Fire on 10-12

[retfr8flyr]

Here are some pictures of the damage from my fire at the MIR track rental. I had a passenger side cam phaser come apart and knock a chunk out of the cam cover. This allowed the oil to spray out and started a fire. I can't emphasize enough, "GUYS PUT A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IN YOUR CARS" .

I can't thank Ray "ITLRUN2" enough for helping me put the fire out. I didn't see the extinguishers at the end of the track, as I was further down the return road. Ray made a pass behind me and saw my problems as he made the turn. He could see the extinguishers on the wall and started honking his horn to get my attention. We got the fire out without excessive damage, still waiting to tear things apart and see if there is any internal damage to the engine.


Earl

 

[Mystickeith50]

Oh shit man sorry to hear about this. I'm glad ur ok n hope u can get things rebuilt.

 

[Mr. Q]

Wow, I expected more damage, you guys really got a jump on extinguishing it! Glad you're safe man!
I hope there's not too much to repair man, good luck!

 

[Doug M]

Good luck man, could have been so much worse!

 

[weather man]

Hope it cleans up. Fire sucks!

 

[retfr8flyr]

I have been modifying and racing cars for 50 years and this is the first I have ever been on fire. I also always had a fire extinguisher in my cars. I have been going to put one in this car for the past 3 years and just kept putting it off. Believe me it will have one in it when it gets back on the road.

If it weren't for Ray, the damage would have been much worse. I was like a deer in the headlights trying to think of what to do to put the fire out until Ray started honking his horn. It's great to have friends!!!


Earl

 

[jodadejss06gt]

Earl are you going to try to go the insurance route? This really does suck and I didn't even get to see the damage when we were at the track. Hope it doesn't take too long but that harness issue will be a pain!

 

[1andonlywhitie]

Wow... good save, hopefully not too much rebuilding to do!

 

[Rasmus]

Good to see the car was saved. That could have easily ended so much worse than it did.

Also, +1 on having a fire extinguisher in your car.

 

[Marc s]

Sorry for your bad luck. I agree with you, put a 3 stage fire system in any car that makes big power and gets raced. Two under the hood and one in the drivers compartment.

 

[LAStang1234]

Man, glad Ray was there!!!!!

 

[AlloyGT]

Wow, sorry to see this, but glad you are OK and the damage wasn't worse. I've also "been going to" put an extinguisher in the car for at least 3 or 4 years. Time to get off my ass and do it!

 

[AbdullaGT500]

That could have been much worse! Glad no one was hurt, cars can always be fixed.

 

[Fallenauthority]

Wow sorry to see such carnage. Glad you came out unscathed and the car seemed to make it out relatively ok too. When you get another cover for the pass side send it on over to me an I will coat it for you for free, still have some of that powder left over for you.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Thanks for the good words guys and Dave thanks for the offer, I shot you a PM.


Earl

 

[tigerhonaker]

Earl,

I saw where you had for sale several items.
Then I read they were for sale because you had a fire.
So I went to your profile and looked at your Threads and found this one.

Sorry about the damage to your Mustang.
Have you gotten it all repaired by now?

Man the Pics. you took showed the damage and it looked bad to me for the wiring.

Take Care Buddy,
Terry

 

[retfr8flyr]

Thanks Terry, it is still being put back together. I hope to have it back on the road the first part of Jan. The new shortblock is all done and I delivered it to the shop, so it's just a matter of getting everything rewired and installed.

When the phaser came apart it was just the spring that came loose but, as well as knocking a hole in the valve cover, it got under the chain and made the pass side jump time. All new valves, guides, followers, adjusters and valve job on the pass head were required. Also needed a new set of pistons and I went back to stock compression with the new set. I didn't like the way the engine performed, during normal out of boost street driving, with the low compression pistons I was running.

Like I said shit happens and you just have to go on. I will have it back better then ever next year.


Earl

 

[rojizostang]

was it a stock cam phaser? that's scary, to say the least.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The cam phasers had been modified with Comp Cams phaser limiters. I think the design of the Comp limiters is what caused the problem. I talked to Comp Tech support about it but they just blew me off.

The new design phasers have changed the way the spring is held in. I guess the Comp limiters would probably work ok with the old design. The limiters come with a couple of tools to help install them but the tools don't even work with the new design.

I think the problem stems from the fact that the Comp limiters are about 1/8th inch thick and insert into the phaser then the rear holding plate is screwed back on. There are long bolts and short bolts that hold the back plate on, the the long bolts go through the gear and the spring has a U hook that hooks onto one of them. In the old design that was all there was to it but in the new design another one of the long bolts helps hold the spring in place. With the limiters installed the section of bolt that comes through is an 1/8 in shorter and I don't think they are long enough to hold the spring in place on the new design.

I had one new phaser and one older design installed, I bought a pair of phasers from a member and one broke during shipment so I had to buy a new one. I had the old phaser on the drivers side and nothing happened to it but the new one on the pass side caused all the damage when the engine hit the rev limiter. Thus my theory about the cause.

I am going with the Livernois limiters on the rebuild and will not even try and sell the Comp Cam ones. I wouldn't want to be responsible for someone going through what I did. I also highly recommend not getting the Comp Cam limiters if anyone is planning on using them. Not unless you can find the correct style bolt that is 1/8 inch longer.


Earl

 

[Flapjack]

Wow, Earl.... No sure how I missed this when you first posted, but while it sucks horribly, I'm glad your story and pics may help inspire others to ride with a fire extinguisher in their car.

I have a larger one in my garage, as I had a near fire once... a positive battery cable touched down on my metal intake manifold. Luckily, I reacted quick, figured out what happened, and was able to disconnect the battery before it caught fire. You never know when tragedy will strike, so you always need to plan for the worst. Hopefully this story helps hammer that point home.

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