There's been a casualty.

[IowaEagle]

WOW!  Rebuilding shall happen.  Get that list figured out and I know it will be a list that will be added to, so please update as needed.

[Sævar Örn]

Wow that really sucks, any idea as to what caused it? oil leak on exhaust manifold???

some fumes must have been under the hood since you heard an explosion I guess

[83Eagle!]

Wow that is crazy.  I can't believe it happened.  I really like your Dad's attitude though.  And the fire could have been a lot worse really.  I wonder what caused it?

[shaggimo]

  That sucks! As mentioned though it could have been much worse, at least you caught it when you did so it wasn't a total loss.

[Pat]

Better than I expected after reading. My first thought was somehow the gas tank had gotten hot & blew up when I read "& then it blew up". As everyone has said, that's savable. Lot of hard work & time, but savable. Good luck on the rebuild & listen to your dad. He's got the right attitude. He didn't even question, just said "We can do this".

[Mechanic]

Wow..... What could of happened?? there's not much that can just EXPLODE under a hood. there is the gas in the carb, the battery, and the fuel lines. but all those are in places so that they don't catch fire and explode. boggles the mind and absolutely HORENDOUS that it happened to such a nice car! ditto on the parts, despite the distance.

[El Matador]

Very sorry to hear this, but the silver lining is that you caught it early enough.  It doesn't take long for a car fire to go from minor damage to total loss.  My worst nightmare (other than something happening to my family of course) is one or more of my cars going up in flames.

Since this is a US Eagle it will have a catalytic converter, and we know how hot those get.  I wouldn't be surprised if it somehow played a role in this, although the pictures show the fire seemed to be at the top of the engine.  I think the first order of business is to do some CSI style forensic investigation to determine the root cause, so that this doesn't repeat itself.

I'm sure your list of parts is going to evolve once the burnt and melted stuff starts being taken off.  I'll provide whatever I can.

Oh, and I assume you're not going to bother getting insurance involved with this... that would probably be more of a headache than anything else.

[priya]

If you can get the car, or at least as much sheet metal as  you can inside a garage right away.  Burned metal rusts very fast and badly if it gets wet.  If not, consider spraying the burned areas with oil although that is a much less desirable option as any oil on the metal when it comes time to paint will ruin the paint job - it must be thoroughly, thoroughly cleaned off prior to starting paint prep.

[alaskadad]

Man, that is a bummer! be glad it was an older mostly metal car, My 2005 neon went up in smoke due to a pinhole in the fuel line spraying gas on the exhaust and that son of a gun burnt so fast it was amazing

About a minute from ignition we had used up all the extinguishers at work but couldn't get the plastic to stop burning.


Fire department was just around the corner and conveniently training so it it only took 3 minutes to respond.


Here you have it; after about 4 minutes of being on fire it was way gone.

[IowaEagle]

I am thinking a leaking fuel line into the carb.

[JSK]

Awwwwwwww how tragic!!! Best of luck to you with the rebuild, and I'll be monitoring as well to see if I can help with any parts.

[Mavericke]

I am thinking a leaking fuel line into the carb.

That's what caused the fire on the Dodge

[thereverendbill]

About a minute from ignition we had used up all the extinguishers at work but couldn't get the plastic to stop burning.

lol the front plate says it all "parts", sorry to laugh alaskadad but the irony is just too funny

[DAVE]

i need some opinions first i suspect there was some sort of gas leak which turned to vapor and then finally at ignition there were enough vapors to cause an explosion, now the opinions that i need are what do you think might be bad and what might be good I'm thinking that most of the engine components are toast, the carburetor is bad and i am thinking that the power steering pump,alternator, and maybe the starter are bad, the fuel pump is gone was new, probably the ac compressor there are no brakes so the master cylinder, new and probably the vacuum diaphragm, i hope the radiator is good some paint burned off of it, also new, wiper motor, all the wiring is gone with all the relays,battery is gone starter solenoid also. so what do you think might be good and what else might need replaced?

[priya]

You didn't say what year your Eagle was, but if you need it my husband can get wiring diagrams for 83-88 and I think 81 and possibly a general eagle/concord/other wiring diagram for 82.