Bad deal for my Cousin on 5/6

[40FordDeluxe]

Last Friday morning my cousin messaged me at 5:57am saying he needed a car. I thought his account had been hacked because he is a 2nd shift guy and doesn't get home until really late. I figured maybe he broke down driving home from work and he needed a ride? His drive is about 1hr 15min each way and he only works a few miles from where I do. I messaged him back and then he sent me a picture and I knew right away what he meant. It was heart breaking.

He went through one of the things none of us ever want to hear or go through. His wife woke him up at around 4am saying her mother called saying one of their buildings was on fire. She said the security cameras picked up heat signatures and sent alarms to the security system. Josh said he made the 45min trip in 25 and he got there in time to watch them opening the doors to see his car already engulfed in flames.

[glennsexton]

Oh man - I'm sick just looking at this. Thankful that no people were hurt but it's horrible to see the devistation to his cars. I sure hope he was well insured - things can be replaced....

[40FordDeluxe]

Luckily and thankfully no one was hurt. He stores the car in their barn every winter. He literally was getting it out this past weekend to pull the motor and replace it with one he just had built. He just got this car where he could road trip it and drive it daily last year. He placed 2nd in it at the burn out contest at Good guys Des Moines last year. This was his Dad's car he was given as his high school graduation present. Literally the only good thing his dad did for him IMO. (long story there)

This thing got really, really, hot. He tore the engine out hoping to use some of it. He said the top of the trans has a hole melted in it, the engine is no longer purple and the intake sagged down into the intake. I told him I'd cut the body sides off and use them for yard art and not plan on using anything from this car unfortunately. He is fighting with the insurance company still. They tried putting it off on to the owner of the barn but they don't have insurance for other people's property. Hopefully he can get it covered other wise it will really be a huge kick to the man parts.

[40FordDeluxe]

Oh man - I'm sick just looking at this. Thankful that no people were hurt but it's horrible to see the devistation to his cars. I sure hope he was well insured - things can be replaced....

When he sent me that first pic my heart sank. Luckily his rat rod was not stored there so at least he will have that to drive around this summer.

[mrmustang]

Whenever I see such pictures and read such stories, I feel for the owners. My next thought is a simple one, the cars and property can be replaced, the lives of those involved cannot be.


Bill S.

[shine]

i learned early on to follow the rules in my shop. batteries out or disconnected . you just never know. one chewy rat can burn it all down . glad no one was hurt . i've had one shop fire and that's enough .

[Mike P]

So sad. I think everyone on this site knows what goes into doing a car, not only the parts, but the little bit of yourself you put into them.

As said thankfully no one was hurt.


.

[jyardgirl]

that is so sickening. my heart goes out to him.

[rspears]

So sad. Keep us in the loop on what happens moving forward, just for grins....

[34_40]

That's just awful. I can only echo the others.. glad no people were harmed..

[johnboy]

Crikey.
That would be absolutely gut-wrenching.
I don't know the chap, most probably will never meet him; but my heart goes out to him.

As has been said: the only good thing about it is that no-one was hurt.

[40FordDeluxe]

i learned early on to follow the rules in my shop. batteries out or disconnected . you just never know. one chewy rat can burn it all down . glad no one was hurt . i've had one shop fire and that's enough .

That was one of the first things I asked him was if the battery was disconnected. He said it was for 2 reasons. 1 it had a battery shut off, and 2 it had a draw if it sat longer than 4-5 days the battery would be dead.

They think the fire started near the breaker panel. The owners have a wedding barn and they had roughly 25 Christmas trees and various different decorations in this barn and it all went up. Josh said they had some quads and a UTV that happened to be near the breaker box and the 4 wheelers are just a pile of aluminum wrapped steel tubing.

He is on the hunt for a 69 442 currently. The insurance company wants him to compile a list of receipts he has for the car so they can work on a value. They said they will only cover the car and things bolted to the car. Nothing inside. Josh said he left some snap-on stuff in there. Mainly his new timing light and he will most likely not be getting that back. It's a bad deal for sure.

[wrp]

Really sorry to see this

[rspears]

If he can get the snap on stuff out of the char is it possible the snap on guy might replace things under their warranty? Just a thought... Is he dealing with one of the "traditional" insurance companies rather than one of the specialty houses like Grundy, Hagerty, American, etc?

[firebird77clone]

Sadness.

What i next post is from experience. Smaller scale, but real life chit.

It's only stuff. Material things which can be replaced.

Some Material things are irreplaceable.

Then we find new (to us) material things that can't be replaced.

It's just stuff.

Best wishes for replacing your cherished possessions.

Life is key. Love and happiness be yours, good luck.