VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1930 Cheverolet in fire

Questions: Is the metal going to be OK to rebuild this car ??? Where does he buy a wood kit ??? Do you think the rear end was damaged via fire ??? This is a VCCA members car that does not use the chat site. His 1930 2 door coach was recently in a fire. the front of the car appears unharmed to me. The body metal the paint has burned off from the front doors to the back. The center top material all burned. The interior and wood is all burned. The rear tires are burned. The metal appears OK to me, does not look warped. This was a good running car that attended a non-VCCA tour just two weeks before the fire. It was a building fire, not a car fire. The insurance paid him for the full insured value of the car and he bought the car back for almost nothing. He had a number of project cars in this barn that were totally burned beyond recognition that were uninsured. This 1930 was somewhat saved becasue it was parked in the open door with 1/2 of it outside. He thought he would throw the body away and make a pick-up. I think the body can be saved.

Was this a member in Oaklahoma? How sad losing those project cars do you know what years, how many?
When the 2008 wildfire came through here my woodie was uninsured,disassembled and in three buildings. I couln't sleep for a week till we got back in and found everything O.K.
Jay

It sure is sad to see those vehicles lost and even worse to know they were not insured. I recently posted regarding insurance while restoring and was pleased to find my total cost for the comprehensive insurance was minimal-$5000 value for $20.00. with Hagerty Ins.

I have found a few places that actually make wood kits for the antiques would have to see what years and models they have to ship. As for the metal, being a steel/ iron unless the fire was hot and distorted it, the metal should be ok for the most part, mainly the frame as it is a solid chasis frame. Figure steel/ iron turns to a liquid around 2100 F Pretty darn hot, but you never know in a fire.

A complete wood kit for a 1930 Chevrolet coach is available.

Cordman,

I just noticed from your post we live in the same town.

Bob

If I recall, a VCCA member, 31Sal, restored his father's car, a 1931 Coupe after it had gone through a fire, so perhaps if he is checking in he can tell you the challenges. Or you can contact him. He has been very helpful to me as I restore my '31 Coach.

Lost in the fire was a 1923 Hudson with an aluminum body, a fire truck, I do not recall the year or brand. A pair of 1953 Pontiac's. His 1922 Dodge Touring and 1958 Cadillac was outside the building and saved. Lost all his lawnmowers, grass trimmers etc. He had extra insurance on the building and will probably collect the maximum amount on the contents. He has to sift through the ruins and document every item, tool, collectible, etc. The insurance company told him that Sears would replace his craftsman tools. He went to Sears and it was true - the Craftsman warranty will replace tools in a fire. That is wild. He had a large analog TV in the shop that could not get reception anymore, but hooked up to a VHS player. His children had purchased over 100 VHS movie tapes at garage sales for less then a dollar each. The insurance company is paying $19.95 per VHS, that is their policy. We had a car club meeting there in April and the newsletter editor had taken a photo of the stacks of VHS tapes and so the quantity was documented. All those that had taken photos in his shop at various car club meetings gave him their photos to submit to the insurance company. Financially it appears he is going to come out OK on the deal. He had a large attic fan in the center of the building and the fire inspectors believe it started the fire. The fan was on because they had worked in there that day. They had went to Lowes to get some parts for the garage door which could not be closed and parked the 1930 Chevrolet half way in the door to prevent someone coming in and stealing their brand new mower. When they came out of Lowes they saw smoke in the direction of their home. The new mower was melted and almost everything in the building was melted except the Chevy. THe fire department did not try to extinquish the building fire, just prevent it spreading from the building and one fire truck was parked in front of the Chevy and that is probably why it was not melted like the rest of the contents of the building. The fire was in Owasso, Oklahoma.

Joe,
The body can probably be rebuilt. Even slightly warped panels can be saved as they probably didn't get too hot. It takes ~ 800 deg to burn off the paint. It will be necessary to neutralize the acidic surface (from the acid gases formed in combustion) and passivate the metal on both sides, clean off the rust and coat the metal ASAP. Otherwise it will continue to rust and deteriorate from just the humidity in the air.

I have used fire damaged metal in the past and get to do it again. I am still recovering from my shop fire last September. And it didn't burn up too much stuff. It was the heat and acid gas that did most of the damage. Of course jumbling up all the parts emptying out the building, putting them back in and then finding something that you need is a nightmare.

Chipper, you hadn't mentioned the fire before My sympathies. I know the pain of hauling the remains of things you have saved to the scrap yard. And finding your homeowners insurance does not cover cars or car parts.
Jay