DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Saw a lovely looking silver 356 on a truck in south London today, until I realised the bank end was melted after what appeared to be engine fire. A sad sight. Anyone we know? It is one of a few I have seen melted, anyone know the usual cause? Surely electrics and or petrol must be involved or is it purely heat?

The main culprit i think is an oil leak - i've seen a 911 i raced against dropping oil on to the exhaust. First few laps the car looked a little "smokey" then it got worse, coming up to it was like driving in fog, next lap he had pulled over with smoke bellowing from the engine bay, next lap marshalls trying to put out an inferno!

The petrol lines being at the rear don't help but it takes lots of heat before petrol will ignite and will ignite far faster with a naked flame, not so for oil, it "sticks" to the exhaust manifolds then goes on fire. The worst thing you can do to any rear engined porsche is to over fill the eingine with oil - which is a unfortunate common mistake. It will find a way out - and hey-presto FIRE.

Another "funny story" when racing, I was behind another 911 and the rear engine mountings broke and the engine and transmission fell to the track!!! Sparks everywhere!! When I came in after the race the competitor told me he thought i'd rammed him trying to push him off the track - that was until he realised his engine had "fallen out" - Muppet!!

In my many years of playing around with (air-cooled) VW's the number 1 source of rear end fires were fuel related, causes were any of the following:

Decayed (old) fuel lines, incorrect hoses (non-fuel tolerant), detached (none or loose clips) fuel lines.

My "funny" story, running a Beetle with an aftermarket carb/ manifold, running down to the South Coast mid winter late at night, engine stalls, open the engine lid, all of the inlet manifolds frozen solid.

After head scratching realise that the problem is caused by a lack of pre-heat tubes, how to defrost?

Answer a can of WD-40 and a cigarette lighter, excellent impromptu flame thrower (oh the folly of youth) DON'T try this at home!!!!!!

Problem solved and next day saw pre-heat returned to working.

This happened to my Chesil, the car went up like a bomb, full tank of petrol and on the M4, made the National News, closed the motorway down for an hour or so.

The cause of my fire was the exhaust pipes, It had to be flat bedded the previous day when it broke down, when it went up on the back of the truck the exhausts bottomed out and must have bent upwards causing then to touch the fibreglass bodywork.

Going down the M4 at high speed the next day must have caused high temps and for the bodywork to combust.

People were waving at me and I was waving back totally oblivious, until a van literally forced me onto the hard shoulder to point out my fcuking car was on fire.

I had time to get my briefcase CD's etc out of the car and casually walk down the hard shoulder to a safe distance to call 999.

threefiftysix wrote:Saw a lovely looking silver 356 on a truck in south London today, until I realised the bank end was melted after what appeared to be engine fire. A sad sight. Anyone we know?

I bet the owner brushed against it with his nylon trackie bottoms...

cubist wrote:

threefiftysix wrote:Saw a lovely looking silver 356 on a truck in south London today, until I realised the bank end was melted after what appeared to be engine fire. A sad sight. Anyone we know?

I bet the owner brushed against it with his nylon trackie bottoms...

It was you then!

Chris

might get Gary to check the fuel hoses while its being finished off