Engine fire brings 84im back home

Some of you old timers may remember me (84im) from over three years ago. I joined this forum in 2000, when I purchased my 1984 Intermeccanica, and stopped postings (for the most part) when I sold my IM in the Spring of 2004. As fate would have it, the nice lady I sold the car to phoned me, in late August, to tell me that the engine had overheated and caught on fire. She asked if I was interested in buying the car back as a salvage. I thought about it for all of two seconds and said, "Yes!"
So, next week I'll rent a trailer and travel over to Vancouver Island to pick up my old 1984 IM. I'm not sure what I'll do with her-part her out or repair her (if possible). The damage is extensive, so I'll probably let her sit for a time, while I contemplate her future.
I'll post more photos when I get her back home.

Sure we remember you Ron!(You can't get off that easy) Sorry to see you reunited under such circumstances. It always makes me wonder what really sparks these off when I see such photos. Leave us know how you make out.

P.S. This thread won't be complete until your other brother Ron chimes in! :)

~WB

Going to need to clip that one. Does Henry still have the molds for the older cars - rear? Would be a shame to write one off, such lovely cars...

angela

is that in port alberni? I'm on the island and haven't seen that one.

We have faith. You can save the old girl.

I would get the clip from Henry. But a kit is a kit I/d bet some of the other makers clips could be made to fit it with out much fuss.

I aways wanted to say this..

That shit'l buff out

..........."That shit'l buff out", Priceless Mike :)

What about that Rusty Tubs outfit on the Samba. They have the molds, maybe you could get a rear end there also. Although Henry is way closer.

I grafted a fender from Henry onto my CMC kit. It fit very well "right out of the box". Henry was great to work with and helped out alot, including the shipping to my door.

I'll decide what to do with her once I get her home and assess the damage. I plan to give Henry a call in the near future.
I'm surprised the engine caught on fire. When I owned the car I installed an external fuel pump near the gas tank and used braided steel fuel lines.
Ron

Whow Ron, haven't heard from you in a long time. Welcome back!
-=theron

Thanks Theron.
Even though I love my V8 Miata, I have truly missed my Intermeccanica. My monster is MUCH faster than my old IM, and it would easily pull away on any windy road, but my IM gave me something my monster Miata will never be able to. I'm not sure how to put it into words, but I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about....it's all about 'style'.
My wife has hinted that she wouldn't mind if the Miata was turned into a track car (it's half way there already), and the IM rebuilt for cruising (with her).
Sounds good to me!

Hey Ron. It's good to see you posting again!

For those that weren't around then, after Ron's shaft fell off he kind of disappeared. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't been halfway done the strip at the time. I thought for a while there mom was going to finally like me best.........

By the way Ron, your car looks all warm and fuzzy. (I know, bad joke. But I couldn't resist). Welcome back to the 356 fold.

In all my 66 years, I have only seen three vehicle fires. Two were VWs, and one was a vintage Harley Davidson. I guess air cooling does have it's issues.

A while back I owned a porsche powered (2.7) 1970 VW single cab pickup. One day, while driving on the freeway, the return fuel line broke. It sprayed fuel all over the hot engine. It was so bad I could smell the fuel from the cab, while traveling at 65 mph (remember, in a single cab the engine is waayy back there). Amazingly, the engine did not catch on fire.

My old 84 IM is finally back home. The engine is in better shape than I thought. My fiberglass 911 shroud didn't even melt!
The car looks a bit hairy from the rear.....burned fiberglass STINKS!.

Ron, reminds me of one of those "chia" toys, with little green (grey?) grass growing out of it. Ask for lots of air fresheners for Christmas. Be sure to wear gloves when handling the burned glass, that is really bad for dermatology. Enjoy the trip back.

I hope you can get that rear clip, decklid and bumper; I know that Rusty Tubs in Georgia sells fiberglass parts. Maybe one of the manufacturers (IM, Vintage, Beck) will sell them to you. I'm thinking that fixing it won't be as bad as it looks; fiberglass is very workable. Good luck and let us know how it's going!

Bring her back to life dude! By the looks of your latest pic, it looks like the fire was centered around the passenger side carb.
Geez those pics give me the heebeegeebees.

~WB

Anybody see that series of posts on "356 talk" about carb fires with Webers and K&N air filters?

I agree Bill; it looks like the fire originated around the passenger carb. When I picked the car up from the salvage yard I noticed the ignition switch was still in the 'on' position. I bet when the owner pulled over to the side of the road (because the car was overheating) it caught fire and she got out of the car as quickly as possible. In her haste, she forgot to turn off the ignition, and the electric fuel pump continue to pump fuel to the carbs. The electric fuel pump is located next to the gas tank, and I'm sure it would have happily pumped fuel to the fire until the car burned to the ground, or the gas tank ran dry.
Unfortunately, the car is classified as 'parts only'. I'm hoping it can be rebuilt and reclassified for the road.
The car sat in a salvage yard for almost three months-out in the open, with the top in shreds. The interior is SOAKED!

Ron,

Here's your big chance to make a mid engined small block V8 speedster! It has to be a GERMAN V8, of course.

Tomm

There's bound to be a wrecked AMG somewhere, with a good engine in it.

When my alternator shorted out internally (determined after the fact), it sure scared the bejezus out of me. Melted the vinyl right off that heavy red wire going from the Alt to Starter solinoid - battery direct to ground. When I turned on the key - instant smoke - lots of smoke. Good news was only damage besides the wire was a small scar on the engine cooling shroud and a whole garage full of smoke. I keep thinking - what would have happened if I had left that key on for another 2 or 3 seconds? Shivvverrrrr!

If any of you don't carry a good sized fire extinguisher in your replica, look at my photos again, then go out and buy one.
As for putting another type of motor in the IM....I've already got a V8 powered Miata, which keeps me very busy. It also likes to overheat in hot weather.

Fire extinguishers are great to have. The time it takes to stop the car , get the extinguishers, pop the rear engine cover, prop the cover up and try to put out a fuel fire ... it's a bit to late. When you open the hood the fuel fire get more oxygen and really starts blazing. To put out a fuel fire you need a minimum 15# dry powder extinguisher. If you can snuff the fire out in the closed compartment you eliminate the oxygen. That's why I went the extra cost installing a remote fire surpression system. If a fire starts I can put the remote cable lever and 3 compartment are extingushed. The engine compartment, under the dash , and the the front hood compartment. You spend $15K to who knows what $$ amount for a Speedster... for $450 it's worth the added insurance. Most of my hot rodding friends are starting to install these systems in their big dollar cars.

The burned up Speedster is not my car

Hi, Ron0

I don't frequent here as much as I used to, but like you, I still have a soft spot for an old IM.

No idea what you will do with that one?

Just a brief note about the "dry chemical" type of fire extinguisher. It is no doubt very effective and the best value for the money, but I learned way back that the chemical itself will, over time, corrode copper if any moisture is present. In my case, we had to completely re-plumb an industrial furnace that had well over a mile of copper cooling lines. In your speedster, think electrical harness. Halon is expensive, but has no residual effect.

The EPA has some recent issues regarding Halon. Who cares about the copper and the wires in your Speedster when a fire starts. Save yourself then the car. The residues can be washed away later.

HEY -- I have the answer to the rear clip!
I thought I had remembered the Emory family doing something cool to the back of one of their projects, and think I found it.
They sawed the headlight arches off of a stock 356, and then rounded the entire front end -- and grafted it onto the back. Whammo; consistent lines, sweet curves and some tail lights where they "should" be.
How hard can it be? It's only fiberglass, and the mounting height of the front of a Speedster is about the same as the back. ... You're about to have to do some major surgery anyway:

http://www.356registry.org/Articles/Emory/cool.html

Joe, your fire suppression system looks great.
Robert, I haven't heard from you in a long time. I hope everything is fine with you. Have you retired yet? I've got this school year, and ONE MORE!
I emailed Henry, and he said the car is repairable.
But do I need four vehicles?
1. 2000 Ford Ranger super cab 4x4 (my winter driver)
2. 2006 MINI Cooper S (my wife's car....it stays)
3. 1990 'monster' Miata (I love this car, but.....)
4. 1984 Intermeccanica (do I fix it up and sell it, or keep it?)
I have a real soft spot for the IM. It's the only car I've really regretted selling, and now she's back....decisions, decisions.
Check out the photo below....I cut the rear clip off today....what a terrible job!

Ron-

The question wasn't which one you should dump. The question was "do I need 4 vehicles?". The answer is: of course not. You probably don't "need" 95% of what you've got.

But.... If you can, I'd keep 'em all.

......And that should settle it......Ron O is NOT my identical twin. I'm way far away from being able to retire in two years. Both he and cousin Bob are WAY old. In fact, I'm pretty sure we had different mothers...or was it different fathers?

"......And that should settle it......Ron O is NOT my identical twin. I'm way far away from being able to retire in two years. Both he and cousin Bob are WAY old. In fact, I'm pretty sure we had different mothers...or was it different fathers?"

Now I remember what I miss about this site.

BTW, I can retire in four years, but that's when I turn thirty.

I retired in 2001.

But, then again.....

I started working when I was six...

I would recomend that you purchase a complete rear clip and split it midway in the rocker under the door. This allows you to do two things. It allows you to remove and turn the rear upside down to do inner panel glassing as well as only ending up with two 6" seams to glass,as well as having the ability to cleko or rivet the two halves together and adjust door gaps etc. Mine was alot worse than yours and it worked out great...Gary

Dude that shit'l buff out....


:)

Ron, Here are some pics of what mine looked like, and another of where I split the car. As you can see the glassing required is minimal and even ends up being covered by carpet, sill rubber, and deco strip at the rocker. I should have bought the complete rear on this one, but decided to "cheap it". If henry can sell you a rear clip like the picture, yours could be paint ready in a few weekends.
Gary