yesterday afternoon my 1982 carbureted camaro caught fire while trying to start it there was a loud bang and the engine bay filled with smoke and the whole passenger-side Wiring harness melted including the 4 wire connector to my distributor can someone please help me to get my car running again its a 1982 camaro with a sbc 350 swap and a th350 transmission swap as well thanks in advance

 

First question:

What failed that set it on fire?

Looks like an "accelerant" was involved, as they say in the trade.

 

To be honest i dont know i had took it in to the shop to put a k12-600-4 comp cam in it. And after that everytime i would floor it it would just missfire and bog down with no acceleration. But as you can see in the pic the fuel line is burnt off might that be the culprit?

 

Sounds like the carb backfired and started the fire.

I had this happen years ago. Mine was worse because I couldn't get the hood to pop and there was no water hose near. By the time the fire dept got there it was too late.

I can't say if yours got hot enough but the fire burnt away the paint on my firewall inside and out. The cowl area under the windshield wipers was also scorched. I attempted to fix the car a few years after the fire but there was rust in every seam near the engine bay because of it. I hope yours wasn't that bad.

 

No luckily my family was there to help me put it out before the damage was a lot worst

 

Is that one of those see-thru glass fuel filters?

Now you know what caused the fire.

 

Yes it is and may i know why you say that?

 

Because those ALWAYS leak. ALWAYS.

In the rare instances they don't leak, they just allow fuel to unintentionally escape. Not quite the same thing as "leak", eh??

Few things are more likely to cause fires than raw fuel dripping onto exhaust components and all such.

I have LOST COUNT of the number of cars I have seen burn to the ground because of crappy fuel systems. Rubber line, sh***y filters, lack of attention to detail, "improvements", "cleaning up the engine bay", and so forth.

Looks like you just got the opportunity to learn a lesson about fuel systems. Thankfully no one died in the process. (that we know of...)

 

Yeah and i had all those problems you mentioned above lol but yes thank god no one got hurt

 

damn thats scary! I guess lucky it wasnt a total loss.

 

Well besides what i did for it to cause a fire can anyone walk me through what i have to do to get it running or what are the necessary wires to make my car run again

 

Well, the emissions crap is already gone/disabled so you don't have to deal with that.
The A/C is missing, so you can remove what is left and install a non A/C heater box.
You will also be able to hook up your heater core this time around.
I think once you start cleaning it up, you might find that it's not as bad as it looks right now. The wiring is toast, so cut all that is burnt out and start looking for a used engine harness. Or if wiring does not scare you, you can DIY. Honestly, it sucks, but it is salvageable. It could have been a lot worse.

Now can get the proper non-computer controlled distributor in there. What does your state require for emissions?
Use this for your fuel line next time: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...15051/10002/-1

 

Would i just be able to put a non computer control distributor or what would i have to do to get that in there?

 

Yes. With the non-CCC carb you already have on there, a mechanical advance distributor with vacuum advance should have already been in there.

With no longer using the ECM, there only a few items you need to wire up to make it run again. It will be just like a 70s musclecar. But you will need a way to lock the torque converter (I think I see an auto trans dipstick there in the ashes).

 

Here are some pics to motivate you.

 

Ik I'm motivated - to fix a small fuel leak with the 7th injector on my Camaro
Real sorry to see that happen dude, but you'll get her goin' again

 

Thanks for all the info guys i will be droping in a distributor with vaccum advance today and i removed all the computer crap since i wont be running anything electrical in my car im just going to get her up and running and enjoy her for a few years