Well my 92 TA caught fire by way of the engine compartment. Appears as tho it started by the battery. Electrical problem of sorts. Anyway insurance company totaled it out and I'm not sure what to do with it. From the doors back to the rear is in perfect condition. The engine bay of course would have to be completely gutted, as well as the dash. I really don't want to piece it apart, but I don't really have time to deal with restoring it again for the second time. So any ideas, opinions on what to do with this car, besides just sending it to the junk yard to be destroyed???? thanks

 

you pretty much listed the options. Part it out, sell it as is, scrap it, or park it out back and let it slowly rot into the ground, or fix it.

 

Personally I would try repairing it if I were you. I know it would be stressful and expensive but for me it would be worth it because I really love my car way too much to let it sink into the ground or watch it get torn apart. Want to know how serious I am, I am almost in tears reading what you said and trying to persuade you to not let that nice car get torn apart or rot.

 

how bad is the damage.....and as painful as it may be...pics?

 

buy it back and use the insurance money to fix then spend all the extra money on mods

 

you could buy it back, use the money to buy another one and keep it as parts since most of the motor and all the other stuff should still be fine, just the wiring it gone.

 

A big part of you decision will be based on whether or not the unibody construction in the engine bay was damaged/warped/melted/etc. If it were mine, and depending on the size of the insurance check and the severity of the fire damage, I'd buy it back and do it over. Sounds like you're in a tough spot.

 

I wouldn't trust the unibody for strength if the fire was bad enough to melt the dashboard as well. Buy it back and either rebuilt a new car with the parts or part it out, you'll make some good coin doing that.

 

See what they'll charge you to keep it and see what your local yard will pay you to pick it up (after you've gotten anything worth keeping from it). Your options and cost for a replacement third gen are sooo much better when you've got a good interior and other parts to swap in.

 

Also painting over metal that has been burnt usually causes problems. Depends on how bad and how hot it got.

 

I hope the damage isnt irreversable and you will be able to resserect her. I have been there before engine fires are no fun. I watched my Stepdads Chrysler LHS burn into pretty much nothing. The fire was so hot the rims started melting, but that is another story. I was lucky with my car; the fire was small and nothing was seriously damaged. Ive never ran so far/fast in my life to get water to put it out! Luckily it happend on the freeway exit and there was a Winco about a half mile away. She sat for a couple days until I was able to fix her and drive home.

 

I would keep it and fix it.

Please Let this be a lesson learned for all of us.

ALWAYS carry a fire extinguisher in your car!

 

I say buy it back and get another one and use that motor in ur sig and make another beast

 

Bad news to hear that!

If you're patient & don't want a full restore, maybe do a street machine??

 

always tough when these things happen

re: restoring it - I'd thoroughly inspect the damage. I understand that metal is compromised when subjected to extreme heat - causing metal fatigue. This could of course have serious consequences.

Unless you can get this checked out, and still safe to go about changing all the suspension metal items (a-arms, k-member etc.) it'd probably be safer/ economically logical to either part her out or just scrap her.

good luck either way

 

i would say get another 3rd gen and use what you can from yours i would agree with ttop350 and will be gettin a fire extingisher before my car is back on the road in spring

 

if the metal in the eng bay is ok i would rip out the old wireing, find another car the same year and get the eng bay harness from it. the eng bay harness unbolts at the block on the firewall so this is a plug and play fix. i would meter the replacement harness first.

i would first find out what caused it so you can avoid this issue from happenig again.