Date:         Fri, 24 May 96 08:25:13 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Chris Venema <CVENEMA@uafsysa.uark.edu>
Subject:      Balls O' Fire ! !

  Do I have a Friday Story for you guys!  Yesterday at 5:00 I proceeded home
on my usual tack, when I was overtaken by a firetruck and saw a pillar of
black smoke coming from  about half a block away... Naturally I had to see
what was burning, so I turned down the next block and beheld a shocking
sight indeed!  A 72' Westy TOTALLY engulfed in flames! 8( I mean it was
coming out of every window by then.  The Van was parked awkwardly in the
middle of the street with a concrete block under the front wheel, and
everybody in the neighborhood was watching.  By the time the firemen got
there it was toast.  It was all they could do to put it out.  It took at
least 30 minutes, primarily because the fire was so hot the block was
burning too.  Every time they hit it with the water it spewed showers of
sparks across the street.  I stood there in horror, being a die hard VW
Bus driver.  I could just imagine one of my busses being burned to hell.
All those perfectly good parts!  The bus was in great condition before
it was roasted.  I had seen it at a local garage two blocks away earlier
in the week.  I've talked to the guy there, and he knows VW's.  Has a '71
bus himself, along with a '63 Ghia (one of the Euoropean editions) plus a
lot of other VW stuff.  Anyway, he had done some Carburetor work on the
bus that is now history.  The owner drove out of the shop, probably with
that sense of pride one gets from driving one of these beautiful machines,
thinking that he would drive to Yellowstone the next day.  He drove about
2 blocks, when there was a BIG explosion in the back, which shook the
windows in all the houses around.  He had apparently stopped ASAP, jumped out,
ran around the bus to pull out as much stuff as possible from the cargo area.
As he did so the fire became so intense he had to back off...THEN...
...THE CAMPER FIREBALL STARTED ROLLING DOWN THE STREET !!  :O  He got the only
thing in sight, a concrete block, and threw it under the front wheel.  It
stopped right under a large sycamore tree which will probably have a few less
leaves on it this year...And there under that tree a perfectly good bus met
a fiery end.  A lot of the fire was captured on tape, and I suppose it will
be good lawyer ammo.  I kinda felt for the guy who "fixed" the camper, 'cause
I know how it is when your best laid mechanical plans go all wrong.  Of course
I felt much worse for the guy who lost everything.  I imagine the camper was
worth at least $2000 before the burnout.  I spoke to him in the kindest tones
when I gave my condolences.  There was a hint of anger in his voice as he said,
  "It Happens".
  So I said, "Not to me man!!", drove my '71 Camper home VERY gingerly
and promptly checked ALL fuel lines and carburetor for leaks.  I do intend
to go to Yellowstone tomorrow, and I do not want to end up like a flaming
marshmallow somewhere out on the Great Plains.  CHECK THOSE FUEL LINES!

Chris  71' Westy '69 Westy '74 Beetle '72 Beetle

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