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Engine Started....


Guest alexpink

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Guest alexpink

Finally managed to sort out the timing on my pinto engine last night. After running for about 20 seconds, the weber carburetors caught fire and burned out most of the intake side of the engine bay before I could put the fire out- fire brigade were called as a precaution but I managed to deal with it before they got there.

 

Very scary experience, and very disappointing as it has undone most of the progress I have made over the past couple of months.

 

There could have been a lot more damage than there was, and I'm very lucky to not have been injured.

 

 

 

 

P.s At least it sounded good while it worked!

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Guest alexpink

I'm not 100% sure yet as I can't bring myself to go and look at it lol.

Might just have been bad luck, I'd done a fairly good job of cleaning up the carbs etc so I just don't know. I'll have to put it down as experience and hope it doesn't happen again!

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sorry to hear about your misfortune. I would try and determine what caused the fire if you can. It does sound like there was a significant fuel leak. Aside from a poor pipe connection or an internal carb problem, which would be hidden by the fire damage, it could be caused by something fundamental that could recur like using an efi fuel pump. It's worth going through every possibility to prevent this happening again, as you might not be so 'lucky' next time.

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Good news that you managed to put it out without too much damage and without injury to yourself. Webers can be a bit leaky if the gaskets are in poor condition or if too much fuel pressure is used. If you are using an electric fuel pump then maybe a fuel pressure regulator would be a good idea. Should be no need for one with the mechanical one though. Although there was a leak there must also have been a source of ignition for a fire to occur. If it wasn't due to spitting back through the carbs then check all the electrics, even the ones not near the fire as fuel vapour has a habit of spreading a lot more than you might think and it could have flashed back from a point well away from the carbs.

Having said that if you are still building then you should know your electrics are up to scratch so that should narrow things down for you.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest alexpink

Repaired all the damage, modified the loom to incorporate distributor module etc and tidy the wiring up.

Car started running today, needs some fine tuning but it's such a relief that it works! Really motivated to finish and drive it!

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Guest Bryan TheSnail

Repaired all the damage, modified the loom to incorporate distributor module etc and tidy the wiring up.

Car started running today, needs some fine tuning but it's such a relief that it works! Really motivated to finish and drive it!

Daft question, what is a distibutor Module?

When I try and fire my Pinto up I get blue flames shooting out of the inlet maniflod. I am just running coil and points direct from temp battery, no wiring loom as yet.

Bryan

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Guest alexpink

It's a points replacement module; it has one connection to the positive side of the coil, and one to the negative. Very simple and effective, and doesn't need maintenance/ gapping like a points system does. Costs about £30.

 

I'd say check your cam timing, there are plenty of people who have had similar issues- google cam timing for your engine and there are lots of easy guides.

Check the ignition timing, especially check that your dizzy isn't 180° out.

Finally check valve clearances if you haven't already, really easy to do just follow the Haynes manual- makes all the difference in getting it to start up.

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Guest Bryan TheSnail

It's a points replacement module; it has one connection to the positive side of the coil, and one to the negative. Very simple and effective, and doesn't need maintenance/ gapping like a points system does. Costs about £30.

 

I'd say check your cam timing, there are plenty of people who have had similar issues- google cam timing for your engine and there are lots of easy guides.

Check the ignition timing, especially check that your dizzy isn't 180° out.

Finally check valve clearances if you haven't already, really easy to do just follow the Haynes manual- makes all the difference in getting it to start up.

Where did you purchase your module from?

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