Nearly Burnt the Speedster Down Last Night

I was driving home last night and two odd things occurred, first I went through a quarter tank of gas in about 20 miles and second, acceleration was flat.

This morning the garage smelled of gas and when I pulled her out of the garage there was a huge trail of gas. Looking in the engine compartment the fuel regulator was free flowing gas out of the top.

Turns out the diaphragm was torn. I'm guessing it was that way yesterday and perhaps the hole was getting larger the longer I drove?

I'm just amazed with that much gas pouring into the engine compartment and down onto the heater boxes, that I didn't have a fire.

I think I'm very lucky.

WHEW!! Glad to read that nothing catastrophic happened!

I'm glad that nothing too serious resulted. It's a good reminder that we all need functioning extinguishers in our cars, and we need to check the dials on them occassionally to make sure they are still charged. If you have a dry powder model, remove it from the bracket every few months, and give it a vigorous shake to make sure the ingredients haven't caked up.

Glad to hear there was no ignition. Whilst on the subject of fire extinguishers, who recommends what? Size, type, mount, placement??? I need to put this on my to do list. Photos would be great. I like photos.

Rich, Henry had a really cool, self-contained fire suppression system that mounted above the engine with two screws at Carlisle. If I dIdn't already have a bottle, I would go for that. I still may at some point. It wasreasonablyf priced and fully automatic.

I have a halogen extinguisher mounted on the hump in front of the stick shift. I also carry one of those Tundra disposable extinguishers up front with me.

Extinguishers come in different types, the most common of which are water, CO2, dry powder, and halon (or a derivate).

Water extinguishers are powered by compressed air or gas, and are normally larger than would be car-mounted.

Dry powder is an economical choice, but leaves LOTS of mess to clean up afterward.

CO2 is very effective and class B and C fires (flammable liquids, electrical), so it's apprpriate for automobile use. You need to get close to your work, i.e., 3-6 feet.

The best choice for effectiveness, ease of use, and minimal mess is a small halon extinguisher. Many owners mount them on the tunnel, forward of the shift lever. They're not cheap, but a smaller concentation of gas is effective at fire suppression.

Lots of car owners buy an extinguisher, mount it, and forget about it. When they try to use it, after they figure out how to release the extinguisher from the bracket, then release the trigger mechanism, they can't open the engine lid, because it's now REAL hot.
Does the phrase "Charlie Foxtrot" strike a familiar chord?

Everybody makes their own choice of what works best for them. Buy one, look at it once in a while, and inspect the pull-ring or release mechanism. I guarantee that you won't regret being slightly anal about your extinguisher if you ever really need to use it in a fire situation.

One further comment about dry powder extinguishers. While cheap and effective in putting out a fire, in addition to the mess you'll have to clean up, the dry powder WILL chemically attack exposed copper, as in wire, terminals, spades, alternators, generators, you name it.

Get a halogen or CO2!

Well put, Chief Kelly. Good advice!

I have an ABC extinguisher under my dash. I figure that with the fuel cell in front of me and the engine behind me, I'm only going to need that bottle for my own extrication. If I had carpet, maybe I'd go the CO2 route.

I don't have anything in place for the rear, but I DO very much like what Henry had at Carlisle. Maybe an IM owner has some photos?

I'd change the oil just incase its got gas in it too..

But that was a close call,, Check your hoses tooo. and be careful

Anyone know where I can get a fuel pressure regulator with a gauge mounted to it. It needs to run 1 pound pressure for my Kadrons. The round dial one I have now pukes out a little gas so I dont wanna have the same problem. Thanks, Tom

1 pound of pressure? are you sure? I'm no expert on Kads, but that seems a little low.

Every Kadron needle valve I've ever seen has had no neoprene on the tips. 1 psi is all they can take, or they flood the carburetor.

Everybody just accepts that "that's the way it is". Nuts? You decide....