Kip Sack's What can Happen!

Kip Sack's What can Happen!

I have been member of your site for a while and I usually check for updates daily. Well to get to the point, I wanted to tell you (and maybe other members) what happens when you don't check the little things out because your in a hurry to hear that hibernated 390 flex its muscles and roar back to life!! It was the first nice day of spring (and when you live in Erie, Pa., you might not get another nice day for a month), so I grabbed my GTA's keys and proceeded to do the normal pre-flight checkout like checking fluid levels, checking tire pressures even checking out the belts and water hoses.To my regret, I didn't check a few more important hoses as you will soon see!! Anyway, I fired the ol' beast up and of to the gas station I went. I topped the tank off, paid the cashier and by that time my Baby was warmed up and ready to drive. I drove across town and visited Mom and Dad (and not just to use they're hose to wash my car either) for a while then decided it was time to head back home. The thru-way is just up the road from my parents so I thought I might just go blow some of the winter out of it on the way back home!

Stupid thing no. 2
I backed out of my parents driveway and pulled up to the corner stop sign. I immediately smelled raw gasoline. Well me being the intellectual type, thought this through as the smell emanating from my car must be coming from the fuel tank vent, remembering I had just filled my tank. Perfect reasoning....Right???? Well up the road I went admiring the sights and watching some people turn they're head to get another look at my car. Driving about 2 miles from my parents house I started up an incline in the road. I started to smell this faint smell of burning garbage or rubber, and although it was a nice day out it was chilly and when I rolled my window down, out from under the dash it came. I knew now the stupid mistakes I made earlier had come back and were hurting the thing that kept me alive all winter, my car!! SMOKE was now coming into the interior at a faster rate so I was just at the very top of the incline in the road so I gave it a little gas to get over the hump so I could cut the engine and find a place to pull over on this narrow part of highway.

Stupid thing no. 3
Guess what...no throttle....So I just turned the key to off (I thought). I'm over the crest of the hill coasting down but I still can't pull off the road. Finally, a small spot just past the overpass I'm now under. Couldn't quite make it, but it would have to do cause the center of my Red GT Hood was turning a blistering orangish black! I slam it in park and run to the hood, and go to open it and burned my hand. So I took my jacket off and used it like a glove to get the hood up and whoosh!! The flames were roaring as high as the opened hood. I couldn't believe there was anything left in the engine compartment that could keep the flames so forceful!! In the meantime, a passerby ran up and gave me an extinguisher...Damn...Empty. A guy from the bodyshop across the street runs over with a gallon jug of water and throws it on the fire...to no avail!! IT then COMES TO ME...FUEL PUMPS!!! I run back to the ignition, The STUPID S.O.B. (Me) turned it to ACCY. and not off. Well a few minutes later (and another M/T extinguisher and gallon of water) the fire dept. came and the fire was put out quickly. Just to be factual about this story, the firemen just started pulling away and the darn thing started on fire again!! This I noticed was from a shorted harness, which I quickly knocked the terminal from the battery. They squirted it again and left!! I told ya before that the road was narrow!!! Well I had traffic blocked for 22 blocks to the north and 7 to the south!! Well I bared my intellectually stupid soul in the hopes that one person might save His (Her) Fairlane from this neglectful and wrongful treatment. My Mistake 1: Not checking all the Hoses.. Fuel hoses especially My Mistake 2: Any time you smell raw gas, take the time for a quick looksee!! My Mistake 3: It was there when I got the car BUT I should have changed the wiring for the electric fuel pumps to turn OFF with the ignition OFF!! Good Idea: Keep a fire extinguisher handy in your car, Maybe 10 or 20 (Joke)

Yes, I am redoing it, Thank Heavens for "American Collectors Insurance Co."
They paid me with no problems or holdups!!!