Geoff, two things you MUST be very aware of. Firstly I witnessed a small engine fire in an original ( and very expensive ) GT40 , the driver yanked on the T handle, only for the handle and cable to come away in his hand, but did not fire the extiguisher , a little more than mild panic ensued ! The cables are usually only fixed to the firing mechanism by a very poor bicycle type threaded bush, which unless fitted very firmly can slip very easily on the cable. One reason why I now only fit electrically fired extinguishers to these cars. Secondly, I have seen so many cockpit extinguisher nozzles fitted in such away that they will not spray onto the occupants or make a mess in the car. Owners seem to be more concerned over where the spray goes and whether it will cover their expensive race suits or mark the upholstery ! I know that if ever I sat in a car on fire I would want to cover me and as much else as it can possibly reach. A very salutory story involves two guys who went to Le Mans many years ago in a GT40 replica, they were being a bit over exuburant on the roads outside of the circuit, swerved to miss an oncoming vehicle and rolled upside down in a roadside ditch. They did not have an extinguisher system on the car ! Being in a ditch and upside down, the doors could not be opened, and petrol leaking from the fuel fillers ignited ! Neither was injured in the accident, but the passanger succumbed to his injuries from the fire, in the car, and the driver was luckily rescued by a passing fire truck going to the race meeting. He took 10 years to fully recover.
Fire extinguishers will save your life, install them properly and carefully, and get the serviced and refilled every second year. Frank
