<VV> one more "engine fires"

[Kevin Clark kevin at kcvairbrush.com]

Other than using inferior parts or jury rigging the fuel line causing  
the Corvair engine to catch fire, I unintentionally made a bomb with  
a 66 Corsa turbo that sat useless in our family farm. I was a  
teenager and It was 1976 in the middle of a hot summer night and  
several of my buddies and I spent all night trying to start this  
Corvair by spraying starting fluid in the side draft carburetor.

We spray a shot or two and the engine would start and run for a few  
moment and then die. Then we tried spraying it at the same time with  
the engine running and it would continue to run but it would die  
shortly after removing the spray can. We loved the sound of it when  
the engine roared to life and we desperately wanted to get it running  
so we could jump in and drive it. After many failed attempt at  
keeping it running, I decided to remove all the spark plugs, pour  
some gas in each cylinders, squirt some gas and lots of starting  
fluid in the carb and while staring down in the engine compartment  
like an idiot, I had a friend to jump in and turn the key.

A brilliant flash of fire shot out all around the donut ring exhaust  
packing between the turbo and exhaust pipe and between the two halves  
of the turbo. If you've seen Star Trek movies, you know that when  
things explode in space it's like a disc similar to the Saturns ring.  
Fortunately I didn't get burned but flaming liquid was dripping out  
of the carb onto the shroud. I tried unsuccessfully to blow out the  
flame and all of my buddies started throwing gravel and dirt from the  
driveway. That put the fire out and it became a dirty mess.

It was not my lucky day but at least I didn't have a scorched  
vertical line running from my chin, over my nose and between the eyes.

Kevin G. Clark
kevin at kcvairbrush.com
www.kcvairbrush.com