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Put new distributor in... Caught on fire.

jmbass98

jmbass98

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What the hell would cause this lol... Was not electrical. Was in car, turned key. Was cranking for like five seconds. I see fire come out from under the hood. I turned the car off. Went to check out what happened. I saw nothing burnt. Nothing smelled. Obviously, that scared me, so I put the old distributor back in. Car operates normally.

I have no idea what happened. Lol.
 
Probably advanced too much lit before the intake valve shut.
Flame travelled up through the intake out of the carb.
It happens.
You were lucky.
 
Beer.jpg
Drunk 2.jpg
 
Want to sell the new one ???? I’m looking for one that will fit a 383. Lol, if you try it again make sure you’re not in the garage.
 
Not uncommon... This is why i always use a remote starter switch. If you haven't burned your eyebrows then you haven't worked on old cars long enough..
 
Most of what I read online says that the distributor was off 180 degrees... I put it in exactly how my old distributor is currently installed, so I'm slightly confused? It's a OEM repro from Cardone. I got it from Partsgeek.
 
LOL you just nailed it a Cardone! Made to fit 10 years of applications!
 
It happens to the best of us. Check your timing. A buddy of mine was cranking his car with the air cleaner off it and flames where shooting out the carb. He said what do I do. We said crank it up and put the flames in the motor. LOL.
 
A great reason why you should always do any engine work outside of any garage ( many houses have burned down before) and a good reason to use the buddy system and have a proper extinguisher at all times handy. In a pinch having a wet towel handy to throw over the carb will also work with no clean up after.
As we all know it is very simple to install 180° out as the distributor shaft on a Mopar does not have the cam drive gear on it, but has a blade not unlike a standard screw driver. Also it is not wise to prime a carb by pouring fuel down the throat of the carb. Spills do happen and so does flooding and a fires if the timing is off. Use the float bowl vents, the proper sized funnel/hose to fill the bowls and then use the accelerator pump. That is what it does.
Safety first.
 
I read the title a few times...still not sure whether the O/P caught fire, or the distributor did.
 
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