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 68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 04:55 AM |
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1st accessory_ Fire Extinguisher - a must
Don't forget with summer approaching..
check those fuel lines... and make sure You have a Fie extinguisher located on the tunnel where its easy to get at...
also a small pair of pointed nose vise grips so Yo can clamp off the fuel under the tank if You do have an engine fire- fed from fuel in the
tank....
having a Fire Extinguisher is a must ....:bounce:bounce:bounce
Lee
[Edited on 4-10-2003 by 68AutoBug]
- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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Robo
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 06:33 AM |
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Good advice Lee, Ill second that!
Rob.......
Boxer Power
Member of DMLRK.....Die Mittler Lebuns Resto Komeradschaft
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Black_math
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 02:49 PM |
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Do most beetle's and kombis have the problem of well fires?
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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 posted on October 5th, 2003 at 03:38 PM |
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Cause of most VW engine fires....
Black_Math
The main problem with fires in Volkswagens is a very hot exhaust system and the fuel lines to the engine directly above it... I always double clamp
all My fuel connections to make sure the hose doesn't come off, to let fuel drop on the extremely hot exhaust system and start a fire... if a
fuel line pops off the carby or fuel pump etc... fuel keeps flowing because of the fuel tank in the front being higher then the open fuel hose at the
rear.... the Fire won't stop until the flow of fuel stops.... if You have a full tank.. that is one large-hot fire which can probably burn out
the car....
Another special handy tool is a pair of small long nosed vise grips. These can be used to clamp off the fuel line under the fuel tank and stop the
fire.... I heard recently where one of the fuel pipes actually popped out of the fuel pump.... the pipe in the carby can do the same...
Always replace The fuel lines yearly... they do deteriate.... and inspect them regulary...
Best of Luck..
Lee
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- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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amazer
Bishop of Volkswagenism
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 03:47 PM |
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Use decent hose not bought from dodgyautoparts.com aka supercheap auto etc and it will last a hell of a lot longer than 1 year! 6 hose clamps on it
wont stop the fitting dropping out of your carb.
Chris.... kombi pilot, oval dreamer... finisher #26971 2005 city to surf
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 03:55 PM |
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Even hose bought from some VW aftermarket shops isn't too good either..
I believe that rubber hose has a short shelf life... a quick check on the pipes can tell You whether thay are going to fall out or not... a large
cable tie can help also....
plus using a punch around the pipe to compress it into the carb,,, I have done away with My mechanical fuel pump for an electric pump.. under the fuel
tank,,,,
No fuel fires here....
Lee
PS. I did a bit of Rallying years ago and still use a few things I learnt... Lee
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- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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Black_math
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Blaupunkt
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 04:00 PM |
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Thanks fopr the advice :thumb
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silver
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 04:57 PM |
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Good Advice I have always carried an Extinguisher
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Keeping it real !
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Black_math
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 05:07 PM |
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:cry wait a minute, thats a hippie bus: BURN BABY BURN!!!
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 05:17 PM |
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Once the Magnesium catches fire...
engine-gearbox/transaxle its virtually impossible to put out the fire, unless special fire extinguishers are used..
This is a US spec Kombi with the bumper overriders which were never sold in Australia...
Don't forget Black_math for every Volkswagen that burns,
it can never be replaced....
Lee
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- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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Black_math
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Blaupunkt
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 05:20 PM |
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:cryi spose your right it was a majestic beast even if it was a hippie kombi, farewell sweet machiene:cry
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ratty 63
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 06:40 PM |
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preventing fires
Hi all,
I agree with all that has been said - I have seen too many VW's catch fire - or rather, the aftermath. It's not nice.
We have only had one VW catch fire, my Grandmothers one owner/importer, German built '68. Thankfully, my brother was driving it when the brass
fitting dropped out of the carb. He was on the highway at the time, and he said that he noticed the car suddenly loose power. He pressed the clutch
in, and noticed the warning lights come on in the speedo, so he shifted back to 3rd and attemped to roll start it. When the clutch was released he
heard what he thought was a backfire, but still no power, so he pushed the clutch in again and began to pull off onto the dirt on the side of the
highway. As he did so, he checked the rear vision mirror to see "what was going to run up his ass" - he noticed a heat vapour and began to
smell petrol. Knowing that this was not good, he locked the brakes and dived off into the gravel.
The car was not fitted with a fire extinguisher and when he jumped out and ran around to the back of the car, he could see the paint on the engine
cover bubbling, along with smoke comming out of the intake vents below the rear window. Despite this, he grabbed the handle and flipped the lid up,
buring his hand in the process.
The flames shot out of the now open engine bay. Thinking quick, and still with no extinguisher, he started throwing dirt in the engine bay. Somehow,
the fire went out
During this whole time, on-one else had stopped to offer assistance (so don't assume that this is how you can get around carrying a fire
extinguisher!)
Total damage: well, we were lucky, the wiring and fuel hoses were damaged, along with anything plastic in the engine bay. The "Volkswagen"
script on the back lid ... er ... got the runs, and the paint, of course. We managed to repair the wiring, and we replaced all the rest of the
damaged parts and gave the paint a quick blow over to stop the rust as a temporary measure (still not repaired yet though!) and the car was back on
the road, but this was one of the lucky ones!
Oh yeah, you know how I said that it was lucky that my brother was driving the car, well we feel that if my Grandmother had been driving it at this
time, she probably would have just walked away from it and had to let it burn - lucky, don't you think.
So, to sum up - BUY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER, it may not only save your pride and joy, but it may save a life. They don't cost much - just do it!
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 helbus
A.k.a.: Pete S
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| posted on October 5th, 2003 at 06:58 PM |
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What size would you recommend?
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ratty 63
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 10:27 AM |
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I have a 0.9kg extinguisher in all of my cars (as well as one in the garage next to my welder!)
These extinguishers are only cheap ($19.99 in a flyer in my junk mail yesterday) and are small enough that they can be easily fitted in an area where
they can be reached quickly in an emergency but not get in the way.
I feel that they are big enough to put out small fires (ie: before the entire car is engulfed in flames).
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56astro
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 11:05 AM |
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Make sure the extinguisher is a dry powder type. These are the best multi-purpose ones for vehicle fires. But you have to frequently take them out and
dislodge the powder that gets compacted through vibrations in the vehicle.
Having said that, vertually nothing with extinguish a magnesium alloy fire. Magnesium burns with such ferocity that if water is applied, the water is
converted to oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen + hydrogen + ignition source = bigger fire!
It's a bit of a shame that the old Halon extinguishers have been banned. They were pretty good. If you have one carry it in the Vdub as well.
VW car, VW engine ...... keepin it "real"
35MPG on 101.3kPa |
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XXX-1.8T
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 11:22 AM |
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heres a real sad pic:
my mate took it with his phone 
I had a fire 2 weeks after i bought my car, my mechanic changed the fuel lines but apparently my carby had a crack in it which caused the fire, lucky
enough i was at Bondi Beach and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the Bondi Hotel - not much damaged, only some engine parts and the back hood paint
got burnt but I escaped it lucky enough
Shazza's doing better than ever now 
:beer
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 11:47 AM |
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About 6 months ago, a semi local.. couple of towns away... restored an early beetle and got it registered, within a couple of days, He was stopped at
an intersection when a fuel line came off... No fire extinguisher, but a fellow driver came along with a fire extinguisher, but wasn't game to
get close enough to use it and wouldn't give it to the VW owner.... so by the time the fire brigade arrived, the rear of the car was well alight,
fed from fuel from the tank... an electric fuel cutoff would save many a VW from this fate....
or some long nose vise grips clamped onto the flexible fuel line either under the fuel tank or over the LH rear wheel....
Lee
I just threw away one of those Yellow illegal fire extinguishers.. it was unused too...
- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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62deluxe
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 08:57 PM |
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ALWAYS have an extinguisher or even two, they don't last long! I've had the experience of a car catching alight (not a vw but it was my dads
and he'd owned it for 25 years!). The fuel line came off the carby (bloody pommy fords!) and proceeded to pour all over the exhaust. All I had to
put it out with was a woolen rug, but I had to put it out because if the car died so did I! Now I always have at least 1 extinguisher in all of my
cars no matter what.
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jenz58
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 09:05 PM |
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Wah, OK I have one and hope to never use it
What's their life span?
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Black_math
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 09:14 PM |
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An electric fuel cuttoff where would i get one of those?
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Tazz
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 09:23 PM |
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Anyone who does Gas conversions on cars.
:thumb
Tazz
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1967 Type3 Fastback "Kermit"
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Flying VW
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 09:36 PM |
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I think the Major problem is the fuel being ignited by the sparks around generator brushes. It's a bit silly having the generator straight under
the Carby. |
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on October 9th, 2003 at 10:40 PM |
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After mentioning, an electric fuel cutoff solenoid.. I have just remembered that I don't need one, as I have an electric fuel pump under the fuel
tank and I can switch it off with a seperate switch..
so I don't need a fuel cutoff solenoid....
.9kg is the most common size of fire extinguisher carried in cars.. I have one in the garage, one in the house, one each for the two cars... They do
last a long time Jenny, they have a gauge on them that tells you when they have lost their charge... If the top of the fire extinguisher is made from
metal You can get them recharged... if its plastic they can't be recharged... with a bit of luck You may never need to recharge or replace it...
The main problem seems to be the copper pipe - either on the side of the carby or in the fuel pump, coming out and letting the fuel go everywhere...
these copper pipes have stayed in there for over 30 years, but it seems now they are coming loose.. they need to be pulled out and glued in with
superglue or jammed in and punched around the pipe with a centre punch.... Lee
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