Re: [doc] Classic car fire.

[Martin Gutkowski - DMUK <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

With advance apologies if this e-mail ends up in a plug, but bear with 
me, I will explain.

When my first D arrived, together with Rich Johnstones, we set to work 
getting mine running first. I had a fuel leak from one of the engine bay 
hoses - it sprang whilst the car was being test-driven for a mile. Fuel 
sprayed all over the engine, exhaust and actually shot up through the 
grills and hit the louvers.

This was a real "deep breath" moment realising that this might have 
happened on a longer trip once the car had been registered.

Since working on DeLoreans for a year, we've lost count of the number of 
fuel hoses we've replaced due to them springing a leak after being 
"disturbed" - and by this I mean, for example, the hose going to the top 
of the fuel filter one one list member's car started peeing after 
nothing more than changing the filter. It takes very little to rupture 
those once flexible hoses.

The most common hose to spring a leak is the one going to the top of the 
metering head from the control preesure regulator - because it has a 
sharp bend in it. Once leaking, original hoses are good for the bin 
alone. Don't attempt jubilee clip fixes, and remember, the high pressure 
side of the fuel system runs at 5 bar, or just under 75psi. Think how 
much pressure is in your car tyre when you press the valve - and that's 
around 30psi.

On starting DMUK, I spent some time, and as a company, quite a lot of 
money with our hydraulics supplier developing replacement fuel hoses for 
all the flexible lines on the car. The engine hose set is high pressure 
thermoplastic hose, rated to some silly pressure (we use similar stuff 
on the robot running at 3000psi - and that's only the rated operating 
pressure - this is usually a fifth of the actual rupture test pressure). 
It's extremely heat resistant and the ends are swaged on in a hydraulic 
press. Our supplier has no qualms that these will far and away exceed 
the safety levels of the poor original nylon lines with heat-shrunk ends.

Martin

Chris Parnham wrote:

> Lesson learnt?  Don't leave you car ticking over whilst you have a cup
> of tea, do have a bloody great fire extinguisher to hand and use it
> sooner rather than later,  have a battery isolator, that you can easily
> get at just in case. (I have on both my DeLorean's)
> 




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