I came up to an intersection today and noticed a 911 with smoke billowing out of the engine compartment. In less than 5 minutes the car was burned to a crisp. I later talked to the owner. He said the car stalled and he tried to restart and then noticed the smoke. He had an extiguisher but it was in the front trunk. Unfortunately by the time he got to it the car was fully invloved.

I asked if he had insurance for the stated value and he said no. I'm an insurance agent so I gave him the name of an appraiser who will give him a detailed appraisal to fight with his insurance company.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc...6_4136877_n.jpg

Ask about the motor, it is now a donor car!

p.s. Just looked at the pic, man that sucked!

You haven't noticed the previous thread on the same fire?

The Cap'n

Another Targa bites the dust! Feel bad for the owner though, that would really suck.

Yeah, another one burned up in Washington State too, I just got emailed about it, because they were trying to see if I know the guy. Well, maybe people will pay more attention to tuning their cars right, and quit trying to be cheap.

I see a peferctly good front suspension for my flared 914 there

well at least it was not a 914 that burned.

always have a HANDY fire extingusher. when seconds matter, you dont want to be digging thru a trunk to find it. mount it in the cockpit on a secure mount that is easy to get to. (experince speaking here)

bummer for a 911

What are the top reasons for a 911/914 to catch fire? What areas of the 914 electrical system?

Most 914 fires are due to fuel leaks at the brittle OE plastic fuel lines. If your '70-'74 car has had its fuel pump moved to the front of the car, then you've got an even worse scenario: the failure-prone plastic lines are now containing high-pressure fuel. Not a good combination.

No matter the location of your pump, you should install a set of Chris Foley's stainless-steel fuel lines. Weekend job. About a hundred bux.

Easy.
Cheap.
No fire.

fuel leaks are probably top reason. the 914 had issues with battery acid droipping ont eh fuel lines. eating up the plastic, cuasing fuel leaks and resulting fire. once you got a fuel leak, there ae plenty of igniton sources, hot parts, and sparks abound in the engine bay

hence always make sure yoru fuel system is in good shape, dont ignore any weeping fuel, or strong fuel odors, nor cracked /frayed hoses, cracked injectors etc...

and carry the biggest fire extegusher you can fit, and have it handy. it may save yoru car, or help save someone elses.

Battery acid won't affect plastic. Thats why the battery case is plastic. And it's usually the rubber lines to the injectors themselves that go. They get the most heat right next to the heads. Rubber lines will always go to crap before the plastic.

not all plastics are equal. the sulfuric acid does attack nylon, and does a good job at it. the fuel lines are a nylon based plastic and are NOT resistant to sulfuric acid. the battery case is likely polypropylene, which is resistant to H2SO4.

the factory had a recall speicifcally becuase battery acid was attacking the plastic (nylon) fuel lines.

I have worked with H2SO4 for decades in industry, believe me, it will attack nylon. But Polypropylene is resistant to it.

I have personally replaced the factory nylon fuel lines on a 914 that were damaged from battery acid. the sulfuric will attack it, no doubt about it.


Ps.....the solution is a sealed battery, no more acid leaks, YUCK!!! be done with it. acid on your car is so wrong in so many ways, eats paint, most metals, some plastics, pain to clean up. you dont want a batery that is not sealed in a 914 becuase of its location over critical componenets, and its xposure to rain/wash water that washes the acid down to these critical components below.

Agreed. When I replaced mine with SS the lines that were near the battery easily cracked/broke. The ones that ran through the tunnel seemed as good as new.

Great info! Think I'll do a close inspection of all my fuel lines.

..I've seen a few ...sad!

That '76 (if stock) was CIS which probably still had thermal reactors... However, I did score a '76 that also was an engine fire, even with SSIs. The CIS has black flex fuel lines among the many rubber supply/return lines. CIS also has a pressure accumulator to keep 60+psi for startup conditions. If you don't keep up on the fuel line maintenance: burn baby burn, disco inferno.

Carry a fire extinguisher or marshmallows..