Fumes from my husband's '69 VW Squareback

My husband’s other love is parked in the garage adjoining our house. Sometimes the whole house smells like car exhaust. We have a CO alarm right next to the door from the kitchen to the garage but I still worry that the fumes could be a safety and/or health hazard. Any insight to share?

There’s not near enough info about maintenance, engine condition, etc. to make much of a guess but I assume you’re referring to exhaust fumes rather than raw gasoline fumes.

If the fumes are caused by a rich air/fuel mix then I would suspect a faulty temperature sensor. That problem is somewhat common on aged Type 3s.

Smell or not, he should not be running the engine inside the garage at all. CO is CO and many people have died from something they did not smell at all.
Car out of the garage when running - now.

This Year and model VW had some problems with the fuel lines because they ran across the top of the engine and would leak because of the drying out do to engine heat. Make sure the smell that you are smelling is exhaust and not raw fuel.

This year and model had plenty of fuel leaks at the fuel pump located at the front of the car,the fuel injector hoses liked to leak but the hoses were easy to replace.

All pre catalyst cars smell much more than later models.

Thanks for your suggestions - I’ll pass them on to my husband. He always pushes the car out of the garage before starting it and turns it off as soon as he gets it parked in the garage.

If it stinks bad enough the house fills with fumes then 2 things need to be done.
Back the car up a lot further.
Fix the car problem so it doesn’t stink as much.

You’re correct; it is a safety/health issue. People die from CO poisoning all of the time and many of them never even knew what hit them.