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My Bugeye almost burned down today!

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mrsprite

mrsprite

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I took the Bugeye out for a nice long mountain cruise today.....went from Denver to Boulder then up to Lyons and over to Estes Park before heading back down to Loveland and back towards Denver. I was about 1/2 mile from home when I went around a corner (pretty fast left hander). It started sputtering and then seemed to be OK, but 2 blocks later is started losing power and driving poorly. I turned it off and pulled over.....popped the bonnet and was met by 2 foot high flames! I did not have my extinguisher in the car (I know....stupid and it'll never happen again) so there I was, one arm holding up the bonnet and the other trying to put out the flames with a towel.

It's amazing how many people just drive on by as you're yelling at the top of your lungs for help and flames are pouring out from under the hood. Luckily a guy from the local power company drove by and stopped and put out the flames with his extinguisher. If he had not stopped then I have no doubts that my Bugeye would have burned to the ground......there was just nobody around to help.

Anyway.....it looks like I'll be doing some major cleaning this weekend......that powder is everywhere, including inside the carbs. The good news is the only real casualty that I can see is the K&N air filter. I think once I clean it all up and replace the filter it'll fire right up and be OK. Only time will tell though.


A few pics:


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23286_.jpg
 
BTDT with a Volvo.

Thank goodness you had someone stop and HELP!!

Steve
 
Wow, you're lucky to have saved it! Looks like it would have burned thru a fuel hose before long then it would have really got going.

Coincidence? I had the same thing happen a year ago!!KN filters are oil impreganated cloth and a good backfire will set them off.

In my case it was a failed head gasket that set the engine to backfiring while I tried to limp home.

While I tryed to tear apart the flaming filter with my gloved hand wife dumped a liter bottle of drinking water on it.
Stopped the flames but did'nt save the engine

Find the backfire cause I guess is the only solution.

Kurt.
 
Man I hate that feeling. I filled my Jeep carb with an ant hill to put mine out...ants and all.
 
What happened was the overflow tube came loose on that carb and when I took that corner fast gas came out and started the flames. No backfire, but I can see that starting the K&N on fire.....scary!

I pulled the top of the carb off to clean it up and discovered that the jet is damaged (melted) and the plastic sheathing in the choke cable is gone (no biggie there). Everything else looks good. I plan on pulling the carbs off this weekend and cleaning them both out. I'll have to order new jets, so it'll be out of commission for a good week.

I just hope I didn't do any permanent damage to the motor, although if I did then it's a good excuse to throw in a blacktop 4AGE! :smile:
 
BTW, take a lot of pictures, if it turns out to be big $, and you have comprehesive insurance, it may be covered. Never hurts to check with your agent.
Scott in CA
 
Mr. Sprite,

WOW! That is a scary situation putting it mildly! What really surprizes me are the "K&N" filters. I did`nt know they were Oil impregnated. Another big surprize is that people would`nt stop to help initially? I can only guess the fire scared everyone away & no one wanted to get too close to the car.

I`ve owned alot of LBCs over the years and never had a fire extinguisher in any car. After reading your post & My TR3 coming along nicely; I think I`ll invest in one!!

Best Wishes,

Russ
 
It's always a good idea to have one on board even if you're not the one who needs it.
 
kellysguy said:
It's always a good idea to have one on board even if you're not the one who needs it.
Click to expand...

X2..I keep one in EVERY car.
 
I need to buy an extra one for my Midget, and a bigger one for my garage. Maybe I'll do that today since it is raining.

Oh, and I think I'll put a hose clamp on my overflow hose.
 
Wow! I'm sorry you had to go through this, but at least the damage seems minimal and no one was hurt.
 
Let me ask what may be a dumb question are overflow tubes supposed to have hoses on them. Mine don't and I can still smell a whiff of petrol at higher speeds. Dumping out under the car would certainly keep and petrol escaping away from the exhaust manifold.
 
Tube pipe or what ever to dump the fuel if any down alongside the oil pan.


Best spot I have found for a fire extinguisher is just in front of the passanger seat. Lays between the seat and the raised brace. Does not need to be screwed down, you can grab it quickly, etc. Guess how I know this. lol.

A small one is fine, it is not the size of the extinguisher that is important it is how fast you can get it on the fire.

Miss Agatha likes hers it is a preaty red to match her carpet.
 
Jim_Gruber said:
Let me ask what may be a dumb question are overflow tubes supposed to have hoses on them. Mine don't and I can still smell a whiff of petrol at higher speeds. Dumping out under the car would certainly keep and petrol escaping away from the exhaust manifold.
Click to expand...


My carbs have some rubber hose attached to the vent on the carb and then some metal tubing attached to the hose. The tubes snake their way down under the pan.

That said, I may have jumped the gun on the cause of the fire. The vent tube may or may not be the culprit......I need to finish looking things over and may have jumped to conclusions. I will up date this thread as I rip things apart looking for the root cause of the fire.
 
OK.....I just pulled off both carbs and it looks good. The intake manifold is clean, so no extinguisher powder or other crap made it into the engine. Several hoses are melted and will need to be replaced )heater, fuel, vacuum, etc.), but nothing major. The carb that was on fire is filthy, but it's cleaning up nicely (will finish in the morning).

Now for the culprit.....a few weeks ago I checked and adjusted the floats and reused the gaskets. They were in good shape (the carbs are only 2 years old), so I figured there would be no issues. Well......it seems the gasket in the carb that caught fire has a wrinkle in it and there was a small section of the float lid that was not properly sealed. What I think happened is when I took the hard left hand turn, the gas in the bowl sloshed to the side and some escaped through the gap in the gasket. The car did bog and run rough for a bit then seemed to smooth out......low on gas in the bowl and when it filled up again it ran better. By that time though there was raw gas spilled inside a hot engine compartment and the air filter caught fire as a result.

Now I just need to order some new parts!


Pic of gasket:

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I say this with nothing intended.

It is always good to have an extra full set of engine and carb gaskets on hand if you can aford it.

Also buy hose getting some extra at the time, cheep enough. Don't forget extra clamps.

Have an extra fan belt as well.

Saves so much frustration.

So to recap, extra.

Fuel hoses, clamps
Water hoses, clamps
Gaskets
Fan belt, store this under the drivers seat.

Along with the gaskets get a roll of each size gasket material from someplace like Ace Hardware or your favorate car place.
 
Taa Daa!
 
I have added a bit to stuff needed in the garage of little car owners.

Fuel hoses, clamps
Water hoses, clamps
Gaskets
Fan belt, store this under the drivers seat.
Fuel Pump
Plugs
Condenser
Points
Coil
Sampling of nuts bolts and screws
Electrical tape
Duct tape
High tension wiring set
Wire

Goops and sealants of all types

Along with the gaskets get a roll of each size gasket material from someplace like Ace Hardware or your favorate car place.

Of course this assumes your car is a runner and not a project in work.
 
Nice list.....and I have just about everything needed (some things I have in triplicate) to keep the Bugeye running, but obviously not for the carbs.

Anyway, I spent some time today cleaning the engine compartment and replacing the burnt fuel line and heater hose. I also wrapped the choke cable in electrical tape (the plastic sheathing is all melted away).....not the best fix, but cheap and easy. No need to replace a cable due to some melted plastic.

I also disassemled the carbs and cleaned them both out. I just need one new nozzle to replace the melted one as well as some new air cleaners to be roadworthy once again.

I also bought a small fire extinguisher.....I won't have to worry about a future fire if one happens again!

All in all, I got off very easy.....very little actual damage (around $100) and nothing permanent either. My Bugeye is like a cat.....she has 9 lives (down to 7 after this incident). :smile:
 
I got the new fuel nozzle and float bowl gaskets today. I got the carbs re-installed and she fired right up. It took awhile to get it all adjusted, but it is almost dialed in. Unfortuantely I discovered that one of the needles is slightly bent. I attemted to straighten it, but that was futile.....it's straight enough to work, but the idle is off a bit (it doesn't settle down after driving.....it runs about 500-700RPM higher than normal).

I still haven't gotten my new air cleaners yet, so I won't be driving it anyway......just need to order a new needle now. :smile:
 
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