[ahhclem]

Kind of like the tailpipe flames, but the only company I have seen who sells the kit wants about a $100. I hear that a couple of sparkplugs, a coil, and a switch to the battery is all I need. Has anyone actually tried this and does it work, or do I need to spend the bucks for the kit?

[DoubleVision]

This is what appeared in Hot Rod Magazine when someone asked the same Question.
"Tailpipe flame throwers have been around since the early days of hot rodding,and like most trick items of the day, they were cobbled from spare parts. The most obvious elements are the pipe mounted spark plugs. These are usually connected to ignition coils (one per plug) via spark plug wires. The positive side of the coils is then wired to a switch, which, very often, also shuts off power to the engine`s igntion coil. The engine is revved up and then the switch is flipped, cutting spark to the engine and sending raw fuel to the exhaust system which is ignited by the tail pipe spark plugs resulting in flames. Sometimes a manual choke is used to create a extra rich mixture"

[Jason]

Sounds to me like that would create a massive backfire and blow the mufflers off.
We used to do this with an old work van, go down the road, shut the key off, pump the gas and turn the key back on, huge backfire and no more muffler.

[46DRIVER]

Some of these flamethrower guys are really nutz! Friend of mine had a chopped and customized 54 Chevy and ran a propane tank in his trunk that he's use in those flamethrower contests. You can see them as some of the custom shows. Tho they are outlawed at many shows, the New england Summer Nationals up in Wochester, Ma. still allows them as far as i know. Another event they have up there is the burn-out contest that they run on the down ramp into a tunnel underpass. <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> <img src="graemlins/pimp.gif" border="0" alt="[pimp]" />

[DoubleVision]

I agree with what your saying Jason, I`ve seen the same thing happen when we did this to a friends ford escort. I forgot to add to my post I don`t recommend doing anything like this, but he asked, and I answered. the hot rod mag i got this out of wasn`t very old, and I think they forgot to add this doesn`t work with cars with auto transmissions and we have to consider, when they were doing this trick in the old days, 1 and 2 barrell carbs were the norm, 4 barrells were expensive and not many have one, we`ve come a long way now since then, but I think the details they left out speak for themselves, not to mention in those days you could get away with straight pipes and no mufflers.

[ahhclem]

Hey guys, thanks for the replys. With the cost of Flow Masters nowadays, I think I will look into the safety of the kit. Thanks again.

[steppenwolf]

Or, from an earlier post on the same topic... http://www.ennisenterprises.net/so-cheap/flames has instructions on building a controller. Good luck!
--zac