I got hosed!

[mopar2dr]

I started the old Dodge to wash it, the car started to fill up with smoke! I turned off the ignition and pulled the hood releases. Flames shot up on the right side. I know I should have grabbed the fire extinguisher but the water hose was right there. The fire melted a vacuum line and caught the paper of the air cleaner on fire and the hood has some slight paint blistering. The culprit was a rubber fuel line that was only a year old! The line was cracked and had split open and must have sprayed the coil. This rubber crap coming from China can not be trusted. I replaced the fuel line with some hose made for fuel injection, it has a pressure lining running through the center. My stupid mistake, not doing an inspection under the hood before starting the car. In my defense, the crappy hose had one season and less than 500 miles of use.

[Harry]

Blame ethanol, also.

[Mikej]

Ethanol has been in the system long enough that the hoses and all fuel system parts SHOULD work.

[39deluxe]

That's too bad. At least it sounds like the damage is minor. This might be a good time to practice your tubing bending skills and make some real fuel lines for your car. I have not trusted rubber fuel lines since I was an insurance claims adjuster back in the '70s. Most Ford of the time had a short piece of rubber hose making the final connection to the carb. It seems that every winter we would have a rash of engine fires on these cars due to these short hoses cracking in the cold.

Tom

[jaybee]

Never had that Tom, but I remember it well.  Fuel filter screwed into the side of the carb and a short hose connected the steel line from the fuel pump to the filter.

I bought all my parts from the local NAPA dealer through most of the years I owned those cars, if I recall they came with a short length of hose and maybe that's why I never had trouble with them.

[39deluxe]

I think that most of the fires we had were on vehicles that never saw  much in the maintenance dept. Fuel filters were not replaced until they wouldn't flow any more so the hose was old.