# Bear's a freaking idiot...



## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Talk about hitting bottom...

There's another TMCCC race tomorrow, and my LM-2 arrived so I was really keen to see if I could fix my fuel delivery problem.

Sorry.. it's just not in me right now to write some long story.

Took it out, hammered it, problem still existed - on the way home I smelled gas.
A voice told me I should pull over and shut it off, try to spot the leak, but noooo....
I figured I could get it home.
3 blocks from the house the fire started.
Coasted up in front of the house, ran inside and grabbed a fire extinguisher and got it out, but looks like most everything on top of the motor is cooked.


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

Damn....that sucks Bear, and we were just talking about the extinguisher, hope its just cosmetic, i would get a hold of the insurance company. I can feel your pain, took the Tempest out for a thrashing Thursday and i think the torque finally caught up to the TH350 and i lost 3rd gear after a little foot in the hole run. Thinking i may have toasted the torque converter, know next to nothing about transmissions.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Sounds to me like your direct clutch gave up. If it'll move in any gear it's not the converter.

I just went out and surveyed the damage a little..
Wiper motor, probably the HEI, engine harness, ignition relay, everything center firewall is all crispy. Carb is black, vacuum pull-off diaphragm is now a puddle baked onto the intake manifold. Melted all the foam in the ram air system. Bubbled the surface of the a/c firewall plate - if I replace that then I've got to open up the system and recharge it because the hoses have to be disconnected.
Shifter is all bound up - it might have cooked the inside of the steering column I guess and seized up the back drive linkage.

And I just found some bubbles in the paint on the hood.

I'll call Hagerty I guess and talk to them and find out what options I have. I'm a little anxious about that though, what if they do like other insurance companies do and tend to cancel you if you file a claim?


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Oh man, so sorry to hear this. Thank goodness you were close to home and able to get the fire out before it cooked the whole car. I carry a fire extinguisher in every car I own. I learned the HARD way when i lost my 65 Plymouth Satelite to a fire 4 months after completing a resto mod on it top to bottom. That was a $15K lesson....in 1992 . Watched it burn to the ground and had no insurance and had to pay to get the burnt out hulk towed home.

Fire is a real bitch and scary as hell. I'm sure glad you are OK and the Beast will rise from the ashes soon I'm sure. :cheers


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

i hear Haggerty is good, Classics is what they do. i would go out and get shop price insurance estimates even though i am sure you will be doing it yourself. I do a lot of construction insurance work and the prices are drastically different than direct retail. They use a program similar to exactimate for the estimate. first check your coverage and see what any disclaimers are, as to where when and how the claimed incident happened.


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## FlambeauHO (Nov 24, 2011)

Damn, sorry to hear that bear :thumbdown:


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## gjones (Oct 8, 2012)

*Aargh!*

SO SAD to hear, Bear! Glad you're ok. Didn't we just talk about this a couple of weeks back when I had my little episode? Mine has been dismantled for a new fan installation, but will not be run until I get an extinguisher (one specifically for chemicals and GASOLINE). Let this be a lesson for ALL of us! Keep the chin up.


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## Jeff's Classics (Feb 24, 2010)

Hey Bear, sorry to hear about that, but glad it wasn't worse. I've seen/heard of cars burning to the ground from small fires getting out of control.
I have had two claims with Hagerty over about a 10 year period. First one the front wheel came off my '74 Corvette (long story) and I think it was about $2500 to fix. They sent a check the same day I sent them the estimate and pictures and never even sent an adjuster. The second one my same Corvette slipped off a jack. This cost about $5K to fix IIRC because a lot of painting had to be done to blend it in (door, hood surround, etc). My rates haven't increased significantly and they definitely haven't cancelled me. I have another friend who has made two pretty big claims with Hagerty, has been with them a few years less than me, and also hasn't been cancelled. I would recommend you get a thorough estimate to get *everything* fixed and file the claim.
Good luck! The worst part (besides all the extra work) is having your toy out of service for a while.
Jeff


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## Joe'sToy (Mar 9, 2012)

So sorry to hear this, I love your beast! I'm sure Haggerty will cover the repairs.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Yes, we did just talk about extinguishers and I'd gotten as far as researching which one I wanted to buy, but hadn't done it yet. The heck of it is, I've got a few extra dry powder ones around here so I could have easily been carrying one in the mean time, but no - I had to hold out for the fancy one that wasn't corrosive. What else would you expect from a moron who's stupid enough to keep driving a car that's leaking fuel? :shutme

I've still got no idea where the leak was and probably won't find it now. The fire appears to have been mostly from the carb backwards.
I've been up since 4am and I'm itching to get out there and start taking things apart to size it all up, but trying to wait until Hagerty opens (noon eastern today) so I can talk to someone first.

(just call me Smokey) Bear


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

O man bear that sux....... so sorry to hear this.....


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## leeklm (Mar 11, 2012)

Sorry to hear the bad news bear, but keep your spirits up, just knowing it could have been a lot worse! After all the sweat equity we put in these cars, I hate to even think of incidents like these, fender-benders, etc..


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Bear!!!! That SUX bro....hope it didn't ruin the paint job......my Baumann Opti shift computer failed 3 days ago...for no apparent reason. I HATE, and DREAD ELECTRONIC stuff. Eric:willy:


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## Piedog (Feb 14, 2013)

*Ouch*

Sorry to hear that Bear. My takeaway is to learn from your experience as I too was thinking about extinguishers. Now I'll act! Thanks for sharing. Good luck with the repairs.


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## bondobill (Oct 24, 2011)

Bear
That's the pits....sorry man 
I have never dealt with Haggerty in my shop, but I have heard they are pretty good to deal with
Good Luck

Bill


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## 68greengoat (Sep 15, 2005)

Like Alky said, good thing you were close to home, otherwise, it would have ended up a lot worse. So I guess that's the bright side. Still bites that it happened. Sounds like you shouldn't have any issues with Hagerty. Another plus....


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## gotyorgoat (Jun 19, 2011)

Sorry to hear that Bear. I am sure that you will get 'er put back together soon! Just don't let it get tied up in the paint shop all season.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Bear, might want to consider something like this -

Fire Fight Supplemental Halon Fire Suppression Systems


Nice because you can hide the bottle and just push a button. Bad thing is you can't direct it at a fire if its not where your nozzles are. I really need something like this because Methanol has no color when it is burning, you just see the heat waves. Another reason I don't run a hood lol. When my first hotrod caught fire it had a two piece fibreglass front clip and the hood was held on with dzus fastners. By the time i got it off it was too late and the car was fully involved. That was a baaaad day .


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## SlamminGears65Goat (Apr 29, 2012)

Bear,
that's a heart breaker, I'm really sorry to hear about it.
I'm glad you're ok, and that's #1. We all know you will have her
back and badder than ever in no time.


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## Griff (Nov 13, 2011)

That's truly a bummer. I am off to Costco to buy an extinguisher.


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## skurfan (Sep 19, 2012)

Bear...so sorry to hear about your ordeal. A couple years ago, my garage spring broke and damaged the paint on all sections of my '55 Safari. The damages were $3600. I filed a claim with Haggerty and no questions asked, they cut a check for the full amount. My rates never went up, and no threat of cancellation. It helped my sick feeling about my damage go away. File. Claim and although it won't take the pain away, at least it will help with the financial pain and give you some peace of mind. Good luck.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Bear, sorry about the bad news. Thank God you are okay and the car didn't burn down. You'll get it straightened out just fine, and I KNOW that this won't happen again. Back in the '70's, when I was just starting out in GTO's, a friend had a gas fire on his '69 Judge and it burned to the ground on the side of the road. It could have been much worse for you---I'm glad as heck it wasn't. Stiff upper lip.........


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## 67GTO4SPD (Oct 4, 2012)

Sorry to hear about this, Bear. I watched a friend's '68 Camaro burn to ground about 18 years ago. In the midst of it burning my friend and I both got 1st and 2nd degree burns to our hands trying to get it put out (with no extinquisher, of course). After we realized we couldn't get it out, we were just standing there helpless, one of the starter wires grounded out and it started trying to crank, pumping even more fuel on it the fire with every pulse the fuel pump. When the FD and police got there, they put the hose under the hood to get it out, then put they put it in the interior, ruining everything inside the car that wasn't ruined by the fire, and sprayed it all the back to the trunk. It was heartbreaking seeing such a nice car that we had so much work in get destroyed right in front of your eyes. 

What you went through surely sucked, but my buddy Duwayne (and me) would have loved to had that be the extent of his damage. It certainly could have been worse.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I'm realizing it's not as bad as it could have been. I'm still all over the map with my thoughts and feelings, but all things considered - at least it's fixable. After talking with Hagerty yesterday I'm feeling better about that aspect of it.

Time to focus - the Power Tour starts June 1.

Bear


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

That sux Bear! 
I carry one too under the drivers seat and actually saved a buddfies `70 blown challenger with it. Noticed he wasn't behind me any more so went around the block to find him parked at the curb and sitting on the ground. I pulled up and he's like my tranny`s junk. I was like your cars on fire!! He just laughed ands was like yeah right, then he saw the flames and started trippin. I was able to put the fire out before it got to his fiberglass front end.


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## kilkm68 (May 5, 2011)

That's terrible but the important thing is you didn't get hurt. Everything can be replaced. Last week after rebuilding the carb I started the motor and had gas spraying all over the distributor from a fuel line I forgot to tighten. scared me to death. I ran right to the hardware store and bought a fire extinguisher. After your episode the car will never leave the garage without one. I can tell how much you love your car, I know you'll have it back on the road and I'll bet better than ever. Hope the insurance company treats you right and keep your chin up. Pontiac guys are tough! :cheers


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## 68GTO4004Spd (Jun 19, 2008)

If no one else is going to say it I will. I like bunnies. I garuntee that will be the last time you wont have an extinguisher in that car. You needed more painting practice anyway, right? Hope you can match the color, although I don't know if that is a problem with black.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

The appraiser came out today and looked it over, so now I've got "permission" to start pulling it apart to see where I'm at.

I think I'll start with the carb and try to find an explanation for what happened.

So far, so good.

Bear


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## FlambeauHO (Nov 24, 2011)

Glad you're making headway.


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