Fuch I had a fire! Now repaired, Back together & running. Picking it up next week Options

[JRust]

Adjustor came out. I think it was a little over his head. He really had no clue what to do on it. So it is heading to a shop. Then I'll get more info from them but I don't think I'll have a problem with insurance covering it. Really didn't sound like it. I may have gotten lucky with a shop. Called Outfront Motorsports where Dean got the ECU & wiring harness. They are really backed up on that work. Was thinking of taking it down to their shop to make sure everything was done right. He said they are like 5 months out though (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) .
I asked if he knew of any shops in Oregon they would recommend. They have a guy who just moved up here & is opening a shop in Bend. It's called suby tech HQ. Guy's name is Mike & after talking with him. I'll be towing my car over there to get the work done. He has done multiple conversions & didn't have a problem taking it on. He is also literally just opening so I can get in pretty quick. Only downside is he heads Japan next month.
So if I have any holdups with insurance or whatever. I definitely won't have it back in time for Red Rocks. Which sucks but if it doesn't happen oh well. I want it done right & will wait.

Overall this sucks with my car. The more I see it the more I feel very lucky it wasn't worse. I've never seen a battery melt like that. So glad it was a dry cell or this would have been a very different story. Seeing my fuel pump & lines fairly close. Scares the shit out of me man. My garage seriously could have gone up pretty quick. I will keep with the updates on the insurance side of things. I appreciate all the kind words from everyone

[Chris H.]

Sounds like you're on the right track! Get er done right! Now it will smell good AND run well. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

And yeah, you WERE LUCKY. Even if there was some excess vapor in the intake...coulda been really bad news.

Speaking of kind words...nice job packing the flares. Seriously top notch. And I'm sure you got some offers to sell them for more $$$ so thanks for being the stand-up guy that you are and honoring the unwritten 914World sellers code. Someday I'll make my car look like a Laguna Blue version of yours. Kinda funny since you have a Laguna Blue car now that the flares were originally for.

[KELTY360]

I understand what you are saying. Does the policy include electrical fires? Accident and collision are obviously covered. Even fires related to fuel issues are covered. I'm just wondering if this would be considered to be in the same category as a mechanical failure? We need an insurance person to chime in....

This is what I was wondering also. Did the adjuster say anything specific about electical fires?

[Bartlett 914]

What kind of battery was that? Was it a lithium? Laptop computers had a problem with the batteries burning up. Once there is an internal short there becomes a snowball effect. It could be as simple as a defective battery.

[JRust]

My claims lady mentioned electrical fires. If a specific part started the fire. That part itself would not be covered. Any damage it caused would be. So I feel pretty good there. I did get an email saying they need a police or fire report. Of course I did neither of those. So called the fire dept & waiting to hear if they can do a cold fire investigation. Hope to hear back from them but it will most likely be next week there too. So I am kinda stuck until next week anyway

[sawtooth]

Wow Jamie, so sad to see this and so thankful it wasn't any worse. The battery was from CarQuest, an NGT EXTREME AGM.

[JRust]

Dropped my car off at Subie Tech HQ in Bend Oregon. Mike is a really cool guy who loves doing suby conversions. This is the first 914 he has worked on. He's done quite a few Vanagon conversions. Just moved up from the LA area. He has worked with Outfront motorsports & in their shop. Which is where my ECU & wiring harness was bought. Really felt good about leaving it with him.

He'll be dropping the drivetrain monday. Really depends how far my wiring harness is screwed into the cab. Overall the damage goes from my battery back into the trunk by the ECU. Where my wiring harness splits by the firewall it is melted by the battery. Doesn't look to have gone far but that will add some time if I have to replace the wiring all the way into the cab. As it stands now looking at a new wiring harness from Outfront along with an ECU. There is some damage to it that didn't show in the pics. Between that & getting the firewall repainted along with some of the trunk. This repair bill is going to get up there a bit. I feel good it is going to be done right though. With him just opening I am getting top priority so he will be getting into this week pretty heavy.

Barring trouble with Insurance or a delay getting my wiring harness & ECU from Outfront. I have a decent shot at having it back for Red Rocks. I'm not going to hold my breath there though. Pretty much everything will need to go just right for that to happen. Odds are better it will be into october as he leaves to go to Japan for 3 weeks in September. Everyone keep your fingers crossed it all goes perfect (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif)

[steuspeed]

Bummer your car caught on fire, but very lucky you didn't lose the whole car and garage. Even a few thousand dollar claim will be pretty small compared to injury or total loss claims on most classic cars. A cracked Ferrari windshield probably costs that much. You made the right move. Sounds like it's on the way back. I sure would like to see that car in person one day.

[76-914]

Any updates, Jamie?

[pete-stevers]

I am glad you didnt lose the whole shop!!

[914nola]

Is that synergy green?

[JRust]

Yes Synergy green!

Not much of an update. It is at the shop but waiting on the insurance appraiser to come to the shop. Was hoping it would happen this week & it didn't. Kind as crews with things as I was really hoping he'd be able to tear into it this week. He really can't until they verify all the damage. There was quite a bit more than the original adjustor though. Event hough he didn't do an official appraisal. With so much custom work done with the motor conversion. He just had no clue what to put down.

Mike did find more damage. Some evaporator lines melted in the intake. Also at least one injector had the oring melt. We'll see overall when I get the insurance go ahead. I'll need to have the firewall repainted as well as some of the rear trunk. I'm also looking into some improvements I can have done with this work. Considering adding a turbo (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[Sleepin]

Wow Jamie! This was the first I had heard about this! Sorry to hear about it, but I am really glad it was not any worse (or a lot worse)!

Hope you can get it up and going by RRC! I was looking forward to seeing you and the car. A turbo would be a nice addition though! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[speed metal army]

I use one of these in every old vehicle I own. Paranoid? Yep, you bet. Jamies car is proof crazy crap can happen even while not running!
Good to hear you found someone you feel comfortable with working on your car! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)
I wouldn't hand that job over to just anyone either.

[914nola]

[quote name='JRust' date='Aug 23 2014, 02:27 PM' post='2077284']
Yes Synergy green!

I love it

[ruby914]

Wow, Jamie (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
I just found out about this.

I am hoping the damage is limited but the way wires fuze together and short the next one, it's hard to be optimistic. Sorry.
I think, you are lucky it was an Outfront harness and not a Suby harness. You don't want to know the things you would learn rewiring a Suby harness.
Mark brought up a good point. I see you are missing some sheet metal edge trim. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) Do you have any before photos? We may something that stands out.
Good luck with the fix.

[Kraftwerk]

Put two smoke alarms in your garage one hardwired and one battery operated.. good luck with the fix. Love that color!

[JRust]

Well the damn insurance adjustor's screwed me some. Car sat at the shop for 2 weeks waiting for them to come look at it. I had a shot of getting it back in Time for Red Rocks. It was a slim chance but they screwed that for sure. They finally came today so 2 weeks that could shave been getting work done is down the drain. Mike from Suby tech is pulling the drivetrain tomorrow. He heads out to Japan for 3 weeks first of next week. So my car will be off getting the firewall & rear trunk repainted while he is gone. Also Outfront will be working on a new wiring harness & getting the new ECU ready.

When he get's back I hope to have all the parts to have it back together. I'm still looking into options for adding a turbo. Odds are it will have to wait. The new ECU will be setup to add it along with the a/c. I'll be a happy guy eventually. It sucks having it gone so long though. I sure miss driving my 914 in this beautiful weather (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[rick 918-S]

Sorry I haven't really posted for you but I was in training the last three weeks with very little time.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but have the shop narrow down the electrical issue to one part. The if the appraiser excludes the electrical it can be the one part of the electrical and not the entire electrical system. This will give you a broader coverage. Hope my post isn't too late.

Oh, and if the fire dept will check the car out at the shop maybe they shop owner and the fire dept investigator can work together the pin point the issue. That way the fire report will reflect the single item making it easier for the claim rep to afford a broader coverage. It's all in the documentation. When they pin point the part have them save it for the adjuster. They always want to subrogate if it's possible.

Usual disclaimer about not being an attorney but staying in some hotel someplace, yada yada yada... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[JRust]

I appreciate the input as always. They believe it started at the battery. Not sure which wire leading to the battery but it really looks to have started there & spread back. My insurance lady did say I was covered for everything but the part that started it. Not sure if it will fall on a wire or the battery itself. I still haven't heard from the adjustor/claim guy. I did hear from Mike who told me he came by yesterday. Mike knew everything about it & I feel good everything was directed in a way to help things go smoothly. We will see how smoothly it all goes now. I've asked him to take pictures of every step so I have a good documentation of the rebuild