Burn baby burn

I guess if your car is going to catch fire, that's a good place for it to happen! 

As long as you are OK, the car just gave you more to write about.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

I was behind you when the MR2 caught fire. As you approached the bus stop, flames came out of the exhaust as you downshifted, then as you made the left turn to enter the bus stop the entire back of the car became engulfed in flames - which subsided. I slowed down and watched as you pulled up next to the flag station. I suspect an injector O-ring failed. Anyway, glad to hear you're alright.

Being that the entire drivetrain is behind the passenger compartment behind a firewall, what happened that allowed the flames forward? I'm not on MyFace so can't view the entire thread.

I don't FB except to get on marketplace. Do we know what happened?  How bad is the car?  Are there pics?

We'll all want to learn more, but that's for later. Right now, all that matters is you. I'm greatly relieved that you're okay. 

Glad you're  OK. Maybe a comprehensive  insurance claim to help with the rebuild?

Glad you are OK. As everyone said the car can be replaced.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Yikes!  10/10 glad you bailed!  

Hi Everyone...

So, quick update. Car is still on the trailer and I haven't gotten the engine lid up yet, but it looks like most everything important survived in fairly good order. There's only one spot where the paint even bubbled. I can see a lot of singed soft bits in the engine bay—wires and hoses and connectors and such—but structurally it's fine, and even like the engine bay fuse box looks undamaged. 

First order of business will be cleanup. I'm going to pul it into the shade on the trailer shortly and pressure wash the outside and underneath as much as I can, then I'll pull it in the shop and see if I can get the engine lid undone from under the car once it's on the lift. Long story short, the engine will come out anyway, since at a minimum it will need a lot of new harness and soft parts, and a 2GR FE 3.5 liter V6 will likely go back in its place. 

Based on my inspections I'll second MGT350's opinion that this was likely fuel related. There's no oil anywhere that I can see, or dripping under the car. So probably some top-end fuel fitting, or injector, or something like that. 

My biggest project will be dealing with all the fire powder. I have a feeling it's going to be like going into the dirt at Road Atlanta, and every time you wash the car after that a little more red clay comes out. The interior looks like a ghost exploded.

Also, I'm fine. I had a clean bail, and we got extinguishers on the car pretty quickly. But the respiratory eval is apparently mandatory and non-negotiable when you're exposed to fire dust without a mask on, so I got a free trip in an Ambulance. Honestly the emergency room at Halifax Med Center was scarier than the fire. I think I was the only person in there not handcuffed to their bed. 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Glad you're good and being handcuffed to the bed isn't always a bad thing. I'm told. 

So happy you are okay! And the V6 swap is going to make that car insanely fast!

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

When fire dust exposure leads to Floridaman exposure. 

Yesterday I ordered everything to replace the entire fuel system on the Escort. I had an incident about 5 weeks ago, where a fuel line retaining clip failed at the fuel rail resulting in a lose of fuel pressure and engine shut down. Nothing popped or went boom, and surprisingly, (it's better to be lucky than good) nothing caught fire. I ordered a pair of extinguishers the day after and have been debating whether or not to replace everything fuel system related since the day occurred. Your post prompted me to do the correct thing, even if taking a challenge budget hit that will mean no forced induction, in replacing the 1993 fuel system. 

I'm glad that the damage to the MR2 is not as bad as it could have been. Your situational awareness and preparation paid dividends. 

Taking a little break from pressure washing here. Man that fire powder is tenacious. But I'm getting the standing drifts off, and the rest should come off with a soapy brush. The inside it going to be a chore, though. Yeesh.

So the closer I look the more I'm almost certain it was fuel that ignited. I'm not seeing any oil anywhere. And the only thing that's coming out in the rinse water is dirt and fire powder. So I'm going to try and get it in the shop this afternoon and get it on the lift and see if I can get to the engine lid latch from underneath.

One thing's for sure the rebuilt car will have an easily accessible failproof engine latch mechanism. If we could have gotten the lid open at the track there could be even less damage than there is now. And, the more I clean the better the car looks. It's not going to drive away with a could spliced wires, but it's a perfect swap candidate now.

Man, from the initial comments I thought the worst, but that's not bad at all.

I've got zero personal experience with this, and hoping to keep it that way.
 

My friend who served as an EMT/firefighter told me years ago that the oxygen supply to an engine fire is quite restricted until the hood is opened. Once the hood gets opened, it goes from minimal fire to full on conflagration. I distinctly remember him saying that if you want to save the car, don't open the hood.

I hope we get some commentary from experts on the subject. As always, I'm looking forward to your next editorial, especially since this topic needs further discussion. 
 

Damn, I'm glad you're okay. 
 

Mr_Asa said:

Man, from the initial comments I thought the worst, but that's not bad at all.

In my defense, seeing the back half of your car engulfed in flames tends to make one expect the most negative outcome.

Looks like hood opening will be tomorrow. Got a buddy coming ove to help me unload and yank one end of the cable while I pry, or vice versa.

Also, I'm learning that water pressure or air pressure does not move the fire powder AT ALL. it comes up petty well with direct agitation, especialy with some soap on the sponge. But blowing or hosing it off does little to nothing.

Damn JG, glad you're good.

If you find my Cayman thread you'll see it almost went up due to the "Y" in the fuel rail lines that was directly over my headers. Lucky I found it before the burn.

Rebuild that sweet thing!

Those marks are just adding character.  Don't paint anything.

Streetwiseguy said:

Those marks are just adding character.  Don't paint anything.

Patina was last year dude

Quick update:

Engine lid is open, and it's actually not horrific. I'd love to say I over reacted, but when you see the entire back of your car engulfed in flames there's really only one appropriate reaction. Damage is mostly the front left corner of the engine bay, and mostly limited to soft parts, wiring, plastic, etc. There's the paint bubble on that fill panel you can see, but most of the soot is polishing right off.

I talked to my insurance company, and they don't seem to care it happened at a track and are willing to work with me to at least check it out and pitch some possible support solutions. I basically told them "If one of those solutions is you tell me to go screw I'm fine with that" and they really seemed to get where I was coming from and were happy to continue exploring. One of the options may end up being a total, where they would give me a check, and let me keep the car with a salvage title. I'm not sure I hate that idea. Basically turns it into a true Lotus Elise clone, sketchy title and all. But we'll see. The inspector is coming over Friday, and I already talked to him and he seems cool. 

For the actual fixing, since it's going to need a harness and an engine-out to clean up the engine bay, something better may as well go back in, right? This rear-end hit 2012 Camry with 85000 miles...

Has given up this 2GR FE 3.5-liter V6 for the sum of $1550 including tax and shipping. 

This 2017 Sienna will provide a wiring harness for $225, which will need a bit of modification, but not much apparently.

From there we just go shopping with Frankenstein Motorworks and Wilhelm Raceworks for swap hardware. Hang arond and maybe I'll write about it.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Fire is bad.

Update:

Fire is good. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Fire is bad.

Update:

Fire is good. 

four out of five birch trees agree.