Fire!!!

[Chris16vRocco]

Just now, as I pulled up to my house, I smelled something burning. When I was getting out of the car I saw smoke coming out of the dash. I looked at the fusebox and saw one of the relays on fire. I tried to pull it out before it spread, but the plastic shell came off, leaving the burning innards. I ran in the house, I knew I saw a fire extinguisher in there somewhere recently, but **** if I could remember where. Eventually my stepdad found them, and it took 3 extinguishers to put out what had by then become a decent sized fire. Then the fire dept. came out and hosed down the interior real good. I am quite relieved we got it under control while there was still something left of it. The entire drivers side of the dash is pretty well gone (it was cracked as hell anyway), the gauge cluster and everything else in that region is melted and now the car is flooded with water and the stuff from the extinguishers.

The car in question

[Ryan]

That's harsh - but at least you can resurect it Phoenix from the Flames style!
Best of luck.

[Risocco]

Sad news dude, nowt that can't be fixed tho

Love your wheels by the way

Alex

[monzajake]

Thats spooky, i dreamt mine caught fire last night. I had been fitting a new set of clocks in here due the day and noticed a bit of shoddy wireing someone
had done for the alarm !!

[ianaudia4]

S***, that's a brown trouser moment!!
Glad you are okay and like the others have said "nothing that can't be fixed".

[agazaka]

I keep fire extinguisher in the car, just in case. I never had to use it fortunately.

[DT1]

I keep fire extinguisher in the car, just in case. I never had to use it fortunately.

Same here, having been involved in a lorry fire myself, I've seen too many electrical and engine bay fires to go anywhere without an extinguisher.

Glad that you're OK and the car is salvageable.

[MrD]

I keep fire extinguisher in the car, just in case. I never had to use it fortunately.

Same here,mine is attached to the roll cage,in the passenger foot well,within easy grabbing distance.but then i also have a fuel tank,and pumps,swirl pot and accumulator right behind me,plan on re locating these to where the battery is,and moving the battery into the back instead,only trouble with that is,when i am running low on fuel,my pump clatters,so i know i need more fuel,not sure i will hear it clattering under the bonnet.

[goaferboy]

I keep fire extinguisher in the car, just in case. I never had to use it fortunately.

Yeah same here. I keep it behind the passenger seat so I can grab it quick if I need it.

I'm thinking about getting a second one, since the one I have isn't that big.

[Jay4424]

I hate you lot


...youve scared me into buying one!

[Brunty]

It could be worse...

[goaferboy]

Indeed it could.

[Chris16vRocco]

Indeed it could have been much much worse. Those last two pics are downright scary.

Having a fire extinguisher on hand is certainly a good idea, but it's usefulness depends on the nature of the fire. In my case it probably wouldn't have done much good. My fire was caused by a short in the fuse box, and it took 3 household fire extinguishers to put it out. The fire kept reigniting until I got the battery unhooked, because the fuse box was still shorted out. I think a pair of pliers would have been more useful as I could have pulled the shorted out relay out of the fuse box before it caught the rest of the dash on fire.

As I began parting it out, someone approached me about buying the car in a mostly complete state to use as a race car project. Hopefully that will happen, because it's such a shame to cut up what is a straight body.

Again, thanks for the comments everyone.