Has anybody fully restored a burned car? What are your thoughts on getting a car that was in a car fire or forest fire? Metal warpage? I Got A Car that I'm looking at that had a engine fire and the interior is burnt up too, and around where I live I passed by this lot but all the cars have been in a forest fire they all look all orange now I know guys have restored them before I just want to know your thoughts on them I know... Hot deal. Smoking price.
They're all junk. You would need to replace everything but the VIN. The only car that would be a potential candidate would be a 1 of 1 Hemi Cuda convertible. Aside from that, its a lost cause.
Yeh, you would need to jack up the Vin, roll out the old shell, and roll in a new one, then lower the Vin back down. Not gonna happen.
I had a 71 super beetle that had an engine fire and had the back window taken out by the firemen with an axe. I restored the car and the interior and drove it for a year then sold it. Never was a problem and was a fun project too.
Depends on how bad the fire was. Forrest/brush fire or one totally engulfed (Car-b-Q) in flames, def. not. @TimR on here did a '72 GS convertible that had an interior fire. Came out beautiful. Definitely some extra work. Entire resto is documented on line. Msg. me and I can send a link.
^^^ Yep on the BBR. If it looks like it made re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, it's toast. Extreme fire damage/heat will "burn off" a lot of the carbon, the molded lines and forming is relaxed and if you can get the metal straight, you will almost always have paint letting go.
Years ago we had a neighbor who’s car was struck by lightning. It scorched to roof and blew some fuses, but mechanically it was fine (as good as a Vega could be anyway) but paint would never stick to the roof afterward. Patrick
I worked on a fire damaged truck before. The truck was being pulled behind a camper and the camper caught on fire. Truck was bought at auction and the guy who bought it dropped it off to get the front clip redone. It needed a new hood/ bumper/ grill/ and a new wire harness. Changing out the wire harness and everything else, I smelled like smoke for the next few days working on that thing.
If you get a chance, visit the Heritage Plantation auto museum in Sandwich, MA. It's a small but outstanding collection of mostly brass-era cars. The first car that they got was (and is) a Crane-Simplex. About 1909-11 as I recall. I have a soft spot in my heart for it, because I have ridden in it when it's then-owner, the late Frank Gardner, owned it. The connection to this thread is that I also - on a different date - watched it burn. After the fire, it underwent a multi-year total restoration. Money was not an issue, and unless the museum didn't mention it (they do), you would never know. I guess that it's in the same category as a 1 of 1 Hemi-Cuda convertible. BTW - with one exception, all of the Heritage Plantation cars run.
Ronnie.... you never said what kind of car it is! Fred put it well when he said 'keep the vin tag' and replace everything else'! If it's bad, you need a parts car unless it's a catalog car where you can buy every part from a catalog (Camaro, Mustang, Mopar).
New link if anyone is interested as old ISP shut down webhosting. One of the things my bodyman and I discussed was the fact a convertible interior fire heat goes right out the top, we tested windshield frame and top of dash and quarters for hardness too as well. Entire top frame was replaced due to heat damage, release handles melted etc. Crazy. The car was complete otherwise and while a lot of work it turned out pretty nice and I'm still loving it to this day. The fact it was flame orange was just too much irony for me and I bought it You also need to know me, I like a good challenge, and it was. However a car burned up in a garage fire or something like that to me is beyond salvage as mentioned above everything will have been overheated. As a side story, all the other cars sitting there (couple irocs, some early pickups, mustang, etc) where I purchased it from (private residence) were taken away and scrapped 6 months after I bought the car when the new owners moved in. I consider this one "saved". http://fixjet.ca/again.html
I was looking at a 62/3 Cadillac coupe deville with burn areas around the fender and a burnt interior
