Progress on the bmw1602.com car ...** UPDATED 09/16/24 *

[bmw1602.com]

 

How does this happen? Simple human error in my case. We were adjusting the float level in the carb every session and a friend was teaching me and helping me....in a rush to get out for the last test session, to see if our changes worked he “assumed” I had tightened the fuel line at the AN fitting and on my side I “assumed” he had tightened it. ?‍♂️ The second mistake was in our rush to get out, was to put the hood on BEFORE starting the car. If we had started it with the hood OFF we would of seen the leak right away. I rushed and put on ALL my safety gear and got in, started it up and head out on the track....amazingly I got a few corners in and then then car shut off....my first thought was out of fuel as I didn’t not have time to fuel up before heading out. The just as I was thinking that....and WHOOSH!! All of a sudden to my amazement there was big flames coming out of my hood from every side!!!! My first thought thru my head was .....”my car is on fire?!!” It took me by surprise but I immediately started to get the car slowed down while hitting my belts release. 

 

 I have my center console switches organized in a way that, If slammed my hand down and back everything shuts off (thanks to Matt @roninautowerks smart thinking) right after that I pulled my main battery switch by the A-Pillar just to be sure. Right next to the Main Switch is my fire pull and so I yanked on it hard and a loud ppssft!!! Sound came out from the CO2 bottle being punctured and then I got slammed in my face by the driver facing nozzle (luckily my face shield was down) I could hear the 5liters of AFFF liquid spraying out all the nozzles as very quickly climbed out of the car. Not surprisingly it did NOT put out the fire.... it did bring it down from a “9 to a 5”. Fire suppression systems are designed to do just that.... give you time to get out and suppress the fire not actually put it out. I’m glad I had the 5L system and not the 2.3L. Since it was Friday practice not all corner stations were manned. The one closest to me was empty. I looked around and I was alone. I waved my hands in the air asking for help but then I pulled the hood off as fast as I could. This or course allowed more air to the fire and it flared up a bit. I looked towards the dirt nearby and it was hard packed so dirt was not an option. So with still no sign of a fire truck I decided to stamp out the parts that were on fire with my gloves/hands. It was hot!! I managed to put a few things out until what seamed like FOREVER the fire truck rolled up, the chief jumped out and thankfully he used his water can in stead of the chemical white powder stuff. He knocked it out quickly and rather cleanly.... he asked me if I pulled my master switch and then sprayed a few other hot spots that still had open flames like my plastic IE airdam....as I was in disbelief he hooked me up and towed me in.....

[bmw1602.com]

 

I got out feelingly an idiot for forgetting to tighten the fuel line.... and feeling like my car was toast..... but as we started to look closer.... things maybe were not so bad as we initially thought....

 

Things did get toasty really quick! Amazingly that fan relay and wiring still worked. The alternator belt was crispy and got replaced also

[bmw1602.com]

Amazingly perhaps a true testament to how robust these @mylaps_us transponders are... I was able to rebuild the car and race the next day. The transponder worked perfectly. The same could not be said of the cloth braided AN oil lines I had. Those got soaked with fuel and eventually burst while I was test driving the car in the pits later.... spraying oil everywhere.( I should of known better than to even try) I eventually was able to replace all of them with new stainless steel braided hoses. 

[bmw1602.com]

 

I almost dig the patina..... but it’s bad luck. Time to clean all this up! Pass tech and go racing!

 

Thanks to the guys from @palomarsolar Racing @basil07hayden @562mikea @kevin_desirello for letting me use thier gallon of simple green and all thier hep over the weekend. I spent the next 4 hours cleaning up all the soot and inspecting the damage.... mostly cleaning up!

[bmw1602.com]

The Car-b-q inspired us to get the Bar-b-q going!! Hahaha.... beer and burgers and simple green as the sun sets! 

 

Few beers and hot dogs and the cleaning continued into the night....

[Mike Self]

As a former SCCA corner worker, I've put out a few race car fires--very scary.  Glad you're OK and the car will live to race again.  

 

I had a fuel line pull loose once--the steel nipple on the outlet side of the fuel pump vibrated loose over many years until the weight of the fuel line pulled it out of the pot metal fuel pump body.  Since it was the outlet side, it squirted fuel merrily; the fuel ignited but the engine kept running 'till the gas in the carb was used up.  By then I knew there was something Seriously Wrong...fortunately all it did was fry the spark plug wires (this wasn't a BMW), but not enough so that I couldn't drive home after firmly reattaching the nipple to the fuel pump.

 

Lesson learned:  it's always a good idea to check steel or brass nipples when they're press-fitted in to much softer pot metal...engine vibration over some few years can cause 'em to work loose.

 

mike

[bmw1602.com]

All cleaned up, All hands on deck early sat morning...trying to get the new oil lines in and make tech. Can’t thank everyone that helped enough! 

[bmw1602.com]

 

All cleaned up! You can hardly tell there was a fire! New stainless braided lines thanks to 7’s Only race shop at Buttonwillow race park. Those guys saved my weekend! Ready to go thru tech and maybe make the “All German Race”

[bmw1602.com]

Due to a slightly damaged AN fitting(our fault for not using a AN wrench.)  and a small oil leak I missed my BSL race on sat. Lucky for me that left the "All German" feature race at the end of the day.....

 

Pretty amazing that just about 24hours after being on fire, I was griding up to race again!

 

I really have to thank so many people for helping get the car cleaned up and fixed and ready to race again. VARA is full of amazing people I am really lucky to be racing in such a cool organization.

 

I started the race back in the pack since I didn't qualify. I got a decent start but didn't understand when everyone slowed down so much for turn 1. Had a moment of hesitation then just committed to the outside line. towards the end of the first lap I cam up on a slower VW Karman Ghia (I think) and went too deep passing him on the inside (unnecessary move on my part) just not really necessary in a fun race for me to do a move like that. Live and learn. After that I had one more moment where I went to deep on the brakes AGAIN ....in the same corner and this time went all 4 off into the dirt.....kept it pointed in the right direction and got back on the track...after that it was rather loney race where i just focused on being easy on my now slipping clutch.

 

I started 12th and finished 3 positions up in 9th! All in all after being on fire the day before I was just super happy just to be able to race and finish!

 

enjoy the video....

 

 

 

 

 

[bmw1602.com]

As the sun set, 24hrs after my car caught fire, I was able to cross the finish line in 9th place..... to me it felt like a win. This car puts me thru the wringer but it also gives me some special moments. This was my moment for the weekend for sure. Easily my highlight to come back from the fire to the grid to the checkered flag.... that’s racing! Highs and lows... 

[bmw1602.com]

 

Perfect end to a crazy day.... beautiful California sunset. Those Ronals looking good but the tires starting to get old.... They defiantly have fallen off and I have a lot less grip under braking now. At first I thought it was a handling issue but then I remember these tires have a lot of miles on them by now...I’m on a “2 sets for the season” tire budget. I have my quali/practice set and then a flag race set.... trying to stretch those dollars.... maybe in the future I won’t have to. But for now these will have to last one more event! It’s not like I’m fighting for the podium anyway.... 

[bmw1602.com]

 

In pre-grid getting ready to head out for the Sunday flag race.... looking good, feeling good.... after the fire, what could co wrong now? 

[bmw1602.com]

After the car fire on friday practice was just happy to be able to race on sunday. I started 10th place, just about mid pack. Got a decent start, got behind Ruben Torres in the white Datsun 510 and felt I might be able to get by him at some point then exiting "star mazda" corner something was off....then I quickly realized my throttle linkage was fucked....later I found out it was the actual throttle shaft inside the carb that holds the butterfly that actually snapped in half! So that was it.....I kept rolling long enough to pull into the infield so as to not ruin everyone's race and just sat there watching the race unfold from the sidelines.....again. which is seriously starting to get old! Oh well, thats racing as they say...highs and lows....at least I can put my car on the trailer and go home and lick my wounds. enjoy the video....

 

 

1d

[bmw1602.com]

 

Now the big question .... where did the screw go? Is it in my intake? Stuck a valve open? Inside the cylinder? Spit out the exhaust? Fuck me..... let’s try to find out.... let’s hope I find it!!

[bmw1602.com]

 

Wow...no wonder blipping the throttle got a bit more difficult ... check out my throttle Linkage as it connects to the carb lever arm...? looser and blown out that hooker in the corner ?‍♂️ All my issues are almost entirely NVH/vibration related. The engine is shaking the car apart. Time to make a brace for the intake.(long overdue) maybe just maybe my knife edging of the crank created some imbalance somehow? Maybe it’s just the harmonica of this particular engine? Whatever it is I wish it would just stop already. ? #raceprep continues...