It all started when I decided to rebuild the Winfield carb that was on the ol' brass picup. Since the nice brass Stromberg I put in its place was to be temporary, I didn't bother to adapt the air cleaner to it.
As I always fiddle with a new setup, then drive it, I tweaked the Stromberg and got it too lean. It was coughing until thoroughly warmed up. I was going to richen it up a bit after I got home from a short run, and it died just as I pulled half way into the garage. It never dies normally, but it must have coughed when I closed the throttle.
Next thing I know, there is smoke coming up the back side of the dash and then I see flames from under the hood. I quickly pushed the car back out of the garage and then proceeded to grab the extinguisher, which was in a box in the pickup bed, under a bike I was hauling. The BC powder made quick work of the carb fire, but the minute or so it took resulted in a scorched hood and burnt sparkplug wires.
Unfortunately, the air cleaner was a rare or nonexistent feature on brass era cars. Not only does an air cleaner extend the life of the engine, it prevents fires. Even a simple mesh screen will break up a flame and keep it from shooting out the carburetor intake. An air cleaner or a screen is a vital safety item on every car.
* This is from fireman Gene Carrothers: I would recommend to everyone to get a 5 lb ABC Dry Chemical one with a metal head. The reason for the 5 lb one that this is the smallest one that comes with a hose and has a longer discharge time. The "normal" 2 1/2 lb ones have a discharge time of ONLY 5 SECONDS. If you have a fire on a vehicle the hose is a very important feature to help you get in hard to reach areas without upsetting the extinguisher. The ABC is also good for ordinary combustibles and works well on the class B fuels and is not as corrosive.
* When the barn is on fire, get the horses out. It's extra risk to have a car in the garage that can't be rolled out. There is no good reason to start a car in the garage if it can't be rolled out.
* Keep fresh fire extinguishers handy. The only time I used one prior to this was to put out a carb fire in a semi-modern pickup on the 605. The (red) BC chemical extinguishers are plentiful and cheap, but the powder is highly corrosive. Halon is far better if you can find it.
* If the fuel system is gravity feed, make sure you have a handy fuel shutoff well away from the carb. A shutoff next to the carb will be too dangerous to reach - just when you really need it.
* If the car has an electric fuel pump, an idiot light may remind you to shut off the ignition if a fire starts. There are also switches available that automatically shut off the fuel pump when there is no oil pressure.
* If you don't have a fire extinguisher, crank the engine, and the carb fire will be sucked in. That won't put out the fire that may have spread to the sparkplug wires or other parts, but it snuffs out the burning gas in the carb. This is standard procedure for radial airplane engines that are prone to carb fires.
* "Temporary" should never be an excuse to compromise safety.
Ralph