The Beast is Dead (1 Viewer)

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moneyman72653

Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
18
Location
Arkansas
The beast is dead. Engine compartment caught on fire (ironically, in the pouring rain). The whole engine compartment is burned up except for the motor. I don't know what to do with it now. I don't have the time to rebuild. Any suggestions on the best way to get rid of it. The rest of the vehicle was in pretty good shape.

IMG_20200824_131201.jpg
 
Based on the location of the fire I'd say it was battery related, perhaps something shorted across the terminals.

Do you have comprehensive insurance? If so check and see if they will cover the engine fire.

Sorry to hear about the cruiser :(
 
jonheld said:
What caused the fire?
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Not sure as the whole compartment is destroyed. Fairly knew battery. I suspect on that wet morning it sparked. I had over 240,000 miles on it so there was some oil and gas residue sitting around. It happened just driving down a road
 
ZackR said:
Based on the location of the fire I'd say it was battery related, perhaps something shorted across the terminals.

Do you have comprehensive insurance? If so check and see if they will cover the engine fire.

Sorry to hear about the cruiser :(
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It is very sad. I and my daughter loved that vehicle. The only thing the insurance covered was the wrecker to pick it up.
 
Bludozer said:
Damn bummer. Also curious to hear what happened. Very strange.
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My daughter was actually driving it at the time. Scared her pretty good. She was driving home from a birthday party (she is only 17 and I gave this to her as her first vehicle) when it started smoking then caught on fire. Could not get the hood open which is why you see the hood destroyed. Fire department had to cut it open.
 
I just don't know what to do with it now. I know alot of people that have lx450's need parts and this one has a bunch of good parts on it.
 
ZackR said:
Based on the location of the fire I'd say it was battery related, perhaps something shorted across the terminals.

Do you have comprehensive insurance? If so check and see if they will cover the engine fire.

Sorry to hear about the cruiser :(
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Of the handful I've heard about, all were battery/terminal related...probably a good guess. Sucks man.
 
@slow95z
may be interested in the remains or if you decide you want to rebuild.

Also @arcteryx
 
What part of Arkansas are you in? Post it up in the classified. I bet someone give you something for it. Lot of usable parts still.
 
Have a mechanic or another Cruiser head take a look at it before you declare the beast dead. I like most people on this forum would love to get some OEM bits off the Cruiser but I empathize with your daughter's first vehicle. No doubt it will be a lot of work and not cheap but it also might not be as bad as you think.
 
lumbee1 said:
Have a mechanic or another Cruiser head take a look at it before you declare the beast dead. I like most people on this forum would love to get some OEM bits off the Cruiser but I empathize with your daughter's first vehicle. No doubt it will be a lot of work and not cheap but it also might not be as bad as you think.
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That's s LOT of work. It will require an entire front clip with EVERYTHING under the hood, a windshield, and possibly wiring harnesses under the dash.

@slow95z rebuilt one that had an engine fire as well and he said it was an incredible amount of work, as they also had to pull the entire dash out to replace all plastic parts affected by this. Think heater core, A/C evaporator, dash pad, defroster vents, intake air box. Probably include front axle wiring harnesses (if any) and all brake hoses and lines. Complete power steering system. Transmission lines. Body mounts.

The FD sure did a number on the hood and fenders to get to it.
 
dude, N E V E R A G A I N will i fix one that caught fire. was a huge pain. hundreds and hundreds of hours....

if you want to sell it let me know, i would love to have it. a buddy needs body parts in that color for his truck and i need a set of axles for one i picked up a few weeks back. got cash and head that way whenever. what part of the state are you in?
 
moneyman72653 said:
Not sure as the whole compartment is destroyed. Fairly knew battery. I suspect on that wet morning it sparked. I had over 240,000 miles on it so there was some oil and gas residue sitting around. It happened just driving down a road
Click to expand...

How old is the fairly new battery? If that were my rig I would figure out exactly what caused the fire before I did anything. Maybe consider contacting a local fire investigator from a fire dept. If a shop recently installed a new battery and made a mistake causing the fire than you should be compensated. Repair shops have insurance for just this reason. If a legit shop did something to cause that fire than you are owed some $$$$$.

I had discount tire install new wheels on my old rig and they used the wrong lug nuts. When my wheel came off and caused some damage they didn't hesitate to give me a check for $3,000 to repair the fender and knuckle. If I had hired an attorney I am sure I could have got much more but that didn't seem honest. They admitted their mistake and made it right. No more no less.

You very well could be in a similar situation and I think you should verify the cause of the fire before anything else.

Good luck and I am glad your daughter is safe. Hopefully she hasn't been scared away from cruisers permanently.
 
I'm in state if you want to PM me I will be happy to look at it. I rebuilt a 450 SL after an engine fire once. FD did a number on it for sure.
 
I bought someone else's car-b-que for parts, wouldn't even consider fixing it. However, find yourself a deal on another 80 that needs a motor or other major stuff and you've got a good start to getting back in the saddle.
 
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