AV Gas Warning!

[uscrichter]

I wanted to share an incident that happen to me last Friday in hopes no one on this site will ever have to deal with my experience. I have three Camaros at this time with other collector vehicles and one happens to be 1967 Amphicar which I have had stored for seven years and my wife convinced me  to get it out for a swim in July with family and friends, so last Thursday I went to the local airport and bough five gallons of AV gas which I have used in my collector cars many times before with great success, so I drained the old fuel added the AV gas , changed all the fluids and had it running perfect, so on Friday decided to detail the car(boat) but when I turned the key to turn on the blower a wall of fire exploded in my face and I was literally covered in flames, so I went into panic mode  and grabbed a fire extinguisher which allowed me enough time to push the car out of the garage and call 911. After 6 hours in emergency with 2nd degree burns on my arms and 1st degree on my face and a car burned to a crisp, I wondered why and how this could have been prevented and I know that if I would have used normal auto fuel I would have certainly smelled the fumes and not tried to start the vehicle, my point is that AV gas has a very faint smell and with collector cars  there is often leaks that may not be detected with AV gas! therefore a great alternative is non-ethanol pump gas with octane booster if needed. P.S. learn from my mistake! 

[ZLP955]

Sorry to hear of your injuries and also the loss of your vehicle. Hope you make a full recovery with no permanent damage, cars can be replaced but you/we cannot.

[ko-lek-tor]

Always sorry to hear of any accident and or loss in this great hobby. I pray that your health is fully restored and there are no lasting effects from your injuries. It is sad to lose a car and an emotional loss is real. Loss is loss. But, like Tim says, it can be replaced. Sobering lesson. I too use AV fuel and will hearby be wary and vigilant to check for leaks in the future. I use minimal rubber fuel hose in all my builds for that reason. A few years back I got some serious 2nd degree burns from a Coleman stove. Things happen so fast. Stay safe.

[TangoBravo]

It is easy to get complacent about gasoline. Any fuel leak is hazardous and concerning. Be wary at all times about any signs of fuel around your vehicle and correct it. Taking anything out after storage or repair is especially a time to be wary. Thanks for the reminder and hope you heal up quickly!

[uscrichter]

Thanks Guy's! I'll be fine and I guess it wasn't my time, I was very fortunate not to get burned a lot worse and I could have lost the entire garage with 8 other collector cars, here is a picture of the carnage. There is a article about a'69 Pace car in Muscle Car review this month which gives me hope and I plan restore it some day, but have to get my '69Z done first! and be safe with the fuel! Curt

[68camaroz28]

Oh Curt, so glad you can write about this as burns can be very painful as I'm sure your finding out and have been told. Great positive that you will be OK and secondly nothing more damaged. Just another good future project.
We are so lucky that we have one station in our county that sells non-ethanol 93 octane gas along with other grades and do a very good business from lawn service people to all kinds of vehicles.
Get well fast!

[uscrichter]

Thanks' Guy's for all the feedback! We too have a gas station the offers that fuel which I will be using from now on.

[69pace]

Glad to see and hear you are okay. Looks like you can save her, little spit, elbow grease and some coin and she will be as good as new. But in all seriousness you are mending and that's what is important, and thanks for the warning. I have from time to time used aviation fuel in other projects. Never thought about the lack of stink.

Brian

[70z28lt1]

Looks like that will buff out!
Seriously, thanks for the helpful hint on the Av-gas.  I never even thought of that.  If you've prevented even one more burn victim you've given back to the hobby more than any tech tip will ever.  I hope for a quick recovery for you.

[BULLITT65]

I hope you have a quick recovery. It is those moments that humble us, and remind us what is important.

Sounds like you have a positive attitude, and look forward to seeing you piece together your Z parts.

[uscrichter]

Thanks Austin,
I am positive when I look back at what could have happened! and always try and learn a lesson from these experiences, a guy in the Corvette club  said the other day it usually takes two things to go wrong in this kind of situation and there where, and as I found out both were my fault, the first was using the undetectable gas and the second was that I got distracted the night before and left the gas cap off after fueling the vehicle, it's a sinking feeling when you can restore a car better than new an double check tork settings on hundreds of nuts and bolts and forge something so basic as a gas cap... pretty humbling!

[JohnSlack]

I built racing engines for Unlimited Class Air racing for over 30 years, at one point I managed an aviation fueling facility at a major facility at Burbank airport. Don't ever think there is a difference in handling Av-Gas vs. automotive gasoline. Most likely smelling it or not by the time you compounded the mistakes the same result would have occurred. End of story.
John

[firstgenaddict]

Glad you are ok...
If anything like a boat, the amphibcar has a blower which keeps fuel fumes from accumulating under hood... unfortunately it is not a brushless motor, the problem was once the AF ratio was correct, any minute spark would set it off, even without the blower coming on, the brushes in the starter would have sparked and the result would be the same, gasoline av gas etc are surprisingly difficult to set off unless the ratios are within a pretty close range. 10-15:1 AF I believe.

[TangoBravo]

Just imagine the fun they were having in USAC back in the 70's with methanol!