M1842 Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 I have gotten to the point of getting ready to fire up the engine on my 55 Buick Special. Among other things installed is new steel fuel line from the fuel pump to the back of the carb which is screwed into a fuel filter on the back of the carb. I turned the engine with the line from the coil to the distributor disconnected. I detected a leak where the fuel filter screws into the back of the carb. I was able to tighten it up about half a revolution. I used some paper towels to soak up excess gas on the manifold. I pushed the starter again and got instant fire. I ran to my fire extinguisher and deployed it and put the fire out quickly. I walked inside the house to tell my lovely bride that through quick thinking and superb reaction time, I had averted a crisis. She was not amused. Now I know I made one huge mistake, I left that wad of paper towels on the intake manifold. I am wondering also if I should use a brass fitting between the filter and the carb body to get a better seal. Finally, the extinguisher I used is a dry type using monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate. I vacuumed up as much as I could. And wiped up additional residue with a damp cloth. Now i see that this may cause corrsion on metal parts. My biggest concern now is powder that may have gone down the carb. Air filter not in place. With the engine being turned by the starter would there be enough vacuum to pull powder down into the cylinders? Can I get by with cleaning the carb or do I pull the manifold to look for traces of the powder? Feeling like a dunce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 That sucks. Can't help you about the dry media, but I would get either a Halotron or CO2 extinquisher for the future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 (edited) Permatex 80019 Aviation Form-A-Gasket No. 3 Sealant will seal pipe threads on that carb. Clean up the engine completely with water. If the engine was running then you probably should take the manifold off and clean it. Otherwise remove the carb wash it out and clean what you can in the manifold. Next time ground the lead coming out of the coil. That's what I do because the same thing has happened to me. Edited July 30 by old-tank (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 @old-tank Thanks for your suggestions though whatever product you are saying to use on the pipe threads didn't show up, just repeated this thread. I realize now that the engine was not running or even turning when I used the extinguisher. Once I took my foot of the gas pedal, the starter stopped. So I think, pulling the carb will do it. The lead you are referring to is the central wire that goes to the distributor cap? Or the black wire from the negative terminal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60s GM Fan Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 I feel you on the carb fire. Had a leak on my 59 and the damn thing nearly burnt down. My damage was a little bit more as it burned for almost a good minute before someone stopped to put it out. I'd just recommend time and making sure none of the components were compromised. It took me 700 bucks and two weekends of working on her to get her operational. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 2 minutes ago, 60s GM Fan said: I feel you on the carb fire. Had a leak on my 59 and the damn thing nearly burnt down. My damage was a little bit more as it burned for almost a good minute before someone stopped to put it out. I'd just recommend time and making sure none of the components were compromised. It took me 700 bucks and two weekends of working on her to get her operational. I don't thak I ever moved as fast as i did today, jumped out of the car, grabbed the extinguisher, pulled the safety pin, pulled the trigger. Couldn't have been more than 10 seconds. Pucker factor was high. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60s GM Fan Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 I was driving at 40 mph heading towards the freeway when my engine caught on fire. Big woosh noise and smoke all over the place. Trying to slam on the brakes and throw your car into park at the same time to see how bad the fire is will definitely give you a pucker factor!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60s GM Fan Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 This is post fire as she stands today. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) Permatex 80019 Aviation Form-A-Gasket No. 3 Sealant Central wire. A fuel inlet on the front of the carburetor would have been a better idea not on the back where old sparky is. Edited July 30 by old-tank (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 5 minutes ago, old-tank said: Permatex 80019 Aviation Form-A-Gasket No. 3 Sealant Central wire. Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 Back around the turn of the century I had a lawn mower gas can on the cowl of my '56 Willys pickup gravity feeding a freshly installed Hurricane 6. It spit back on me and I saw the yellow glow through the floorboards. I jumped out, grabbed the can and threw it as far from the garage as possible. Into the house and grabbed the portable phone, running and dialing 911. The momentary yellow flames were gone before I got back. Back to work as usual. About ten minutes later the village police pulled in the driveway. I looked up and thought "Oh, no, what did my son do now?" I walked to the door to greet them. "We got a 911 call from this location and no one spoke." "Oooohhhhh! That was me. Sorry, I forgot about the fire I had ten minutes ago." "Just checking. Everything OK?" "Yep. Thanks for checking." 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 16 hours ago, M1842 said: Thank you! Central wire, got it. I am thinking of running a wire with alligator clips from the end of the wire to a point on the engine. Does that sound right? I sure as hell don't want another fire. 😀 I have ordered the Permatex and a CO2 fire extinguisher. No more powder to clean up Got the carb off and cleaned and got the rest of the powder residue removed. Such a charlie foxtrot!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 29 minutes ago, M1842 said: I am thinking of running a wire with alligator clips from the end of the wire to a point on the engine. Does that sound right? I sure as hell don't want another fire. 😀 Yes . An electric fuel pump back by the tank will serve you well to prime the carburetor after long sitting and help solve vapor locks issues in addition it will help you pressurize the fuel system without cranking engine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 ^^^^^^^ Just be sure all rubber fuel line, from the tank to the carb, is NEW or of recent vintage. Otherwise, the fuel pressure, "back there", will find any existing fuel line issues. Cycle repeat as to the "fire response". NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 @NTX5467. All fuel lines are steel. Probably time to replace the line from the tank to the fuel pump. Already replaced the line from the fuel pump to the carb. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 There has to be a rubber line from the steel line along the frame to the engine fuel pump. Otherwise the steel line would break from flexing.😉 Sometimes the rubber is hiding under a metal woven cover. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted August 1 Author Share Posted August 1 13 hours ago, Frank DuVal said: There has to be a rubber line from the steel line along the frame to the engine fuel pump. Otherwise the steel line would break from flexing.😉 Sometimes the rubber is hiding under a metal woven cover. I will check that, I'm sure you're correct. Rubber may be so old that it looks like old metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted August 1 Author Share Posted August 1 I found the culprit today. I had installed the carb and intake manifold as a unit and then a couple weeks later installed the filter to the back of the carb mostly by feel. Today I realized that there is a lip around part of the fuel inlet opening. I was never going to get a tight fitting with the fuel filter. I have ordered a brass fitting to bring the fuel filter out far enough from the carb side to get good tight connection. This and the Permatex should do the trick. Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Probably the treads on that filter are not formed accurately where your filter bottomed out before getting tight. Any other application you could use teflon tape which will fail with gasoline. Made off shore where they don't completely understand. I had the same problem with a brake light switch...this time the threads were rough as a file. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60s GM Fan Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 That was certainly part of my issue when the 59 nearly burnt up. Old rubber line and poorly fitted threads. Glad to see you found the issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted August 2 Author Share Posted August 2 @Frank DuVal I just checked the hose out and ordered a new one. I have had the car 7 years and i think it sat for quite awhile before i bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1842 Posted August 7 Author Share Posted August 7 @Frank DuVal Glad you mentioned this, got the new rubber hose installed tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now