots in the deck lid. I can picture it in my mind but hard to explain it in text.

Rectangular sort of washer with attached bolt. Turn 90 degrees and secure with regular washer and nut. That will give you an attachment stud for your tube clamps. 5 or 6 of them should work.

I'm sure our favorite engineer, Mondshine, will chime in shortly and give us a detailed drawing with all the specs
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Walküre Restoration Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737492

[doublecanister]

[Gene Kisner]

OK, I am confused, why would anyone think you would need to remove the engine in order to mount the Balzecut above the engine. Surely no one would think that you needed to drill the mounting holes from below? Decide where you want the mounting clamps, measure the positions, transfer the dimensions atop the sheet metal and drill away. Hold a piece of cardboard above the engine to catch the drill shavings. I used truss head stainless steel machine screws and nylon lock nuts. I located the screws in the valleys, between the ridges, therefore the screw heads are not protruding above the adjoining ridges.
As for Blazecut placement, I am a mechanical engineer who spent fifty years designing industrial ventilation systems. That being said, lets analyze what will happen in the engine compartment resulting in, and the spreading of an actual pyrotechnic event. I will only deal with gasoline as a fuel. I bet someone, somewhere, has installed a diesel engine in a Thing, but since I have never seen one, and they are not common, gasoline only in this discussion.
All cooling air and combustion air enters the engine compartment from the side vents. (Or it is supposed to. If you have massive leaks because of missing, damaged, or ill fitting gaskets you need to evaluate your own situation.)
Obviously the volume of air used for cooling is many times greater than the volume used for combustion. Combustion will start very near the source of fuel. In the case of the VW Thing the engine is generally running when the fire starts. When the engine is running the largest volume of air flows toward the cooling fan inlet, which is located close to the "firewall". A very appropriate name (no pun intended)
As the flame front progresses toward the cooling blower fan it has to make a direction change between 90 and 180 degrees, with proper instrumentation we would find that the flame temperature is close to its maximum in those few inches.
Remember, the Blazecut tube is a very specific type of polyethylene cross linked (PEX) formula. As the temperature around the Blazecut increases the temperature of the contents inside the tube rises, this increase in temperature also causes the pressure of the contents to increase. The rise in temperature also starts to soften the PEX tube. Somewhere during this process the combination of the PEX softening and the pressure increasing, the tube ruptures. The sudden decrease of pressure on the contents lets it FLASH FROM A LIQUID TO A GAS, displacing the air that supports combustion, thereby snuffing out the fire.
What all of this means is, visualize the flow of air, visualized the flame path, then pick the location you feel will be the best to accomplish the results described above.
Since our Thing is all factory stock I opted for above the engine. I feel that position will work well with both the engine running and if I would get the engine off and the flames rise vertically.
My feelings about mounting Blazecut on the hinged lid are eventually it will heat up and rupture, but it would take precious extra seconds before it happens.

I am open for differing opinions, actually I would like to hear comments both for and against.

[mondshine]

Hi Gene-
It was your engine fire that inspired me to install the Blaze Cut.
That was on my "gone but not forgotten" '74.
I did not remove the engine to install the Blaze Cut on that car.
When I re-installed the same Blaze Cut on my '73, the engine was already removed. I can tell you that the installation was much easier with the engine out, and that was after the Blaze Cut had "taken a set" from the previous installation.
That thing is mighty stiff, and kinking it would be bad news.
Here's an "action photo" of the installation

[Gene Kisner]

Hi Gary,
It was "DOUBLECANISTER" on Aug 15 that said he did not know how to locate it up top with the engine in place.
Believe me, I have full faith that you will never be faced with anything mechanical that you won't figure out an excellent solution.
We will talk soon, Gene

[Hokie87]

I'm the "local Thing owner" that Doublecanister mentioned above.

My engine fire damaged the deck lid but not the top of the engine compartment. There were a lot of paint blisters on the outside of the deck lid but none on the package tray behind the rear seat. I installed the Blaze Cut on the deck lid since this was were the heat went with a fire at the fuel pump.

The fire damage

The blaze cut install. I used the bolts for the license mount and the slots at the top.

The cause. The pressed in brass outlet pulled out of the fuel pump.

[doublecanister]

Yes it was me!

And I'm fine with where I got it mounted and can remove it if I need to in a few minutes for whatever reason.

Using Hokies burn pattern as an example it looked like a good spot to go with. The ceiling mount was too tough for me to do so I improvised.

btw Hey Hokie,

Did you get your Thing back together after all that happened (I hope)?

Hope you did man.

T
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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8

[Hokie87]

Yes, it's up and running again.

[doublecanister]