+2 Fire

[Stevie-Heathie]

Hi listers

My beloved +2S is no more. Caught fire in the engine bay on a brief run
outside Chester last night. 15 minutes later she was burnt out all the way
back to the rear wheel arches. Nothing left.

Nobody was hurt, which is main thing, but I am absolutely gutted. Still
can't believe that my baby is dead. Heartbroken is not the word. After the
fire brigade left I was standing in the dark in a rural layby for an hour
waiting for the recovery truck. Nothing to do but walk around and around
the steaming carcass poking at what was left. Shattering. The only items
intact were iron/steel. Everything else gone. Even aluminium - head, carbs
etc all melted.

I'm insured fully comp through Footman James (Club Lotus). Anybody know how
long the procedures, inspections etc take?

Yours dejectedly
Steve

[Stuart Dyke]

Steve,
Sorry to read this, at least no one was hurt (physically, mentally
you must be gutted). Can't help on the Insurance side but it may be worth
speaking to Paul Matty at Bromsgrove as some bits may be saved for future
projects.

Commiseration's,

Stuart Dyke

[kstrutt1]

Steve,

I'm very sory to hear of your fire, this has always been by biggest
worry with the Elan, I keep thinking about a plumbed in fire
extingusher system, in the mean time I carry a 2 litre extingusher in
the boot.

On the slightly brighter side my XJS was insured through Footman &
James when I wrote it off, the service was excellent and they paid out
within 3 weeks.

So to the big question, are you going to get another? at least you
know what to look for now.

Kevin +2S130



--- In lotuselan@y..., Steve Heath <heathste@r...> wrote:

[Foxie]

Steve,

Please accept my commiserations, I'd hate to have that happen.

Hope (1) Your Insurance Company looks after you
(2) You haven't been turned off Lotus by the experience
(3) You will get a replacement soon.

Sean Murray
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Heath
To: ***@***.*** ; ***@***.***
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 10:28 AM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] +2 Fire


Hi listers

My beloved +2S is no more. Caught fire in the engine bay on a brief run
outside Chester last night. 15 minutes later she was burnt out all the way
back to the rear wheel arches. Nothing left.

[s2lola]

Steve,

Sorry to hear of your loss - its never happened to me, but I think I can
understand how you must be feeling. The number of Elans I've seen over the
years with the telltale warp in the carburettor side of the hood (caused by
a small fire that got put out) is shocking. I hope you give Lotus another
go, as you clearly are made of the right stuff: there is another Lotus out
there that deserves an owner like you.

Given their construction (fibreglass, webers over distributor), the risk of
fire is always there. An earlier lister noted that they had given thought
to plumbing in an extinguisher system (I'm assuming as in current racing car
practice). Having installed (but never used) these remote systems in about
8-9 racing cars over the last few years, I'm not that positive on them. A
combination of high pressures with very limited chemical volume makes these
systems much less useful than a high quality hand-held unit (when you pull
the pin, you get a quickly-dispersed cloud, but not enough volume to really
put out a blaze). These systems are designed to give a driver 30 seconds
more to get out of the harness and exit the car - their primary purpose is
not to extinguish the car. In addition, plumbed-in systems only put the
fire out WHERE THEY ARE PLUMBED TO - you have no flexibility to chase the
fire. Best bet is a high quality hand-held unit, located in the passenger
compartment NOT THE TRUNK - its pretty difficult to find the trunk key and
operate a lock when your cherished toy is burning before your eyes.

Best wishes to all,

Bill Tebbutt






-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Murray [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 8:11 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] +2 Fire





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[Stuart Dyke]

I've mounted a hand held extinguisher between the seats above the chassis
tunnel it's easily accessible. You do need to change it every couple of
years as they can lose pressure and fail at the crucial point...

Stuart Dyke
S4 SE DHC

[Dave50/1]

Steve: What Bill said. I've enjoyed reading your posts over the last year and a half or so, even though some were not under the best of circumstances. Your joy with the car was obvious, though, when everything was right.

I'm undergoing a frame off resto on my own +2, and I can only imagine what you are going through right now.

Best of luck.

Dave
'72 +2S 130

[paul_adamson]

shit

8-(

Brian
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Heath" <***@***.***>
; <***@***.***>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 5:28 AM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] +2 Fire


Hi listers

My beloved +2S is no more. Caught fire in the engine bay on a brief run
outside Chester last night. 15 minutes later she was burnt out all the way
back to the rear wheel arches. Nothing left.

Nobody was hurt, which is main thing, but I am absolutely gutted. Still
can't believe that my baby is dead. Heartbroken is not the word. After the
fire brigade left I was standing in the dark in a rural layby for an hour
waiting for the recovery truck. Nothing to do but walk around and around
the steaming carcass poking at what was left. Shattering. The only items
intact were iron/steel. Everything else gone. Even aluminium - head, carbs
etc all melted.

I'm insured fully comp through Footman James (Club Lotus). Anybody know how
long the procedures, inspections etc take?

Yours dejectedly
Steve







reserved.

["Richard Hinds"]

Steve,
Really sorry to hear about your fire. Like other listers, I've
enjoyed reading your messages, especially as I'm restoring (slowly) a 1969
+2S.
Without wishing to twist the knife, any ideas about how the fire started?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Heath" <***@***.***>
; <***@***.***>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 10:28 AM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] +2 Fire


Hi listers

My beloved +2S is no more. Caught fire in the engine bay on a brief run
outside Chester last night. 15 minutes later she was burnt out all the way
back to the rear wheel arches. Nothing left.

Nobody was hurt, which is main thing, but I am absolutely gutted. Still
can't believe that my baby is dead. Heartbroken is not the word. After the
fire brigade left I was standing in the dark in a rural layby for an hour
waiting for the recovery truck. Nothing to do but walk around and around
the steaming carcass poking at what was left. Shattering. The only items
intact were iron/steel. Everything else gone. Even aluminium - head, carbs
etc all melted.

I'm insured fully comp through Footman James (Club Lotus). Anybody know how
long the procedures, inspections etc take?

Yours dejectedly
Steve







reserved.

[26r at sol.dk]

Very sorry too hear that ,,,ohh I fear that day comming I have tried it
myself my S4SE twice so I check and check again because I had a bad experience
with insurance oohh.
Michael

-- Originalt brev --






________________________________________
F? din egen webmail p? http://mail.sol.dk - gratis og med dig overalt!

[Brian Walton]

Steve......what do we say!

I was called many years ago to see a +2 that had burnt to the chassis. A most sorry site to see the strands of
polyester clothing the outline of the twin cam.

I put some fire retardent polyester in my Elan. Is this still available and if so how effective is it? Anybody in the
trade that can give us some comments.?

Brian

[tmr]

Steve:

Sorry to hear about your fire. Years ago, quick action with a hand
held Halon fire extinguisher saved my 911 coupe when the CIS airbox
exploded. The explosion resulted in an engine bay fire, which I put
out by spraying the Halon through the grille. It would have been a
mistake to open the engine bay lid, as the Halon wouldn't have worked
as well and the fire could have spread (to me!).

As a result, I carry an extinguisher attached to my Spyder roll bar
behind the passenger seat. It is within easy reach from the drivers'
seat. Although this advice won't help you now, hopefully the rest of
you will make the investment if you haven't already. Halon is no
longer readily available because of its ozone-depleting status, but
the dry chemical units are better than nothing and relatively cheap
insurance.

Best of luck in finding a replacement; I'm sure there are some well-
maintained ones in the UK.

Tom Roberds
69 S4


--- In lotuselan@y..., Steve Heath <heathste@r...> wrote:

[FourthIAN at aol.com]

Steve,

You have my sympathy on your loss.

As I near the end of a 3.5 year restoration of my Elan, this is a large
concern of mine. It would be my hope that you find another suitable Lotus as
soon as possible.

Ian
70 S4SE

[elansprint71]

Steve,
I'm very sorry to hear your news, I dread something like this happening
every time my engine spits back through the Dellorto's and that white smoke
comes from around the bonnet edge. The proximity of carbs, distributor and
very flammable hydraulic fluid is probably something which would not be
allowed on a modern vehicle.
Was your car fitted with the standard air box, or with pancake filters? I
asked a general question a few weeks ago asking if anyone had actual
experience of fire with pancakes (mine are K&N), but there were no replies.
I do hope that your insurance claim is settled and look forward to seeing
you at a NW meeting with a replacement.

Best wishes,

Pete Taylor.

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Heath [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: 31 August 2001 10:28
To: ***@***.***; ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] +2 Fire


Hi listers

My beloved +2S is no more. Caught fire in the engine bay on a brief run
outside Chester last night. 15 minutes later she was burnt out all the way
back to the rear wheel arches. Nothing left.

Nobody was hurt, which is main thing, but I am absolutely gutted. Still
can't believe that my baby is dead. Heartbroken is not the word. After the
fire brigade left I was standing in the dark in a rural layby for an hour
waiting for the recovery truck. Nothing to do but walk around and around
the steaming carcass poking at what was left. Shattering. The only items
intact were iron/steel. Everything else gone. Even aluminium - head, carbs
etc all melted.

I'm insured fully comp through Footman James (Club Lotus). Anybody know how
long the procedures, inspections etc take?

Yours dejectedly
Steve







reserved.

[vincent]

Steve

So sorry to hear your news. A similar thing happend to
my wifes (fibreglass) kit car in June, fitted with a
ford crossflow engine (similar to the elan in that the
distributer is under the carb.) We suspect that the
issue was degraded fuel lines. There has been
speculation in the classic car press about the
increase in classic car fires being related the the
effects of modern petrol on rubber fuel hose. I know
its too late now but it may help other listers - check
those fuel lines and preferably fit braided hoses.

Best of luck with a replacement.

Paul
--- Steve Heath <***@***.***> wrote:


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