Congrats on 15 minutes of fame & condolences for loss of 308. I had friends from other parts of U.S. mentioning news item on your fire. No idea on buyer for car but good luck. Bill
Welcome to F-chat. I'm sure I speak for everyone else here when I say the first thing most people would like to do is congratulate you on still being alive and well. The second thing we would all like to know is if you have figured out the actual cause of your fire yet so we can avoid the same fate. There has been a LOT of speculation, it would be nice to hear the real-deal! Last but not least, are we to take it from your post that the car is not salvageable and you are looking to get rid of parts? If so joining this site as a member and posting a list of items available in the Ferrariads.com section would be my suggestion (I might even be interested in a couple items!). If the car is salveagable and you are looking for suggestions in that direction there are a few places locally that could help. Again, welcome to F-chat and congrats on still being in one piece! John
First, glad you made it away from it okay. Stick it on ebay along with the national video clips, you'll get more for it that way. Somebody's going to step and up and buy it as a trophy...
Thank you for your concern about my well being. I of course got out ok with only a bump on the knee! Yes it was certainly my 15 minutes of fame maybe 20. I had calls all day and night from every station CNN,Inside Edition, Maury Povich, Even Oprah! To answer some of your questions about what happened. I can tell you that I was not smoking,on a cell phone, and the car was not running. I simply was filling up at the Little store in Bellevue down off of West Lake Sammamish and all of sudden Boom! I was in flames. I did not smell gas other than what I usually smell at that gas station. I am assuming it could be one of many things. I think someone had mentioned owner neglect in an early posting and your are probably right. I had bought the car from someone front yard where it had been for many years and did not run I got it running and was slowly going through as time and money was available. I had new paint, new interior seats etc.. and had done engine work as needed. I had planned on going through everything but I found that the more I drove the car the better it ran and I was able to work out problems better that way. Next time I am doing anything gas line related first! BTW the guy who I bought the car from has a GT4 rotting away in his yard as well. Not sure if I want that one or not.
Well, when I first heard about this, it brought up a very recent memory of my own. If you-all recall, I had let my sister "borrow" my 328 a few years ago and decided to go get it last summer and drive it back home (from San Diego). Here is some of the thread I thought you-all would enjoy: ---- some deleted stuff ---- ---- car is picked up a few days later, and then ---- dont read this this wrong way; FoS and i still love each other. But I was so worried with that gas leak on the car that i actually pushed it out of my garage. I didnt want to start it or whatever. Poor thing sat outside in the chill of night! gasp!
welcome to ferrarichat Burning 308 guy, i will second the request for the burnt 308's serial number. on a serious note, glad you got away from the fire, i hope you had insurance on the car that would cover such a thing as the fire. is the interior of the car badly damaged? seems the fire was out relatively fast and the car may be saveable still. some of us here love cheap project cars .
I don't have the VIN handy right now. I will post it later. Some of the interior might be OK. Headliner is melted back window blew out and let the fire in. It is heart breaking watching Firemen pry open the engine compartment lid and bust out the windows. I just had new seats and carpet put in and they didn't get burned but they were soaked and then covered in flame retardant and I have been told not clean anything yet untill investigations ,insurance etc... are done. Poor car is sitting outside under a tarp. Too stinky for the garage. I am not 100% what I am going to do with the car as of yet. I have to wait a little bit. I am sure someone could fix the car but I am just not sure that it would be worth it. I will be on the hunt for another Ferrari soon. Not sure what one. I have a Porsche to sell and get this Ferrari fire past me. So If anyone has anything local for sale just let me know and I will check it out.
Quick post mortem....remove left rear wheel, and fender liner....check fuel filler neck hose (if it has not been completely burned away). You should be able to see if the hose is cracked/rotted. I had mine replaced after hearing about this on Tom Yang's site.....my 78 308 GTS hose was probably only a few months to a year away from giving way. Dave
man i am sorry. i saw your car fresh out of paint at eurotech. yellow glass!!! i saw the news and burst out "i know that car" my girlfriend looked at me like i was nuts. mark at eurotech told me about the car and its second chance at life. sorry to see it go into flames like that. while out in my 308 i have had people ask if mine can blow up like that. to which i have been answering. i am taking action to prevent it. i bought all new fuel line and hoses. you can probly sell the car in parts and make more that way. hows the steering wheel?
i have a yellow f355 and it is funny as i have seen some folks look at me a little odd like when i go to gas up.. i guess they are waiting to see if i burst into flames... too funny.
Condolences from Houston Texas, from your two younger sisters, #22127 and #22641.............. Yep, sounds like fuel lines and/or filler neck........ Goodyear is #1 in Racing My Mom wrote your name down and made (not so) gentle suggestions I sell you my "extra" Ferrari.........I told her, we do not call it "extra", we call it "the spare". LOL!
Sorry from Portland Oregon. Checking to see if you have decided to part out, or sell whole? Hope it is not to soon to ask. Thanks, Jim
It does seem to me that a dis-proportionate number of Ferrari's burn....I've seen a few burned Ferrari's for sale on ebay etc. I don't know if its because even with burned parts, there are still usually a bunch of parts worth something so people try to sell the car (for example, if a burned 1989 chevy cavalier is worthless vs. a burned 308 which might be worth a few thousand if rims, steeringwheel, etc etc could be salvaged), or if it's an inherent design issue. I've noticed burned 348's and 355's on ebay and stuff- seems odd. I hope it's the former causing this and not the latter, as I hope to be an owner some day
