> Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:23:52 EDT > From: JordanVw@AOL.COM > Subject: i dont drive my vanagons because im afraid they will catch on fire > > seriously people, aside from changing fuel lines.... PLEASE carry a NEW FIRE > EXTINGUISHER... While this is certainly good advice (I replaced mine just yesterday - heading out for a 3-week trip tomorrow), it doesn't always help. Case in point, when my '78 Westy caught fire, 20 feet down the road from the house, I grabbed the extinguisher and ran to the back. Got the back lid open and used the extinguisher to put out the flames. Just as the last of the flames were about out, the starter wiring shorted out, and the van started chugging into a cul-de-sac towards a house (yes, I left it in gear). So...there I stand, extinguisher in hand watching as my now-flaming Westy chugs off down the road. Humorous in retrospect, not so much at the time. Had to run and jump into a burning van to pull it out of gear to save the neighborhood. On the plus side, the fire chief said it was the prettiest magnesium fire he'd seen in quite some time. Maybe VW really had something with that 'put the gas tank up front' idea. 15 years ago, remember it like yesterday :-) Keith Hughes '86 Westy Tiico (Marvin) |
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