GA PLT FLIES INTO IFR CONDITIONS DURING VFR FLT.

Narrative

I CONTACTED FSS BY TELEPHONE FROM THE SBP ARPT FOR A STANDARD BRIEFING FOR A VFR FLT FROM SBP DIRECT TO EMT IN THE LOS ANGELES BASIN. PREFLT BRIEFER RPTED CONDITIONS IN THE LA BASIN AS VFR WITH VNY; BUR; ONT; AND EMT ALL RPTING VFR CONDITIONS AND 5-6 MI VISIBILITY. WX IN BOTH THE SAN FERNANDO AND SAN GABRIEL VALLEYS WAS NOT FORECASTED TO GO IMC UNTIL; I THINK; SOME TIME. I DEPARTED FROM SBF WITHIN 20 MINS. I HAD ONBOARD; BY MY CALCULATION; 1.7 HRS OF FUEL. FLT TO EMT WOULD TAKE APPROX 50 MINS BECAUSE I HAD APPROX A 20 KT TAILWIND; WHICH I CALCULATED WOULD REDUCE MY FLT TIME BY APPROX 10 MINS. THIS LEFT ME APPROPRIATE RESERVE FUEL FOR NIGHT FLYING PLUS THERE WERE A MULTITUDE OF ARPTS IN THE SAN FERNANDO AND SAN GABRIEL VALLEYS FOR ALTERNATIVES. IN CLBING TO 9500 FT; I SIGNED IN WITH ZLA. UPON ARR AT THE W END OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (NOW WITH SOCAL APCH); I NOTICED THAT THE VALLEY SEEMED TO HAVE A CLOUD COVER AT APPROX 4000 FT. THOUGHT I COULD SEE THE VNY ARPT. CONTINUED ENRTE TOWARDS EL MONTE AS OFTEN THE NIGHT CLOUD COVER DOES NOT REACH THE E SAN GABRIEL VALLEY UNTIL SOMETIME LATER THAN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. AFTER FINDING SOLID CLOUD COVER UPON ARR OVER EMT; CONTINUED PAST EMT TOWARDS ONT. UPON REACHING LA VERNE-BRACKETT (POC); STILL TOTAL CLOUD COVER. NOW GOT THE ATIS AT ONT. IMC 700 FT CEILING. TURNED BACK W FOR VNY. LISTENED TO BUR ATIS -- IMC 800 FT. ENRTE BACK TO VNY AND SOMEWHERE BACK W OF BUR; SOCAL APCH SUGGESTED I GET THE AWOS AT VNY. DID SO; IMC 700 FT. THERE WAS A 2-3 MI WIDE OPENING DOWN TO THE SURFACE N OF BUR AND CLOSE TO THE WHITMAN (WHP) ARPT. I FLEW NE TO THIS OPENING AND CIRCLED; DROPPING ALT TO TAKE A LOOK. TOLD APCH I WAS GOING TO GO OFF FREQ TO TRY AND GET THE RWY LIGHTS ON AT WHITMAN. I COULD CLRLY SEE THE 3 SMOKE STACKS A MI S OF THE RWY BUT NO LUCK. I CIRCLED TWICE MORE. AT THIS POINT; BUR TWR CAME ON TO WHP'S CTAF AND ASKED IF I WAS THERE. HE HAD BEEN LISTENING TO APCH AS IT WAS A SLOW NIGHT AT BUR AND HE CAME OVER TO SEE IF I HAD HAD ANY LUCK. AT THIS POINT; (FINALLY) I REALIZED I WAS IN TROUBLE AS I HAD CONSUMED AT LEAST 20-30 MINS OF FUEL FLYING AROUND THE VALLEYS AFTER PASSING OVER EMT. IT WAS DOUBTFUL I HAD ENOUGH FUEL TO CLB TO 7500 FT AND FLY 30 MINS TO WJF IN THE HIGH DESERT. I RPTED TO BUR THAT I DIDN'T BELIEVE I HAD ENOUGH FUEL TO MAKE IT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS TO FOX FIELD AND THAT HE MUST VECTOR ME THROUGH THE IMC TO A RWY AT BUR. HE RELUCTANTLY AGREED. AS I FLEW ON A HEADING I BELIEVE WAS 150 DEGS AT 3000 FT IN TOTAL IMC PER INSTRUCTIONS FROM TWR; MY ENG STOPPED; THEN STARTED AGAIN; THEN STOPPED; THEN STARTED AGAIN. I RPTED THE ENG STOPPAGE TO BUR AND VECTORING WAS REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY. I CLOSED THE L MAIN FUEL TANK; AS THE GAUGE WAS LOWER. THEN THE ENG STARTED AND CONTINUED TO RUN. OVER THE NEXT 5-10 MINS; WHICH SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY TO THIS VFR PVT PLT; BUR ATC VECTORED ME IN A DSCNT TO RWY 8. AT APPROX 800 FT; I BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS WITH THE RWY APPROX 1 MI DIRECTLY AHEAD. LNDG WAS NORMAL. I THANKED ATC PROFUSELY AND TAXIED TO AN FBO. FURTHER EXAMINATION THE FOLLOWING DAY INDICATED I HAD APPROX 20-25 MINS OF FUEL REMAINING IN THE R MAIN.