Minder Capri goes up in flames

[2172cc]

Lots of pictures on various Classic car spotting Facebook pages of the MK2 Capri SLE 71R that has suffered an underbonnet fire and been badly damaged. Apparently quite a few Capri's of this vintage have suffered the same fate recently.

Edited by 2172cc on Friday 31st July 18:51

Edited by 2172cc on Friday 31st July 21:26

[RONV]

Ethanol in the fuel melting seals and rubber hoses I use an anti ethanol additive every time I fill up my classic cars especially in France on our classic runs

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Shame.

You see him buying it (presumably) but you never see him in it.

[aeropilot]

RONV said:

Ethanol in the fuel melting seals and rubber hoses

Most likely.

[RONV]

it happened to me 2 years ago no fire but it melted the diaphragm in the fuel pump and melted the fuel pipe at the fuel tank our French motor club brought one out and helped me fix it

[williamp]

Thats lovely, by the way . Crayford? Wrth a thread in readers cars?

[Legacywr]

It’ll be back

[Tasmin200]

Yeah, doesn't look too bad. Bit of a downer but have been a lot worse.

[Mr Tidy]

When I was handling motor claim back in the early/mid 80s we'd usually get 2 or 3 Pinto engined cars catch fire each year.

Our motor engineers reckoned it was usually the rubber connector between the petrol pipe and the carb splitting.

It seemed to usually be 2 litre ones, possibly because they had a twin-choke carb and most 1.6s didn't, but that may have just been coincidence.

Most were MK2 Capris or Mk3/4 Cortinas - possibly because the later models obviously weren't as old.

When I got my MK2 Escort RS2000 I made a point of checking it from time to time!

Edited by Mr Tidy on Sunday 2nd August 00:21

[RONV]

williamp said:

Thats lovely, by the way . Crayford? Wrth a thread in readers cars?

yes we tour France twice a year and members of a French motor club we have been doing it for over 20 years, we used to do Angouleme Circuit de Remparts for many years and entered Concours d Elegance it's a great meeting
the smoke is not from the car it's for you to drive through when leaving the stage

Edited by RONV on Saturday 1st August 08:59

Edited by RONV on Saturday 1st August 10:18

[Bigdek67]

I have a 2.0 Pinto Capri. Luckily mine didn’t catch fire but the fuel line split and poured petrol everywhere. It happened in my garage which is integral with the house so makes you think.

[mgtony]

About 25 years ago the landlord of a pub near me owned that Capri. Sat in the car park the whole time. Don't know where the years have gone!

[RONV]

Bigdek67 said:

I have a 2.0 Pinto Capri. Luckily mine didn’t catch fire but the fuel line split and poured petrol everywhere. It happened in my garage which is integral with the house so makes you think.

the short hose off my car was like soft rubber were it had melted I have now decided to change the short rubber hoses every year to be on the safe side

[Bigdek67]

Changing the hose on a yearly basis sounds like a good idea. While it’s just a Pinto Capri I’ve owned it for well over 30 years and it’ took me all over Europe on camping trips. I’d be gutted if it went up in smoke.

[cologne2792]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Shame.

You see him buying it (presumably) but you never see him in it.

He drives it in around 8 episodes of season 1 & 2 - although it does mysteriously become a MK1 with the same plate for a long while.

[Dazaa]

Gates make rubber hose that doesn’t degrade with modern fuels. I believe it’s called Barracuda.

[Bigdek67]

Never heard of Gates but will take a look at their hoses, cheers for that.

[4rephill]

Legacywr said:

It’ll be back

To be fair, being a car from Arthur Daley, I'm surprised it didn't catch fire years ago (possibly as a part of an insurance scam!)


In all seriousness though, yes, that car will return, looking immaculate before long - Thankfully, the fire wasn't more extensive.

[Scotty2]

Bigdek67 said:

Never heard of Gates but will take a look at their hoses, cheers for that.

Only one of the biggest manufacturers of cam belts, hoses and drivebelts. Used to have a factory near my old haunts in Dumfries where they also made Hunter wellies. Think they took over Uniroyal.
Ah they did in 86.

[Mark A S]

2172cc said:

Lots of pictures on various Classic car spotting Facebook pages of the MK2 Capri SLE 71R that has suffered an underbonnet fire and been badly damaged. Apparently quite a few Capri's of this vintage have suffered the same fate recently.

Edited by 2172cc on Friday 31st July 18:51

Edited by 2172cc on Friday 31st July 21:26

Always wondered about the X pack RS in the background, anyone know about it ?
Sad about the Capri, the owner maybe ought to go and have a drink in the Winchester club