My car burned up

[JoeCeretti]

Very terrible. It appears it was the 6 to 12v converter that burned my car 2 nights ago.

It's painful just to post this. I feel gutted.

[Jon S]

Terrible news!  Sorry to hear that.

[srk1941]

That is TERRIBLE!!!! Did it just catch fire by itself, or was it running? I can't tell you how sorry I am...

[bcroe]

Well that is a heck of a loss.  I just hate to see that happen to a project which has a
lot of work invested, and can't really be replaced.  There were more than a dozen
vintage vehicles in my neighbors shop when it went up. And there was that B17 a
bunch of veterans used to fly in annually.  When an engine caught fire, they set it
down in a corn field.  Not much damage, but with no fire facilities, the whole plane
eventually burned.  I try to be careful about my 79 EFI car.  Bruce Roe

[JoeCeretti]

The battery was nearly dead 2 mornings ago when I started it in the morning. (A dead battery in my car is NOT a normal experience since the rewire) So I left it in the driveway. That evening I looked and everything appeared to be fine. I put the charger on it and went in for dinner. 30-45 minutes later a passerby was banging on my door yelling that my car is on fire.

It appears that the fire started in the glove box. There was a sony stereo and a 6 - 12 volt converter in there. The stereo is laying on the floor looking like it is not burned from the inside out but I can't seem to find the converter. I am not going to go picking things physically apart until the insurance adjuster comes to assess.

All my new wiring was carefully done. Nice tight crimps and every wire wrapped in correct automotive wrap. There was no possibility of any shorts anywhere. I can't imagine it being anything except the converter. All wires were one size larger than the wiring diagram called for.

[harry s]

Joe, Really sorry for your loss. Not only have you lost a nice old car but also all of the sweat and toil you have put into it.     Harry

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Damn shame.

I hope the insurance company treats you fairly.

[JoeCeretti]

I will report back about the insurance. It is from Hagerty with an agreed value rider. Called a OPCF19A here.

[lou-q]

It makes me sick to look at the picture.
We had a fire under the dash in our 67 convertible last year that burned the dash on the drivers side.
The smoke ruined everything including all the interior chrome.
We are on our way to restore it back to original. The car has been painted and all the chrome redone. I still have to re wire the dash and the interior needs to be done.
Are you going to try and save it?
Lou

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Man, what a mess.   Looking at the picture really makes one feel sick.

Fire is one of the worst things that can happen to anything.

Looks like the fire was contained to the interior, seeing that there is still paint visible through the door opening.

My Son's '69 Olds 442 had an underdash fire that was contained to the wiring, and I had to totally re-wire the car.   At least he was driving it when the smoke appeared and managed to stop and disconnect the battery.

Bruce.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Wow. I'm speechless

[Walter Youshock]

Truly awful.  I was always in the habit if disconnecting the battery on the '57.  One time I didn't do it.  I checked the car 2 or 3 days later and it stunk terribly.  The original Westclox movement burned up.  Had it not been encased, the whole car would have burned.

I NEVER  leave the battery connected on the old cars anymore.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Joe, Words cannot express what your friends are feeling for you. Hang in there. Barry

[62 driver]

Sad news!  As we look around the world this week, we know that you will be able replace or rebuild your car. Please let us know how the insurance take's care of you. Again sorry for your lost. Dave

[Coupe Deville]

I don't even know what to say…..  It that was my car, I wouldn't have the courage to post it. I am so extremely sorry for your loss. I hope that you make it through this hard time.

[David Greenburg]

That is horrible. I am so sorry.  My '59 Fleetwood caught fire due to a leaky fuel filter a few years ago, and everything under the hood that was not metal, and much of the dash wiring was destroyed.   But I had Hagerty, and they were wonderful; no hassles, paid for everything, no issues with the shop I chose.  Hopefully you can look forward to a similar experience.

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Sorry.

[chrisntam]

Sorry to hear the news as well.  Ugh!

How old were these components that burned?  If relatively new, I suggest you not monkey around where the fire started.  Maybe Hagerty will hire an engineer / experty to determine what failed.  If they find fault with the part, they may be able to recover the money they pay you and maybe you can piggy back your claim (any uninsured loss) with theirs (subrogation).

Is the car a total loss?  Or repairable?

What a frickin' bump in the road.  Ugh!

[Philippe M. Ruel]

You were so much involved in the restoration of this nice car... I feel sorry

[76eldo]

I'm very sorry to read about this.  Thank goodness you had the car outside or it could have been much worse.

Haggerty is known to be fair and quick to handle claims and I have some first hand experience settling a claim for someone that had a car that was hit while parked and damaged quite severely.  They were nice to deal with and settled the claim with no hassles.

Once again sorry about your car.

Brian