5 replies to this topic

[the outsider]

Today in ringwood i parked up my 1981 mk1 cavalier, its pretty much mint and has done 33k, come back to car start it up, pull out of the parking bay and the whole front went up in flames, shut car off, switched off fuel pump, got out and blasted it with a fire extinguisher through the front vents, Opened the bonnet and found that the twin carbs had caught fire,basically engine bay is a mess and bonnet is black and paintwork and decals are gone, I reckon paint for bonnet which is metallic blue will be £500, plus whatever wiring damage ect, it has a classic policy on it, 150 excess, but im sure they dont cover the carbs and mechanical stuff on insurance, so is it worth claiming? Please no stupid comments, ive had the car 18 years from 17k miles,so its part of me now, its not everyones cup of tea, but im absolutely gutted

[Goosenka]

Bummer.  Personally I wouldn't.

[slindborg]

unless youve got a proper agreed value policy, she'll be a write off if you claim

 

Is it a standard wiring loom or modded for the twin carbs/pump etc?

When sorting it, WEAR GLOVES as wiring insulation becomes evil evil evil stuff when exposed to a thermal event

 

[EvilChap]

I had this happen with a 205Gti Mi16 on carbs. I would suggest not claiming - it'll count against you and they aren't likely to offer much. Once it's all cleaned up the damage is probably pretty minor if you put it out quickly, a bonnet paint and some new hoses, wires and belts and you'll be well away. Just take your time with it, and it'll be as good as new I would think. Was likely the bonnet lining being saturated with fuel, then the carbs spitting a little flame on startup - at least that's what happened to me. Dry powder is horrible and corrosive by the way, I'd get the all cleaned off ASAP if you do plan to resurrect it.

[the outsider]

Thanks for advice, going to look at the car at the weekend, take the bonnet off, assess how bad everything is and strip back what i can then clean up, then i can see what costs are involved, most people that run dellortos will tell you they spit every so often, but i could actually see the jet of fuel and flame coming from the emusifying tube, not been the best year so far

[fiveoclock]

As slindborg says be careful with handling the burnt stuff. Fire really does turn some of the material into stuff that can really cause you harm.