Andrew Dooley wrote:
>
> apart. This was when I discovered another charming feature of the Midget:
> when there is a problem with the carburetor, it will leak gas directly onto
> a big, hot piece of metal bolted to the engine block. After the fuel has
> warmed up a bit, it drips from there directly onto the exhaust manifold.
> I'm sure this will prove lots of fun after the engine has warmed up.
My 1500 Midget decided to do this to me. I was running the car for over a week
with quite a flow of petrol (gas) dropping straight onto the exhaust manifold,
before I noticed a pool of petrol under the car at the office.
I don't know if I was lucky, and I'm not a chemist, but it seemed that the
vapour
point of the leaded petrol was lower than the ignition point, hence it
vapourised
on hitting the manifold and dispersed harmlessly(!). With the different, much
more
flamable characteristics of unleaded petrol, I will not be converting the Midget
to use unleaded fuel, and will be lobbying the gas companies against them
attempting
to withdraw it. (They are trying to do this).
I saw a report on TV about a year ago concerning the fact that the majority of
car
fires are not now caused by petrol, but by the much more flamable brake fluids
igniting in a crash due to the poor design of the plastic brake cylinder in
modern cars.
(Note, in a Midget, the brake fluid reservoir is also able to leak over the
exhaust
manifold....)
--
------------------------------------------------------
Richard Olearczyk (ollie) | RCP Consultants Ltd.,
| Dales, High Street,
| Didcot, Oxfordshire,
| OX11 8EQ, ENGLAND
|