Hose and a bucket

     Ann Charles came to me the end of last week with a new creative problem to solve. In a future novel Ann has in the works she needs to burn a car to a twisted hulk.

     While I’ve experience a car fire or two (or three, if you count a near miss with a gas line that worked it’s way out of the carb in my ’74 Capri) I’ve never actually tried to set one on fire.

     I thought about it for a few minutes and this is what I came up with. It’s nothing overly technical as the character in question isn’t a car person (or particularly technically savvy) so I thought I best keep it fairly basic.

     First, a way to get the gasoline out of the tank. I figure ten to fifteen feet of aquarium tubing would be plenty (gas tanks are further into the car than you would think).

     Second, something to move the gas in. A five gallon bucket will do the trick. This way the fuel can be spread around in volume.

     Third, a syphon of some sort. How about a manual airmattress pump, the kind where you can swap the hose from one port to another to either inflate or deflate the mattress.

     Forth, now that the gas is easily spread about via a hose and bucket (in through an open window to get the interior saturated) a source of ignition is needed. A pack of matches or a disposable lighter and some rolled up paper stuck in the gas tank filler neck.

     One recipe for a well roasted car. I can’t wait to read how Ann integrates the ideas into her story.