almost took my house with it . apparently there was a fuel leak and a spark jumped from the alternator into the puddle of fuel and flamed up. all my hoses are melted and chunks are coming off the manifold why i dont know. Hopefulley state farm will decide i need a new engine. To keep this tech is my 305 salvageable or should i just dump it for a 350. my hood is toast too but luckily the fire department responded quickly and the only damage is under hood.

 

From what you describe, the motor is probably salvagable. Did it bubble the paint on the hood? When I had an engine fire, I just had to go buy a new wiring harness and some vacuum hoses. The worst part was cleaning up all the fire extinguisher crap.

 

the hood isnt bubbled just charred in about a 2 square foot area, all lights and and even the radio worked before the fireman cut the battery cable

 

I had a rubber hose crack once and start a little fire. I now use stainless steel braided hose everywhere under the hood. Gets expensive but I'd rather pay now than later.

 

go spend the $20 bucks to get an estinguisher and keep it in your car. one for the garage wouldn't hurt too. you've never known sucking till you've tried to put out a carb fire with a half a can of mountain dew.
jess

 

 

I tried everthing until the fire department got there, bottle of water anything non flammable i could get my hands on but nothin dude, come to find out we do have a fire extinguisher my mom just didnt tell anybody we had one or where it was

 

Sounds like your mom a strong talking to, as this is going to cost you Big Bucks now, and essentially it's her fault that your car burnt at all. If you had the fire extinguisher available to you then you would have been fine, maybe.

Edited for you guys who didn't like the wording :-P

 

Sounds like your mom needs a punch in the mouth

are you like 10 years old or something?

 

not 100% sure because the fire department had it out 3 times before it finally quit. it shorted out the fuel pump and it kept pumping and i dont have any idea where the spark came from if they total my car im screwed. blue book is 2g's and i've got 3 in it

 

your 305 should be fine. head out to your local yard and get the complete engine compartment harness (engine and chasis), all the sensors, heater hoses, plug wires, and vacuum lines off a doner car. take your time putting the harness on ( unplug bad, plug in good) for each connection. i'm guessing you should be able to get all that stuff for about 200 - 250. a few days and you should be able to get it running again.
jess

 

I don't think Mom is to blame here... that's like blaming the person who bought you the bike after you get hit riding it.

Did she hold a match to the gas line or something? grow up INWO... sounds like you're the one that needs a punch to set you straight.

RB... The damage doesn't sound bad enough to go through insurance. Remember that everything you claim goes on your record and if it happens again they will likely raise your rates. Keep your claims for large, expensive repairs... not small things that are easily repaired. Your deductable is probably a minimum of $300... that's about what it will cost to fix the damage... no insurance adjuster is going to recommend a rebuilt engine.

 

I'm just making the observation that she intentionally withheld the information that there was a fire extinguisher available. If you disagree then it's your problem. I can't stand when you're struggling doing something then someone walks over and says "Oh, I had a tool for that all along!" That has happened to me a couple times and that's how I felt. I'm sure SLEEPER that you would feel the same way. Maybe Not? Whatever.

 

being in the Navy I can tell you a little about fire fighting, also we don't have a fire department to call if we're out at sea,niether do you if your on the road with your car on fire!

there are 4 types of fires: A,B,C,D
also understand the fire triangle, heat,fuel,oxygen ALL three must be there.

class Alfa: wood,paper,cotton,trash......interior upostry.... (white smoke)
use water,co2,smother

class Bravo: fuel,oil (black smoke)
NO water!,co2,pkp,foam

class Charlie: electrical (blue smoke)
disconect power source, treat as class A fire if it's still burning

class Delta: magniesium,chemical fires (highly undesirable almost impossible to put out!)

I think I experinced a class Delta fire once when my only working front brake on my Lincoln Mark VI caught fire,it took 30 min of garden hosing to cool it off,the actual metal in the disc was on fire!!

furtunatley never any other car fires,I keep an automotive dry chemical extinguisher in my car now, $11 from any store. the most likely fires in a car will be class charlie,bravo,alfa in that order. if your too cheap to buy an extinguisher then just keep a box of baking soda in the glove compartment (an easy place to get at) that will smother a class B fire. have an 8mm ratchet or a switch to cut your battery off. don't rely on the fire dept!!

 

just an airforce observation.....alPHa.

 

yea alpha,....nice microwave guy! (that would be an Rf hazard,just my navy observation)

 

Well, maybe not a "fire department", per se, (unless you're aboard a carrier) but you probably have a better trained and equipped crew than many smaller municipal and volunteer fire departments, for sure. If my information is correct, everyone from the STC in the brig to the CO has been drilled in fire safety and response from the first day of training, right?

I'd agree 100% - a DC extinguisher in the garage at a minimum. Even if you only store a lawnmower or some errant paint cans in there, or just park your car there. If you do work there, a second or third one is a good idea.

After reading this post a couple of days ago I checked all mine, and sure enough two of them had lost charge to the point where they were just out of the "green". I get a discount on my insurance for having extinguishers and a sprinkler in the house, and I guess I need to earn that discount by staying on top of it. A "smart" smoke and heat detector in the garage may be a good idea, too - one of those designed for kitchens that can tolerate a given amount of smoke without false triggering. I know it's water under the bridge for F-41, but it's good advice for the rest of us who haven't had a fire - yet.

 

yea no fire department but a hell of a lot of water!