HOT WHEELS 1973! (TK73 Charger Rebuild/Fire/Rebuild Again)

[RallyeMike]

A couple of us are working on getting this 73 ready for a sprayed Rustoleum flat black paint job as covered in this months Hot Rod magazine, and I ended up flaming it instead.

As a rule, I never keep gas in the house, always in a small outbuilding. I broke that rule yesterday and paid for it with a smoked up garage, and burned up patio roof, some smoke damage in the house due to windows that were opened, and 2nd degree burns on my arms and face. Thanks to a few quick actions and the Army Ranger and his pals next door, the damage is way less than it could have been. We actually managed to have the fire out by the time the Fire Department got there, and nobody else got hurt.

The 73 will be fine, the C500 is undamaged (my spouse told me she thought I'd go down with it), and I was considering tearing down the patio roof anyway. Lessons learned: No gas in the garage, and don't use plastic/fiberglass panels for your patio roof. The stuff burns like a fuse.

STARTING ON PAGE 2, THE REST OF THIS THREAD IS THE REBUILD OF THIS 73 CHARGER, Including body work, inexpensive garage-laid Rustoleum paint job, conversion from 360 to 440, and other miscellaneous upgrades on this driver Charger.

[RallyeMike]

More...

[azfrench]

Wow!  You are very fortunate to have come out of that incident with only 2nd degree burns.  Im glad the cars are ok but more importantly that you are ok.

Rick

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Wow 

Glad you made it ok!

[Drache]

Glad you're ok!

Care to tell us on how the fire actually started?

Loose spark from grinding or welding found the gas can?

[RallyeMike]

How it probably started: Jacked up the back of the car to work on a quarter patch panel and gas leaked out the front of the unplugged fuel line. I heard and felt a "woosh" at the front of the car from where I was working in back. Ran to the front and there was a pond of fire about 6' diameter with gas can on fire in the edge of it. I ran through the puddle of fire, grabbed the can and threw it out the back door onto the patio. That's probably where I was burned, but definitely what saved the garage (at the expense of the patio roof).

The good thing is that everyone and everything else is ok, however the project cars will be sitting idle now for a while....

[Brock Samson]

   Damn!  Glad you fared as well as you did considering!  what was the ignition source?.. 

[Tilar]

  Damn!  Glad you fared as well as you did considering! 

  Damn man, sounds like you were lucky. Glad you're not hurt any more than you are!

[RallyeMike]

what was the ignition source?.

It was a cutting wheel being used to install a small quarter patch.

If it had just been the drip or whatever started the initial fire, everything would have been manageable. It was the 5 gallon gas can that I had in the garage that created the disaster. If the can had been out in the metal shed where it was supposed to be, I would have only a small mess and the 73 would be in primer next weekend.

I can see it now: For the next 40 years I will be hearing "Remember when you caught the house on fire......". Arg.     I'm going to have to be extra good for awhile.

[XS29LA47V21]

    
500 ok and 73 not bad and no one hurt 
It has been on my list, maybe I should bump it up, store gas & liquid com-bustable away from family and rods.  Good advise I would say (now I need to do it).

[Old Moparz]

Good to hear that this wasn't as bad as it could have been.  


Just a reminder to take inventory of what you own or you may not remember it until it's too late.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,81914.msg919358.html#msg919358

[TK73]

Can I pick that '73 up cheap?

[RallyeMike]

I'll PM you if all these other deals I have lined up fall through. 

[TK73]

Well, I really wanted a '74 but that will do if the others fall through... 

[nvrbdn]

Well, I really wanted a '74 but that will do if the others fall through... 

heres a 74      http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/2418074048.html    cheap.

[Charger_Dart]

Sorry to hear about the your fire, but glad to hear your okay.  I almost had the same type of thing happen to me, but I was able to wash the gas out of the garage before something sparked it off. That was 5 years ago and I still think about how lucky I was to have avoided a fire. Hope the cars are not too badly damaged.

[ChgrSteve67]

Grinding and welding ate two really good ways to burn your garage and house down.

I always keep a good fire extinguisher near by and scout the area before starting. I don't think I would have caught the unplugged gas line spilling out fluid.

My Uncle likes to smoke while he works so I'm always on high aleart when we have gas, thinner or flamable liquids near buy.

I'm glad to hear that your are (for the most part) unharmed and that you did not loose a major piece of your house.

Thanks for sharing, it will probably save someone's house.

-Steve

[boat-cars_are_beast]

Hey mike, Glad to hear your "mostly" fire prof !!

[GunMetal]

PM sent.....Yeowch,  hot stuff....

[RallyeMike]

I always keep a good fire extinguisher near by and scout the area before starting.

Yeah. Another good lesson: The fire extinguisher should be nearby likely fire sources (garage, kitchen, laundry), not IN them. I had a perfectly good fire extinguisher at the work bench with a pond of fire between me, and it. 

[FLG]

Glad your safe and everything's fixable...i always kept a fire extinguisher in the car as well.

[Bob T]

Whew, unlucky, glad to hear you're mostly ok, burns are terrible, hope they come right soon.
But at least it was confined to the patio and not the garage and house.

I had a fuel leak through a split hose after replacing twin 4bbls on my old flat bottom racing boat at home, found I had a lot of fuel in the bottom of the boat after the carb backfire set it going. Managed to smother it out by tearing off jersey and t shirt to use but was ready to just push it away from the house and stand clear.

Quite a frightening episode.

Always have had fire extinguishers in the garage, house, car and work vehicle since then.

An old neighbour of mine who actually was a fireman for a job had been canting off fuel from a car into a large tin bowl and was walking it around the side of the house when he went past the gas califont. The pilot light on it ignited the bowl and he was badly burnt on his arms and chest. His wife was an A+E nurse and came home off shift to find 2 trucks and an Ambo in their street only to find it was Jeremy her husband. He has come right but it is a reminder of how quick and dangerous a situation can escalate for the worse.

[RallyeMike]

Well, I'm officially back in business.... cars are back in the refurbished garage and being worked on. I'm at 100%, but with a few new scars to lie about 

Mavecave #1 now has epoxy floors, new lighting, new steel cabinets, and properly grounded electrical system. Though I pretty much lost the summer, as well as this turned out, I might set fire to Mancave #2 next (not really).

[Old Moparz]

The new shop looks great.   

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Wow I totally missed this one when you first posted....glad everything worked out.

PS----didnt know you had a C500....or did I?