waterfoul
06-02-2005, 10:24 AM
I have... once. I had a lean fuel to air mixture problem with the big block in my Baja several years (and several motors!) ago. The #7 cylinder was running lean and hot, melted the adhesive that holds the porcelin part of the spark plug in the metal threaded part. Well, at 60 mph it fires out of the hole like a bullet!! Makes a LOT of noise too!! And it's hotter-en-he!! if you know what I mean.... We were on Spring Lake with another couple on board and wouldn't you know it, it fires out of the hole, lands behind the trim pump on the port side... where for still unknown reasons, there is a paper Burger King cup... not mine, and no idea how it got there... anyway, as soon as I stop and put the hatch up it bursts into flames!! That area of my bilge is carpeted too.... so there's smoke... I calmly grab the extinguisher and put the fire out... my friends wife is in hysterics!! She just about jumped overboard!!!
Put a new plug in and finished the day. Replaced the carpet the following week and never had a reason to pull the pin on the extinguisher again.
Turns out the carb was not operating at the proper CFM thus causing the lean condition. Rebuilt the carb and didn't have an issue with that motor the rest of the season.... until I built it up for more HP... should have left well enough alone!! Or maybe I should have let her butn to the waterline... would have saved me a lot of grief over the years... hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Put a new plug in and finished the day. Replaced the carpet the following week and never had a reason to pull the pin on the extinguisher again.
Turns out the carb was not operating at the proper CFM thus causing the lean condition. Rebuilt the carb and didn't have an issue with that motor the rest of the season.... until I built it up for more HP... should have left well enough alone!! Or maybe I should have let her butn to the waterline... would have saved me a lot of grief over the years... hindsight is a wonderful thing.