Flame Throwers

[kevinanderson]

Dumb question........... What provides the fuel to throw the flame.? Is there enough unspent fuel in the exhaust? Or do you plumb in a feed line. Got the rest figured out.

[randroid]

kevin,

Those became popular during the late '40s until they were made illegal anywhere they were used. A "Ford Coil" was used to ignite a sparkplug toward the end of the tail pipe and if your emgine was set rich enough a flame up to ten or more feet long could be created during a hard break from the line. I've seen pictures of them and they were really bitchin' if you weren't the first car behind them.

Along these lines, I used to play with radio controlled aircraft and reading about making air-show smoke makes me think I could apply the same technology to puffing red and yellow and green smoke rings out of the tailpipe. After all, Mickey Mouse drove a car that resembled some of ours and it spat doughnuts, so why shouldn't we?

I'll need to work on that. Or maybe not; hey, racers, wanna steal the next race in style?

Heh-heh, I'd like to see where this goes.

-Randy

[kevinanderson]

thnx for the info. over on an air horn forum, a dude was thinking about hookin' propane up and igniters. when he blows the horns, they would spew flames.......

found a site in a rodder mag that sells exhaust kits for around 80 bux. complete set-up including plugs,coil,wiring and switch. probably peel the chrome off my cheap tips:D

[martybose]

Unfortunately I don't remember where I saw the ad, but someone is making a modern day flamethrower kit that uses propane as the fuel source so you don't have to mess with the carb.

Marty

[oldmopar]

here is two that pop up in a search

http://www.eatmyflames.com/index.php

http://www.axdo.net/exhaust_flame_thrower.asp

[NatesSedan]

This one is advertised in Rod and Custom. It is sold by autoloc.

http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autoloc/product.lasso?prodinc=flamethrower

[Don Coatney]

Last summer I was following a flame-thrower equipped shoebox furd owned by a friend. I think his throwers are set up to use raw gasoline injected into the tail pipe and then ignited by a spark plug. I was following behind him at least 1000 feet traveling about 40 MPH when he passed gas. The flames lit up the area behind his car very brightly even on a warm summer sunshiny day. A few moments later I ran into the cloud of fumes left over from the burn. It was so bad that my eyes watered and Lisa had a slight asthma attack.

[Normspeed]

I thnk the colored smoke rings would be great!

[Kustom52Mopar]

I'm running the Autoloc set up on my car Kevin. Most of them work with the same basic operation. A button triggers a relay that takes power from the engine coil and re-directs the power to one or two coils(single or dual exhaust) mounted by the tail pipes. The coils are controlled by a control box to make the spark consistant. So you rev the engine and hit the button so it sucks raw un-burnt fuel and air out to be ignited at the tailpipes. Voila! you got a weeny roaster! I personally am a sucker for em even though yes they do have a draw back. Running raw fuel in the engine washing down the cylinders isn't good and gets into the oil. But changing the oil ALOT surely helps.

I have a video clip of my car shooting if anyone finds interest. Just hope I could shed a little light on it.

[Normspeed]

Very nice. Looks great with the duals. You must be running 12 volts?

[Kustom52Mopar]

Oh ya, I converted it over when I started on the project. There wasn't a wire one that I would have considered using.

The flamethrowers aren't quite as impressive as when I had em on my Buick.

[Normspeed]

I'd like to have a setup that uses propane but I'd need a smaller exhaust tip for velocity and something that would ignite with 6 volt.

I think I'll hang in there and see what develops with the colored smoke rings.

[Don Coatney]

Here is a picture of my friends shoebox doing a blacktop BBQ. I just wrote him asking what setup he is actually using. Of interest this guy is over 50 and this is the car he drove in high school.

[Captain Neon]

I like the idea of using propane vs. running an engine fat. My LeBaron covertible is a candidate for a propane flame thrower, though.

However, I don't know how much unburnt fuel comes out the tailpipe of a typical pre-catalytic converter vehicle. I wouldn't do this w/ my P15 sedan, but perhaps a future car w/ more go. It might look cool out of that /6 '47 coupe Bob pointed out from eBay.

[Captain Neon]

Here is a picture of my friends shoebox doing a blacktop BBQ. I just wrote him asking what setup he is actually using. Of interest this guy is over 50 and this is the car he drove in high school.

His mother must have been so proud. My grandmother made my soon to be 58 y/o father get rid of his '54 Ford because she was embarrassed that her son drove such an old car. Of course, maybe by the mid-70s, an early '50s Ford was cool. I just remember being told that it was unacceptable even in the small Midwest farming community my dad grew up in the '60s to drive a car that was more than 10 years old.

[Frank Blackstone]

be pretty upitty. I went to Tractor Supply for welding wire and was surprised how many late model Cadddys were there. Price of corn must be up.

[kevinanderson]

You kiddin, most of the farmers cash is all on paper, usually red. if the notes were all called in like the in the 80's. Look out. Some ground here in NE Nebr, jsut sold for 4k an acre. just a matter of time. ......

[Don Coatney]

Hey Don! Quick question..long answer..haha....Well...I went 'old school' and made it all ..spark box.. I used a heater blower motor,with a 5/8" nut jb welded to the shaft. File off the high spots on the nut a little to make them smooth.. this is like a cam-lobe deal on a dizzy. Next I used a piece of alum. shaped like a point plate,to screw down a pair of chevy points.(dual points) placed it all in a small coffee can. I welded a pair of anti-foulers, 10" into the end of the tailpipes. Spark plugs go into these. Electrical...I used a dpst switch as the spark control/engine disable.'HOT" switch" Between the batt,and the hot side of the engine coil make the switch in one position let power go to the engine. The other position will energize the blower motor"dizzy",and let the motor 'freewheel"(=flames) Wire the points up to a coil(each side) in the trunk, with a high tension wire and boot through the trunk floor,to each plug (s) in the tailpipes. In operation, rev up the motor,then flip the switch to cut the engine,and power up the blower motor,points,coils,and spark the plugs in the tips.Pump the gas pedal to blow rich mixture into the pipes,to be burned out the tips.Works best when the pipes are hot.. This is the basic 'starter" system. I have mine 'augmented' by having a high pressure fuel pump activated,with the HOT switch, when the tip igniters are on. I used a 125psi elec. fuel pump ,made for 5,0 mustangs. Plumb it from a fuel block,with a ball valve in between to turn the system on and off, also an 'arming" switch in between the power side,so it can be turned on,and off(big flames.or little flames)From the output side of the pump,use an anti-back flow valve,like a 10# residual brake valve,to keep it from 'dribbling" or having flame flashback to the pump!!,from there I used a 1/4" steel brake line,split near the tips with 1/8" brake lines, with another pair of back-flow valves about a foot away from,and through the tips.(keeping the dribbles at a minimum) The ends of the lines are 'squished'with vise grips at the end to 'fan' the raw fuel into a mist.or leave them open a little for a military flame thrower effect. Still with me?? kinda hard to verbally explain,but fairly easy, if you know basic electrical,and plumbing theory. Make sure to use fuses,filters,and absolutly leak proof lines. Be carefull,burns are painfull, and you run the risk of burning your car to the ground...but hey.. being 'cool' has many risks,right?? I'll be happy to show you sometime. You could go 'high tech" with an motor driven HEI dizzy,or electronic spark box,and much safer propane,with NOS solinoids etc...You know ..lots of ways to skin a cat.... A small jet engine would be cool,doing 'afterburner pops" NO?? keep crusin' seeyua soon.. Sparko...mainiac

[eric wissing]

Kevin around here they say a framer is only rich when he is dead. It is about the worse return on your money. What could that 4K an acre land bring in if rented? I am guessing 100-150? an acre. Even 200 would be only 5% . I know nothing personally about farming even though I have lived amongst some of the best farm land in the world. There is a reason why towns are filled with ex-farmers. I am glad someone does it, I like eating. Eric

[Captain Neon]

be pretty upitty. I went to Tractor Supply for welding wire and was surprised how many late model Cadddys were there. Price of corn must be up.

Price of corn is up. WAY up! The company I work for has decided to cut back on the number of turkeys we slaughter because of the high cost of corn. Many of us have been asking, however, if we are really saving any money trucking in meat from Arkansas vs. paying the money for corn and raising our own turkeys.

[Captain Neon]

After reading all of the information on using unburnt gasoline to power flame throwers, it seems to me that it would be a whole lot simpler (and safer) to use propane stored in the trunk. I agree that dual exhaust is so much cooler than a single exhaust. Symmetry, I suppose. Always liked the way it looked, but never really thought it was something I wanted for my own cars.

When I was a pre-teen in the '80s, a few guys experimented with dry ice and really dark interiors to get a frosty appearance upon exiting a car. Big cold cloud of CO2 gas to make an appearance through. I guess it never really caught on. I only saw video of rock stars and high-powered athletes make that sort of an entrance.

[kevinanderson]

I think throwers and propane thru air horns would be pretty neat. think that I should stick a set on my '48 dodge truck!

[Normspeed]

Heck, any project that involves flammable stuff, high tension sparks and JB Weld, and I'm in.

How bout some throwers on this P15 coupe?