Fire Fire !!
Turbo Mini Forums

Just set the A35 alight - really !

I,ve often threatened to when it has been troublesome, but this time it frightened me.

Stupid, really, I had the plugs out to clear an over-rich mixture and cranked the engine over, expelling lots of fuel which caught light, presumably from a stray spark from the plug leads.

I always have a CO2 extinguisher handy so put it out pretty smartly so there does not seem to be any permanent damage.

Could have been a lot worse, as I was alone on the premises and there are lots of inflammables in there including 25 litre drums of cellulose thinners, fuel cans, four bikes with fuel in the tanks etc etc.

Not going back in there for a day or two until I get over it.

ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher handy.

Ooooh Blimey!!

It's scary isn't it.

I once had the jack cut through the battery cable and ignite all the built up oil on the front subframe.

I only jacked the thing up to check for play in the front wheel. Spent the rest of the afternoon rewiring and re-bleeding the brakes at it had boiled them.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Been there and got the tee-shirt.

Emptied the petrol tank to remove it to weld in new rear arches. Left petrol soaked rag next to petrol can under ramp :$

Suddenly realised that there was flames licking around my legs as i was welding. I just grapped hold of the flaming rag with my gloved hand and threw it out the workshop door. Plastic petrol can was just starting to melt. Definately my best brown trouser moment.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Yes,there are times when you know there's a chance something will catch - usually my welding! but it's the unexpected ones that are really scary,and this is one of those.Glad you are ok.

'Where does the engine go?'

Been there too many times, and learn from each one, gladd you were ok and got the the extinguisher quickly!

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

Bloody hell Dave !

That was close. Is the old girl ok ?

And I bet you won't be doing that again ! Glad you're ok.

To be honest, I've done that fuel clearing routine on mine a few times and it always scares the bejesus out of me as the flames are about a foot long out of the plug holes - defo must find another way of clearing the chambers. Probably easier to just leave the plugs out overnight.

Richard.

Minivanless, but reluctantly happy living with the decision. There'll be another one day.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=minimadmotorman#p/u

Yes Richard, Wendy is fine !

The car seems undamaged too, as I got to it very quickly - I have two commercial CO2 extinguishers handy at all times.

Next attempt at starting will be outside !

Wendy?!?!?

Been there too - shell rolled onto it's side onto old bed quilts and sparks from my welding set them on fire - didn't know (because of the welding screen) until the fire melted my lead light cable and tripped the RDC in the garage and the welder stopped.

As well as a pair of dry powder extinguishers on the garage wall, I always have the garden hose ready just outside the door if I'm welding.

(I wouldn't recomend water on a petrol fire but for most welding type fires it's cheaper than emptying an extinguisher).

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Andy, just to save you any confusion, Wendy is my wife of 43 years, not the car.Richard has met Wendy so will understand.

I once set myself on fire with an angle grinder lol

Wondered what was so warm....jumper was on fire !!!

Or a bundle of steel wool....and again, the angle grinder. That stuff burns great !!

Or same as others, had been working on a fuel system in a car and fuel had leaked over the floor ( combination of lino and old carpet at the time )

Next car was being welded....and then the fire broke out ! Lucky to get it extinguished before any harm was done.


TBH, probably safest keeping Co2 and a foam or powder extinguisher handy.
And if there is a fire, making absolutely sure it is out before leaving the premesis.

And simple things like a steel rubbish bin with a lid so less chance of that catching fire

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

my mate was making me a bracket to hold my coilpack, set his trosers alight and burnt his plums.

I threw a jug of water over him, but he had already patted the fire out. Havnt laughed that hard for a while.

Turbo parts collector at the moment, almost ready.

OK Andy - got it now - I,m always a bit slow !

oh yuov done it now david ..... couple of 'flame on' stories ..

trying to get a 1927 8 litre spuercharged bentley to run ,straight six on twin magnetos .

i'm standing beside the car twidling with an su .unbeknowst to me , my fellow builder ,had left a plug out (two plugs per cylinder) and the mags were live ,tripped the starter and a big spark shot off the lead earthed on the block ,about 2 inches away ...

i was engulfed in a ball of flame . i distinctly remember seeing the faces of the three pooeple watching change to an expression of shock and horror ,with a bit of 'i cant believe what im seeing' thrown in ,through a yellow wall of flame ..
apparently , i completely dissapeared from view ,apart from my feet .

luckily ,the wall of flame was a part of a globe of burning fuel vapour about 5 feet from me ,so it didnt hurt a bit .did wonders for my sang froid street cred though!!


second one , i was about 14 , my father had a honda 250 twin k4 which went onto 1 cylinder . i thuogh i'll just fill the sump with parafin and spin it over to clean it inside before i take it apart .eeeeerrrrr,not such a good idea ,especially with the engine kill switch on ...and a hole in one piston ...


i can see in my minds eye, a small lick of flame come out of the oil filler hole ,and ,as my brain went 'oh thats interesting ' a huge mass of parrafin vapour ignited spontaneously in the room ..

i was blown off my feet ,backwards about 15 ft to the wall oposite ,where i did the classic 'starfish 'on the white plaster board ,held that pose for what felt like an age and then crumpled slighty in true cartoon fashion .,feeling a little unwell.totally tom and jerry.

interstingly ,the entire area was covered in a even speckling of oil dots ,with my sillhouette marked out in 'starfish' .

i think my father just laughed ..... a lot !

regards
robert

Edited by robert on 20th Mar, 2011.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

when my 405 caught fire i took my stuff out stood back and let it burn, good riddance to bad rubbish imo

Edited by wolfie on 20th Mar, 2011.

I think most of us have had close encounters like this- glad there is no long lasting damage.

I do recall setting fire to a car when a fule hose split and the resultant vapour was ignited by a halogen lamp