# DIY Fire Extinguisher Install (Good for Porsche Club Driver Schools)



## JonW (Jan 6, 2002)

I recently was at a Porsche Club track event. They require a fire extinguisher in the car. The requirements are pretty lenient. It can be small (5bc rating) and just must be mounted with a metal bracket to anything secure. I didn’t feel like spending the $300 or so it would be to get a proper mounting bracket and official fire extinguisher from a place like HMS Motorsports, so I made my own setup. This arrangement even exceeds the Porsche club requirements by using a bigger extinguisher than the one they require and using a bracket fastened to a metal bar. 

Before explaining what I did, I should probably add a disclaimer. This procedure describes installation of safety equipment. Do this at your own risk. I take no responsibility for anything you will do, OK? Good. We’ve got that out of the way. Here’s the scoop on the installation:

Most fire extinguishers that you'll find in hardware stores come with plastic brackets, but the requirements for the track state that it needs to be a metal bracket. Metal ones can be found at a few places, purchased separately. I found mine at an Ace hardware, $6. Lowes and Menards did not have them. Actually, Menards sold one, but it fit almost none of the extinguishers they sold, so be careful. Make sure the bracket fits the extinguisher you have because there are different sizes. A small $10 extinguisher of 3 pounds, 10bc rated, about a foot tall, is more than what's required. 

I did this for my ’93 325is. First move the front passenger seat all the way back on its rails. In order to mount the extinguisher in the car without drilling any holes in the floor (and possibly starting rust) I looked at the rails upon which the front passenger seat travels. I used the bolts that already come up from the floor into the rails, on the front end of the rails, pointing toward the motor. Then I got a 3/4" wide metal bar ($3). Don’t get anything too flimsy or it won’t hold down well. But also don’t get something a half inch thick because the tolerances here are not too generous. 

Cut the bar to the right length between the two rails. Mine was 18.5”. Then drill holes in the bar at the ends for the bolts. My holes were 17 3/4” apart. I bought some nuts and washers to fasten the bar to the bolts. The nuts were M10-1.50 hex nuts class 8. The washers were 10 mm flat washers. The nuts I bought were much wider than the ones holding in the seat, so I didn’t even use the washers. Note that the bar and nuts will simply go onto the bolt, without having to remove the nuts or bolts that are holding in the seat. There is enough exposed bolt sticking up to do this. Not lots, but enough. 

The extinguisher metal bracket has to be fastened to the metal bar. The bracket has holes already drilled in it. So I drilled some holes to match the bracket in the metal bar. But before drilling the holes, bolt down the metal bar, place the bracket on top, and put the extinguisher in there. See how things will line up so you know where to put the holes in the bar. It’s not in the center of the bar either forward/back or left/right. It’s offset in both dimensions. Mark where the bracket will sit. I found it helpful to tape the extinguisher, bracket, and bar together, remove them from the car, take off the extinguisher, and then mark the bar for drilling, through the holes of the bracket. 

Note that the seat is moved all the way back and the extinguisher is pressed right up against the seat. There is not lots of room for this, but enough.

Drill the two small holes in the bar. Fasten the bracket to the bar with tiny nuts, bolts, and washers. Have the bolt head facing the floor and the shaft pointing up, into the bar and bracket. You don’t want the bolt poking a hole down into the carpet. But you also need a bolt short enough that it doesn’t hit the fire extinguisher when in the bracket. They’re pretty tiny.

All nuts, bolts, and washers mentioned were about $3. 

Before tightening everything down, make sure that the latch/release of the bracket pulls forward, toward the engine. If in a fire and a hurry, you don’t want to have to move the latch toward the seat and have the seat block any of your motions. 


That’s it. The only down side is that the front passenger seat has to remain all the way back, on the rails. Not a problem for me. The whole setup is removed easily when you’re done at the track, if you like.

I got to come up with my own design, and the total cost was $22. Actually, it was $9 for me because I already had a fire extinguisher at home and a scrap metal bar. That sure beats the $300 if I purchased the special mounting brackets, extinguisher, etc. from a race shop. I can think of no safely compromises of this setup relative to the purchased ones. The extinguisher sits in the same place and is just as accessible. 

There you have it. Hopefully you never need to use it.


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