308 carb, possibility of fire to avoid...

Hello Pat,

I disagree, that the carbed cars are most prone to fires. One reason that we hear of several fires on these cars might simply be, that these are the oldest 308s and if someone doesn't care about the fuel lines he may get problems.

The fuel pressure inside the system on the carbed cars is a small fraction of 1 bar. On the fuel injected cars we have a fuel pressure of around 3 - 4 bar.
On the fuel injected cars there are steel lines which can corrode inside the fittings, solid lines which can be prestressed because of installation flaws. These two things you cannot see, but they can lead to a sudden fail.
On the carbed cars you can examine the rubber fuel lines by eye and feel. If they are cracked and hard, they are overdue.

On both systems, carbed of injected, poor maintenance can cause fires, but you cannot say, that one system is more prone than the other.

And let me mention one fact. The number of car fires - all manufacturers - has significantly increased during the last 15 - 20 years. Why ? Because fuel injection became standard over the carburettor technique. When the 'mundane' fuel injected cars became old and maintenance neglected, fires increased.

Best Regards from Germany

Martin

 

also, non-catalyst carb 308s run cooler, no catalytic converter fire risk..

Greg

 

rarely, except when sometimes a carburettor cover comes loose. Another weak spot are the lead plugs ( 25 on each carburettor ) on the carburettor housings. Regarding this I have started a thread some months ago.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35524

or split accelerator pump diaphragms. If this happens the fuel will not be injected into the inlet manifold while accelerating, but into the engine compartment.

100 % insurance is impossible. Some day I saw a cracked float bowl on a Weber IDF carburettor. This came absolutely unexpected.

Best Regards

Martin

 

fuel neck filler hose and tank cross over hose are hoses that should be replaced and dry out with age.

Also, It is important to keep the engine clean...a dirty and oily engine will burn quicker than a clean one should a problem arise.

Keep the valley clean...the area below the carbs. this area usually gets oily from the valve covers and gets a sticky brown/oily/gassy coating on it from the carb base gaskets.

Also, both firewalls (trunk side and forward side) should be degreased too.

also note it is easier to find gas and oil leaks on a clean engine.

regards,
Paul

 

Most Ferrari fires are from the cats from anecdotal evidence. With the duel ignition systems it seems one bank shuts down and gas goes into them, whoosh! This will happen on a carb or FI car. That's the downside to the twin ignition system the way Ferrari wired it. You would think Ferrari would have had a relay on the coil/starter solenoid wires so if one bank shut down, so would the other. (Or some such shut-off system)

Ken