Last Thursday, My shop/garage(1008 sq. ft.) Was destroyed by a fire that occured due to a short in the electrical system of one of my muscle cars. The resulting fire was noticed by a neighbor who alerted me. It was too late. The entire shop, my lathe, mill, welders, everything I have collected in my life along with three rollaway tool chests full of tools went up. I am lucky that my house is still here! I just got juice back to the house and phone lines. We are back in the house now. I have a monumental task ahead of me trying to catalog all of my tools. Anyway, if you tried to get hold of me, I am finally back to some extent. Thanks, Lee.

I am very, very sorry to hear about that. I am glad your house and family are okay.

Robert, sorry to hear about your loss.

Keith

Lee,
OMG, my heart goes out to you
jeffe

@#$%!

its like your whole manliness was choped off...

the garage is the last refuge for a man from his worries.

sorry to hear about that. will insurance cover it?

Every one of us winced when we read of your plight! Very glad your house was not harmed. Our hearts go out to you for sure.

What kind of muscle car had the problem? There is a known issue with the Ford brake sensor and one of their alternators. Did you find yet a third?

I have , no, I had a 69 Plymouth Road Runner that I had completely restored back in '90. 500 inch stroker with 560 HP/640 Torque. Was in Mopar Muscle mag in 2006. I also lost a 70 Dodge Challenger R/T that I was restoring and had just had a 7k paintjob completed. It would appear that there was a short in the starter relay area that started the wiring ablaze which quickly went through the firewall area and set the interior on fire. If you have ever seen what happens when all the plastic lights off, you cannot believe how fast and with such intensity it can burn. I had done all the restoration except the paint and it was like losing a family member. The bright side is that though my house had a lot of smoke damage , it was cleaned and deoderized in two days of a restoration crews 14 folks working 12 hr. days! A good friend is an electrical contractor and he put in complete new service(temp) into the house as all service ran through the garage to the house. You never realize how good it is to have friends until you have a disaster and they show up, on their own to help! Some of my equipment might be salvageable, the lathe and milling machine and drill press are heavily smoke damaged but not heat. After the water cannon, at the least, they will need new motors. All of my chambering reamers (50+) survived in their sealed plastic tubes in a metal cabinet, sometimes you cannot believe what survives perfectly, and 6 inches away is cinders! Well, back to work! Lee.

Lee, so sorry to hear about the fire - PM sent

Lee
A lot of plastics give off very corrosive fumes when they burn. Any thing like a firearm should be given special attention for a few months to be sure they don't start corroding due to the fumes, especially there in Houston where the humidity is high.
You may not need new motors. I have seen and had motors flooded before and after given sufficient drying time they worked ok. I am sure any bearings may have reduced life though.

a Road Runner, say it ain't so! I cam home from 'nam and bought a blood red 68 coupe. It was my life for several years. My oldest was conceived in between the buckets of that car.

Our condolences, prayers, and best wishes go out to you Lee...

Mopar, or NO car!

Rich
DRSS

Lee ..... so sorry to hear of your misfortune ..... I hope you get things back to normal quickly.

Lee,
if the mill//lathe only were hit with water, blow them out, let them dry a week, blow them out again, dry another week.. and you might let them go a third time,,,

or yank the motors and take them to A&B electric on manschester for a rebuild..

or BG in pearland.. mary and aj own that one

Thanks to all, good advice Jeff. I am keeping everything oiled down, who knows, the motors may survive! Lee.

tripple whammy argh! not the mopars!

dont get me started...i love mopars!

Jeez- I live in fEAR OF JUST SUCH AN EVENT.! I have fire sensors everywhere but as you described it can happen in an instant. I usually disconnect the battery of any car I don't drive weekly. GLAD TO HEAR IT WASN'T MORE SERIOUS.-Rob

Lee,
So sorry to hear about the fire!
If I or Peggy can be of any assistance, please let me know,
281-773-7987

Sorry to hear about your loss, glad to hear nobody was hurt.

Boomy, PM sent!

Sorry to hear of your loss, Lee! Those old muscle cars are getting scarcer by the day. That must be like loseing a family member! Hope you can salvage your lathe, and mill!

I sort of know how you feel! I lost all my trophies, and about a dozen rifles in a house, and barn fire a few years ago. All my North American mounted trophies up to that point were lost, and the barn had about 20 Elk, and Muledeer racks on the walls, that were lost as well, not to mention the house, and barn! A very disheartening feeling!

..........Again, sorry for your lose!

Some years ago I read an article about muscle cars; in particular, how many remained. It said to figure that about 10% are lost to such hazards as fire, theft, totaled in accidents every year after the year of manufacture. I don't know how many road runners or challengers were made in 1969 or 1970. You folks can do the math, but in any event, not that many still remain.

Most things can just be replaced, but losing cars and guns in such a fire as yours is truly a tragedy.

Lee
Sorry to hear about the fire. Glad it did not get the house... or the family.

Thanks Guy's!

Lee, check your PMs!

Lee, terrible to hear. The main thing is you and your family are unharmed. Toys can be replaced. If I can help in any way, let me know. Forrest A.

Boom stick "the garage is the last refuge for a man from his worries" good thought for the day!

Lee, I'm back from New Mexico. Please let me know if I can help at all. I'll be around this weekend if you are still cleaning up and sorting out. Bob

Marko. no Pm's found!??!
Bobc, thanks a bunch, I will be digging out for a while! It will just take a lot of time and cataloguing to satisfy Allstate! Really, all they need to do is buy me one of everything in the Brownells catalog and everything in the Craftsman tools catalog, plus most of the Midway catalog! Lee.

Having worked on a lot of smoke damage guns I've found that smoke is very corrosive to steel. Fireman that I know tell me it is because of the chemicals involved in the smoke of a house fire. Getting your equipment cleaned and oiled as soon as possible will help. I'm sure that the restoration crew that worked on your house can give you some tips. I only bring this up so that you won't walk into your shop in a week or two after the fact to find that your machines are rusting.

So sorry to hear this. I guess at this point its time to give thanks for the fact that no one was hurt and give a little prayer for a good, generous adjuster.

The loss of your 70 Dodge Challenger R/T is got to devastating. Had one when I was in Fort Worth and still think I hold the land records to Abilene. Sold it way to cheap in 75 when the acelerator stuck on the wife. Had racing suspension and clutch, easy to 160 m/hr.

Sorry for the loss.

Dak