Many cars ‘firebombs’

Press, 18 April 1979, Page 2

Many cars ‘firebombs’

PA Auckland At least 250,000 late-model cars on New Zealand roads are potential firebombs. Synthetic rubber hoses,, which carry petrol from the! fuel pumps to carburettors! have bases which tend toj crack and fall off. When! they do, petrol is sprayed on; to hot exhaust pipes and sparking ignition systems! while the engine is running. ’

Insurance companies have noticed an increase in the annual tally of about 1700 car fires, and yesterday they j condemned the synthetic i hoses as a main cause. “This type of fitting for carrying petrol to the carbu- ; rettor is hot satisfactory,” said a senior assessor in, Auckland. “They seem to be I very weak and in some)

leases they do not even, have I clips securing them.” He said this type of fire had increased in recent years, in many cases burning cars beyond repair. The trouble often began after the original petrol hose had been replaced with a plastic one. The Automobile Association (Auckland) technical services manager (Mr R. Lewis) said yesterday that even plastic tubing marked : as petrol resistant was unsatisfactory because it could;’ I not withstand high engine temperatures. “It pays to stick to the manufacturer’s original part, which is a special braided material,” he said. But even the original hose requires frequent checks. On Mr Lewis’s car the hose cracked after only two years. “The hose is something people tend to overlook during routine servicing.” He said, “But it should be checked every year or so by an expert.” Cars at one time had solid copper or metal braidsheathed fuel pipes, which lasted the life of the car. These had given way to cheaper synthetic hoses, which became potential trouble sources after between two and five years of motoring.