Homemade Fire Extinguisher Mount

[JayEstes 172]

All,

 

As I am coming to the end of the restoration period, and I began to drive the car after 20+ years, I had an experience finding a fuel leak near the carb that kinda freaked me out.  Nothing major, but I had not sufficiently tightened the hose to the fuel filter, and I had gasoline pooling on the intake.

 

It made me realize how easy it would be for all of my work to go up in smoke.  I was lucky the fuel sitting there didn't get hot enough to ignite.  It made me realize, if a fire had happened on a casual drive, I didn't have a plan for how to handle it.  Had that fuel caught, there was very little I could do.  Maybe remove my shirt & hope to smother it? That's hardly a plan.

 

Long story short, I decided I wanted to have a fire extinguisher at the ready.  I did a limited amount of research and decided I wanted it near me, while in the car (available in a crash if required).  Lots of folks attach right in front of the drivers seat.  I decided to try this "bracketeer" mount, and see if I could make it work:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015G3QXMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

That thing won't work.  It's very well made, and I can imagine pretty versatile, but not for our cars.  It's also obnoxiously expensive.  Despite it being very made well, $60 is silly for no more tech than is there.  I sent it back for a refund, and decided I would make something on my own. 

 

I bought a steel 2.5in x 1.5in multi-purpose angle piece with many pre-existing holes.  I also got a 1.5in wide x 1/8in thick aluminum bar stock.  Then I got stainless screws/washers/nuts to bolt it together.

 

I cut the angle to the length from outside of one seat frame to the outside of the other.  I notched the 90 degree angle off each end so that the widest side of the angle could be bolted down underneath the seat track (between the seat and the track).  I removed the bolts holding the front of the tracks to the seat, slid the member between the track and seat and passed the track bolts thru the track, then thru the ends of the angle using existing holes, then into the seat, and tightened it down.  this holds the angle very securely, and the steel is thin enough that it doesn't raise the seat noticeably (less than 1/16th) I let the 90deg side of the angle project upwards inside the seat (away from the floor)- there was plenty of volume inside the seat to accommodate it.

 

I then cut two ~7.5in long pieces of the alum bar-stock, bent them in my vise to about 70deg at about 6in from the end and located them appropriately side to side to hold the extinguisher in the correct location.  the bent aluminum is mounted to turn down towards the floor, and the length is just enough so that the bent ends are forward and just clear the raised floor when the seat is moved all the way back. After this, I just mounted the extinguisher mount to it, and put the seat in.

 

I didn't get any pics during the buildup, which I regret, but it is actually a really simple install.  Getting the measurements right and the positioning was the harder part.

 

Attached are some pics of how it looks installed.  Mounting it this way, the extinguisher travels with the seat as the seat is moved fore and aft.  The mount is sufficiently solid, and amazingly, while visually it seems kind of obtrusive and possibly in the way, it really is very much out of the way.  One flip of mount hasp and it is loose - but doesn't fall - and can be retrieved easily with one hand.  it doesn't make getting in or out the car any different at all.

 

I'm actually really happy with the installation, and just wanted to pass it along, in case anyone else wanted to try it.

 

I spent ~$30 on materials and bolts, but I had enough left to make another mount if I wanted, and I bought stainless fasteners.

 

Sorry for all the words above, pictures would have helped so much.  Trying to describe everything using only words just takes a lot more.  Next time I get the seat out, I'll plan to get some good pics and add them.

 

 

 

 

Think about getting your own fire-extinguisher.  It makes a lot of sense - anything can happen.  Hope someone can use this information.

 

Jay

[Mach1 Driver 560]

Make it disappear- maybe cover it with a patch of carpet held on with Velcro and I think you have a winner. Have a upholstery shop trim the edges of the carpet.

[MN69Grande 203]

I saw something similar to this last year on Might Car Mods.  I was thinking of doing the same thing.  Looks nice.  I don't think you need to hide but that is me.

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiejr3psdTSAhXEHJAKHfckAEAQyCkIHjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dx28_c9QZMFM&usg=AFQjCNHkFoDsxdAvoKceNR93TbvJ_l3EDQ&sig2=793xrl0SWFjWjjRI23q10A

[lanky 44]

Great idea. I vote for hiding with a velcro cover with a loop handle for easy removal.

[JayEstes 172]

I appreciate the feedback guys.  

 

Yes, the cover is something I have been pondering.  I bought a really nice chrome extinguisher, and I have since removed all of the white stickers. Its kind of surprising, but with the chrome, it reflects the black color of the carpet, and the seat, and blends in pretty well - a close friend of mine thought the tank was black.  The handle end is still out there with it's raw aluminum look.  If the handle was black that might really help too.

 

If I was gonna add a cover, I was thinking of some kind of black canvas or denim - something that just slips on.  I suppose carpet as has been suggested might work well too - a lightweight carpet might have enough body to it to hold it's shape well.  It does need to slide with the extinguisher.

 

For the time being, I'm gonna go with "racecar billet style" and just leave it, passengers I have had in the car haven't even noticed the thing, and while I may notice it when I get in, it's really not noticeable for me while driving, or the passengers.  And it's right where I need it - if I ever need it.

 

I watched the youtube video above, and I don't think that cool lawn mower blade twist is gonna work on our seats.  We have the seat slider latch lever right in front and it's got something like a 4in L to R stroke.  What I did pushes the extinguisher forward enough to let it sit down against the floorboard even when the seat is all the way back - that leaves tons of room for handling the slider latch lever without any interference.

 

That video DOES show something at about 11min that I will do next time.  I used nuts and bolts to attach the aluminum arms to the steel crossbar, and it was a big pain to get the nuts on the backside because it's close to the seat.  Next time I would use rivet-nuts and then the screws can just thread into the rivet-nuts and no need for the nuts on the backside.  I never used rivet-nuts until I had to do them for the side mirrors on my car.  They are a GREAT option if you need to screw into sheet metal and want a better fixation than a sheet metal screw.

[Bob & Sue 110]

Great spot for it after I install the new carpet I'll build a similar one. I'm building a carpeted trunk liner with extra thick sound deaden-er those rivet nuts work great I'll lose some trunk space but it will clean looking and easy to disassemble if needed  to get to the gas tank or wiring, 

 

Putting an extinguisher in the trunk is a disaster if you need it, trying to open the trunk while the flames get bigger.  

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

a flavor of a mount i made a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

ended up moving it to behind the seat.

 

[MN69Grande 203]

I'll probably copy JayEstes work but I was looking around and found another option that might be worth looking at for some people.  It says it's for SUV.Trucks but I don't know why it wouldn't work for a car too.

 

http://www.safaristraps.com/truck-suv-fire-extinguisher-holder/

[RPM 1,190]

Hmm... That doesn't look too ridgid with the straps. I'd think under near panic conditions you wouldn't want the extinguisher moving at all trying to release it.