MrPid Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 One of our local chaps in our Southern Club had a lucky escape last night when his Tiger caught fire leaving the house. He had his little boy in the car and was very lucky to still be within running distance of his house. He was able to grab a fire extinguisher and prevent a more serious incident and losing the car entirely. He sent me a vid (which I am not going to post) and I can tell you, it happened in seconds! The car has been on the road for a number of years and has just had a major overhaul. He is a mechanic and MOT tester by trade and currently trying to work out what caused the blaze. It serves as a stark reminder how quickly fire can take hold and escalate, so please make sure you have a fire extinguisher on board at the very least. Pics posted with his consent. 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Glad they both survived. I'd always suggest not fastening harnesses until after engine has successfully started. Even more important with kids that need help to get out etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAFKARM Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Tiger tiger burning bright..... Glad he managed to save it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbonWest - Chris Broster - Bristol & Bath AO Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO said: I'd always suggest not fastening harnesses until after engine has successfully started. Great idea Ian...noted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPid Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, Chris Broster - Bristol & Bath AO said: Great idea Ian...noted! Good tip there - On this occasion, the engine was started and idled fine, albeit a bit lumpy. He left the garage (at the back of his house) and was just leaving the access road towards the front of the property when a small fireball appeared underneath the sump and took hold from there. Lucky his wife was watching and screamed at him to stop, otherwise I doubt he would have seen it until it was much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbonWest - Chris Broster - Bristol & Bath AO Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, MrPid said: Lucky his wife was watching and screamed at him to stop, otherwise I doubt he would have seen it until it was much worse. Bit of a drastic way to prove to her you 'need' that engine upgrade.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hunter - Club Secretary Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 How awful, glad everyone got out OK and the car wasn't too badly damaged! Having run the twin Webers myself, I'd be looking at the floats first. When I rebuilt mine I inadvertently/naively jammed a float... Luckily I hadn't fitted the filter so noticed the small waterfall of fuel running out the trumpets when the fuel pump kicked in! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Very glad no one was hurt! 😳 I had one or two close calls with twin 40s. What can happen is the end stop bolt on #1 (front) carb fuel intake (#1 and #2 carbs fed inline, the stop bolt Is at the end of the fuel supply line where another front carb would go if it was a three carb setup) can back off due to vibration and the copper gasket under it going brittle. Had a few “why am I smelling raw petrol?” moments, stopped the car only to find petrol p1ss1ng out of there. 😬 Of course, the problem is greatly increased on an engine where the intake and exhaust are on the same side of the engine! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIY-Si Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Good to hear no-one was hurt, and the situation quickly bought under control! I've had exhausts glowing bright red before, but nothing close to a fire like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Smith - Joint Hampshire & IOW AO Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Glad he and his little boy are both safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsechris Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Many years back, shortly after getting the car on the road, it had a brush with fate thanks to a dodgy Weber carb. Xflow, twin 40s. The front carb somehow managed to spit out a gallery blanking plug so very time the throttle was pressed, it squirted a bit of petrol straight onto the distributor. It must have been doing this for a while and somehow never quite got enough fuel to fully catch light. Very swiftly bought some new carbs after that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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